We Grow Healthy Center

Cultivating healthy living through partnership and discovery

The Vanderbilt Children’s We Grow Healthy Center is dedicated to improving child and family well being through community engaged research that grows from shared effort. We believe healthy living takes root when evidence, family strengths, and community resources work together—so we design every project with real world experiences at the center.

Our work is deeply informed by the “kids in context” approach championed across Vanderbilt Pediatrics, ensuring our research reflects the environments where children spend their lives.

We Grow Healthy Center

Mission

To cultivate healthy living by conducting rigorous, community engaged research that elevates family strengths, advances discovery, and translates evidence into action across clinical, home, and community environments.

Vision

A future where every community has the partnerships, tools, and evidence needed to help children grow healthy—because research is created with families, rooted in children’s real world contexts, and scaled across systems to support wellbeing.

Our Story

The We Grow Healthy Center began with a simple belief: healthy living flourishes through shared effort. Originally a research group focused on family centered interventions, our team grew into a center committed to cultivating health through partnership and discovery.

Embedded within Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and the Department of Pediatrics, we align with the institution’s commitment to groundbreaking discovery, training the next generation, and extending impact beyond hospital walls.

Today, we bring together scientists, clinicians, families, and community organizations to co design interventions, build programs families can use, and share findings that strengthen communities.

  • The Nashville Collaborative 

    A cornerstone of our partnership focused approach, the Nashville Collaborative links Academic General Pediatrics at Vanderbilt with key community organizations—including Metro Parks, Nashville Public Library, Metro Action Commission, and the Nashville Food Project. Together, we develop and evaluate sustainable, evidence based programs that improve child and family health, particularly in the area of childhood obesity prevention.

    Why Partnership Matters

    • Co creation leads to research questions and programs that reflect community priorities.
    • Embedded delivery in parks, libraries, and community centers builds access and equity.
    • Sustainability grows from community-owned programs and local capacity.
    • Discovery thrives in partnership, allowing evidence to grow where children live and play.
  • ADAPT Intervention (NIH funded)
    Full Title: Adapting Evidence Based Obesity Interventions in Community Settings
    Award: R01HL163437 (NHLBI), 2023–2028 — PI: Bill Heerman, MD, MPH
    What it studies: A hybrid implementation effectiveness, cluster randomized trial across 50 community centers in Middle Tennessee testing whether systematically adapting a proven family based obesity intervention (COACH) improves reach, adoption, implementation, maintenance, and child BMI.
    Why it matters: This is the country’s largest test of adaptation science as a strategy to reduce disparities in pediatric obesity treatment.
    ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT06546696
     The DOSE Trial (PCORI funded)
    Full Title: Dose Intensity of Behavioral Interventions for Childhood Obesity
    Award: PCORI BPS 2023C1 31064, 2024–2030 — PI: Bill Heerman, MD, MPH
    What it studies: A large, multisite randomized controlled trial recruiting 900 children (ages 5–17) across Tennessee and Louisiana to determine the optimal “dose” (13 vs. 16 vs. 19 vs. 22 vs. 26 hours) of intensive behavioral treatment for pediatric obesity.
    Why it matters: The AAP recommends 26+ hours of contact, but this is impractical for many families. DOSE tests whether lower dose programs can be equally effective, especially for rural and minority communities.
    ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT06654323
    Greenlight Plus Long Term Follow up (PCORI funded)
    Award: PCORI AD 2018C1 112 (Follow Up Grant), 2025–2031 — PI: Bill Heerman, MD, MPH
    What it studies: Follow up of 900 parent–infant dyads enrolled in the original Greenlight Plus RCT to examine long term outcomes through age 5, including anthropometrics, diet, accelerometry, and behavior patterns.
    Why it matters: Provides the first long term test of literacy sensitive, IT assisted pediatric obesity prevention beginning at birth.
    ClinicalTrials.gov (parent trial): NCT04042467 (Greenlight Plus)
    Understanding and Addressing Food Insecurity and Obesity Among Infant Parent Dyads (NIH funded)
    Award: K23DK132513 (NIDDK), 2023–2028 — PI: Colin Orr, MD, MPH
    What it studies: A patient oriented research program examining how changes in food insecurity relate to parent feeding practices and child weight, and developing/pilot testing a peer parent coach intervention for use in pediatric primary care.
    Why it matters: Builds foundational evidence needed to design scalable interventions that address social drivers of early childhood obesity.

