Laurie Ruggiero

Dr. Laurie Ruggiero is a clinical psychologist and behavioral scientist. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Penn State University and her M.A. and PhD in Clinical Psychology from Louisiana State University. Dr. Ruggiero completed her clinical psychology internship in Behavioral Medicine as part of the Brown University Psychology Internship Consortium and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Brown University Psychology Post-Doctoral Fellowship Program.

Dr. Ruggiero’s program of research focuses on (a) understanding behavioral/psychosocial aspects of obesity and diabetes; and (b) examining interventions designed to support primary/secondary/tertiary prevention related to type 2 diabetes. Her work emphasizes the development or tailoring, implementation, and evaluation of innovative technology- and/or community-based interventions designed to reach and engage at-risk underserved populations. She has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

One example of her intervention research is an RCT that examined the impact of medical assistant diabetes self-care coaches in supporting diabetes self-management in racial/ethnic minority populations receiving care at Federally Qualified Health Care clinics. Another example is a study that examined the impact of a 3-Dimensional virtual world approach to providing diabetes education and support to individuals with type 2 diabetes. Examples of current studies include: (a) a randomized pilot that focuses on tailoring and evaluating a computer-based health game designed to educate and engage older adults regarding healthy eating and physical activity; and (b) a 3-Dimensional virtual world approach to training community health workers in diabetes prevention.

Education:

• Research Fellowship, Brown University Post-doctoral Fellowship Program Area: Pediatric Health Psychology
• Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Louisiana State University, Clinical Psychology, Minor: Behavioral Neurology, Clinical Track: Medical Psychology
• Clinical Internship, Brown University Psychology Internship Consortium Specialty Area: Behavioral Medicine
• Masters of Arts (M.A.), Louisiana State University, Clinical Psychology
• Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Pennsylvania State University, Psychology