Publications by authors named "Julie Gras-Najjar"

We used engagement marketing and human-centered design principles to cocreate a digital decision support tool for research participation with LGBTQIA+ community members to help them make an informed decision about joining the All of Us Research Program. Building on results from the research phase, we conducted eight problem validation and solutioning workshops with 48 LGBTQIA+ community members. Community members validated barriers to engagement with and brainstormed 47 potential digital solutions.

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Objectives: In 2021, the US Congress passed the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Act. The law encourages development of "tools, methods, and processes" to improve clinical trial efficiency for neurodegenerative diseases. The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) is an outcome measure administered during in-person clinic visits and used to support investigational studies for persons living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

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Background: Regular physical activity is an important component of healthy living and wellbeing. Current guidelines recommend that adults participate in at least 150 min of moderate or vigorous-intensity physical activity weekly. In spite of the benefits, just over half of U.

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Background: Calorie labeling on restaurant menus is a public health strategy to guide consumer ordering behaviors, but effects on calories purchased have been minimal. Displaying labels communicating the physical activity required to burn calories may be a more effective approach, but real-world comparisons are needed.

Methods: In a quasi-experimental study, we examined the effect of physical activity calorie expenditure (PACE) food labels compared to calorie-only labels on point-of-decision food purchasing in three worksite cafeterias in North Carolina.

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Substance abuse disorders are devastating, costly, and difficult to treat. Identifying the neurochemical mechanisms underlying reinforcement promises to provide critical information in the development of effective treatments. Several lines of evidence suggest that striatal dopamine (DA) release serves as a teaching signal in reinforcement learning, and that shifts in DA release from the primary reward to reward-predicting stimuli play a critical role in the self-administration of both natural and non-natural rewards.

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Background: Obesity and physical inactivity are responsible for more than 365,000 deaths per year and contribute substantially to rising healthcare costs in the US, making clear the need for effective public health interventions. Calorie labeling on menus has been implemented to guide consumer ordering behaviors, but effects on calories purchased has been minimal.

Methods: In this project, we tested the effect of physical activity calorie expenditure (PACE) food labels on actual point-of-decision food purchasing behavior as well as physical activity.

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The dopaminergic neurons of the nigrostriatal dopamine (DA) projection from the substantia nigra to the dorsal striatum become dysfunctional and slowly degenerate in Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that afflicts more than one million Americans. There is no specific known cause for idiopathic Parkinson's disease; however, multiple lines of evidence implicate oxidative stress as an underlying factor in both the initiation and progression of the disease. This involves the enhanced generation of reactive oxygen species, including hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), whose role in complex biological processes is not well understood.

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Fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) at carbon fiber microelectrodes can be used to measure behaviorally correlated dopamine changes in the extracellular fluid of the brain of freely moving rats. These experiments employ a chronically implanted Ag/AgCl reference electrode. When dopamine measurements are taken 4 days after implantation, there is often a potential shift, typically greater than +0.

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