Research Themes

  • Healthy Habits & Behavior Change: Family centered strategies designed with community input to build durable, developmentally appropriate habits.
  • Community Embedded Trials: Pragmatic trials in real-world settings—parks, schools, clinics, libraries—to maximize reach and sustainability.
  • Translation & Implementation: Moving evidence into practice through shared programs, clinical pathways, and community partner adoption.
  • Reach and Access: Ensuring that rural, minority, and underserved communities have access to proven interventions.
  • Discovery Through Modeling & Data Tools: Computational and systems approaches that guide intervention design and real world delivery.

Each theme reinforces our core identity: healthy living grows through collaboration and discovery.

Impact

Growing healthier communities together

  • Community Reach: Programs and trials embedded across parks, libraries, and community centers throughout Middle Tennessee.
  • Equitable Impact: Focus on increasing access to evidence-based programs for rural and minority families disproportionately affected by chronic health risks.
  • Sustainable Change: Co-developed programs continue beyond the research phase through partner leadership and local investment.
  • Training Future Leaders: Trainees and junior researchers learn to blend discovery with community partnership—reflecting the broader mission of Vanderbilt Pediatrics.

Our Team

Bill Heerman, MD, MPH
Center Director; Associate Professor of Pediatrics

Dr. Heerman is a physician scientist and national leader in community engaged research to improve maternal child health. His work focuses on designing and implementing behavioral interventions that address health disparities—particularly among low income and minority families. He directs the Division of Academic General Pediatrics and leads the Nashville Collaborative.

Colin Orr, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Dr. Orr is a board certified general pediatrician and health services researcher whose work seeks to understand and address the social drivers of child health. His studies frequently partner with families to examine food insecurity, primary care–based interventions, and early life nutrition as pathways to improved long term outcomes.

Nadia Markie Sneed, PhD, APRN, FNP BC
Assistant Professor; Nutrition & Family Health Researcher

Dr. Sneed’s research centers on “food as medicine” and the development of culturally relevant, whole foods–based nutrition interventions. Her work spans prediabetes prevention, adolescent obesity treatment, and multi generational dietary behavior change, with a focus on sustainable approaches families can adopt at home.

Aspen Streetman, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Dr. Streetman is a behavioral scientist whose work explores how empowerment, movement, and environment interact to shape physical activity behaviors—especially among women and young adults. Her mixed methods research examines exercise empowerment, stress reduction, and strategies to support lifelong engagement in physical activity.

Angelica Cristello Sarteau, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher; Global Nutrition Scientist

Dr. Cristello Sarteau brings deep expertise in global health, diabetes management, and culturally responsive nutrition strategies. Her research examines dietary patterns, glycemic outcomes, and intervention development for people with Type 1 diabetes—including youth and older adults—in diverse, international contexts.

Daniela Popescu, MD, PhD
Lab Manager & Clinical Trials Manager

Ms. Popescu manages the Center’s clinical, community, and multi site research operations. Her work includes trial coordination, digital health measurement, and implementation of social determinants of health screening tools across pediatric settings. She plays a key role in advancing high quality, family centered research infrastructure.

Philanthropy & Support

Your support helps us cultivate healthier communities by funding pilot research, expanding community partnerships, sustaining family navigator roles, and accelerating the translation of evidence into programs that families can use today.

Philanthropy fuels Monroe Carell’s commitment to community-engaged, family-centered innovation and expands our ability to reach more children with programs grounded in partnership and discovery.

Contact Us

General Inquiries & Partnerships
WeGrowHealthy@vumc.org