Ph.D.                           International Nutrition, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 1986.

 

M.S.                             Nutritional Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 1980.

 

B.S.                             Microbiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 1976

 

 

 

 

Taren, D.L., Bryant, C. & Rose, J. School Based Recycling Programs and Florida Food Service Programs. Florida Department of Education. September 1991, 290 pages.

 

Bartlett, S., Marion, M., Taren, D., Muramoto, M. Geriatric Nutrition Handbook. Chapman-Hall, New York 1997, 172 pages.

 

Meurer, J., Taren, D.L. Prevention and Public Health in Obstretics. In Knupple, R.A. and Drukker, J.E. (eds.), High Risk Pregnancy. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders Co., 1992, pps. 36-46.

 

Kent, E., Coulter, M., & Taren, D.L. Cooking for Kids, Guidebook I: Planning and Equipping Small Kitchens; Guidebook II: Food Safety, Injury Prevention, and Child Development Issues. Florida Department of Education. 1994, 140 pages.

 

Feldhausen, J.K., Thomson, C.A., Duncan, D., Taren, D. Pediatric Nutrition Handbook. Chapman-Hall, New York, New York. 1996, 126 pages.

 

Frankenfeld, C., Taren, D.L. The Growth of HIV Infected Children. In Watson R. (eds.) Nutrition and AIDS III. CRC Press, 2000.

 

Taren, D.L. Diarrhea and Other GI Diseases. Gershwin, M.E., Nestle, P. (eds.) Handbook on Nutrition and Immunity. Humana Press, 2004.

 

Taren, D.L., Kaminsky, R.G., Alger, J., Mourra, M., Mhaskar, R., Canfield, L.M. Comparing local fruits and vegetables and b-carotene supplements as a vitamin A source for Honduran mothers and infants. In Beta-Carotene: Dietary Sources, Cancer and Cognition. Eds. Leiv Haugen and Terje Bjornson, Nova Publishers, 2009.

  

Taren, D.L., Nesheim, M.C., Crompton, D.W.T., Holland, C.V., Barbeau, I., Rivera, G., Sanjur, D., Tiffany, J., & Tucker, K. Contribution of Ascariasis to Poor Nutritional Status of Children from Chiriqui Province, Republic of Panama. Parasitology 95:603-613, 1987.

 

Taren, D.L. & Crompton, D.W.T. Mechanisms for Interactions between Parasitism and Nutritional Status. Clinical Nutrition 8:227-238, 1990.

 

Taren, D.L. & Chen, J. A Positive Association Between Extended Breast-feeding and Growth in Rural Hubei Province, PRC. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 58:862-867, 1993.

 

Bockaire, P., Taren, D.L., & Patterson, A.W. Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Secondary School Students Toward Obesity in Jamaica. Cajanus 27:22-47, 1994.

 

Miller, K., Duran-Pinales, C., Cruz-Lopez, A., Morales-Lechuga, L., Taren, D. & Enriquez, J.F. Cryptosporidium parvum in Children with Diarrhea in Mexico. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 51:322-325, 1994.

 

Chen, J. & Taren, D.L. Early Feeding Practices and Nutritional Status of Preschool Children in Rural Hubei Province, Peoples Republic of China. Food and Nutrition Bulletin 16:40-48, 1995.

 

Canfield, L., Taren, D.L. deKaminsky, R., Mahel, Z. Short-term B-carotene supplementation of lactating mothers consuming diets low in vitamin A. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry 10:532-538, 1999.

 

Taren, D.L., de Tobar, M., Whitacre, R., Graver, E., Aickin, M., Ritenbaugh, C. Evaluation of the Southwest Food Frequency Questionnaire. Ecology of Food and Nutrition 38:515-547, 1999.

 

Taren, D.L. The Infant Feeding and HIV Transmission Controversy Impacts Public Health Services. Nutrition Today 35: 103-106, 2000.

 

Shrestha, A.K., Duncan, B., Taren, D., Canfield, L.M., Greivenkamp, J.E., Shrestha, N., Shrestha, K.K. A new simple inexpensive means of testing functional vitamin A status: The Night Vision Threshold Test (NVTT). A preliminary field-test report. Journal of Tropical Pediatrics 46 (6):352-356, 2000.

 

Hill, A.L., Roe, D.J., Taren, D.L., Muramoto, M.L., Leischow, S.J. Efficacy of Transdermal Nicotine in Reducing Post-Cessation Weight Gain in a Hispanic Sample. Nicotine and Tobacco Research. 2 (3):247-254, 2000.

Staten, L., Taren, D.L., Howell, W.H., Tobar, M., Poehlman, E.T., Hill, A., Reid, P.M., Ritenbaugh, C. Validation of the Arizona Activity Frequency Questionnaire using doubly labeled water. Exercise and Sports Science 33 (11): 1959-67, 2001.

 

Taren, D., Dwyer, J., Freedman, L., Solomons, N.W. Dietary Assessment Methods: Where do we go from here? Public Health Nutrition 2002: 5 (6a): 1001-1003.

 

Taren, D. The International Conferences on Dietary Assessment Methods. Public Health Nutrition 5 (6a): 817-819, 2002.

Taren, D. Feedback on WHO/FAO Global report on diet, nutrition and non-communicable diseases. Public Health Nutrition 6 (5): 425, 2003.

 

Taren, D.L. Diarrhea and Other GI Diseases. Gershwin, M.E., Nestle P. (Eds) Handbook on Nutrition and Immunity. Humana Press. 2004.

Taren, D.L., Duncan, B., Shrestha, K., Shrestha, N., Genaro-Wolf, D., Schleicher, R.L., Pfeiffer, C.M., Sowell, A.L., Greivenkamp, J., Canfield, L. The Night Vision Threshold Test Is a Better Predictor of Low Serum Vitamin A Concentration than Self-Reported Night Blindness in Pregnant Urban Nepalese Women. J. Nutr. 134: 2573-2578, 2004.

 

Avila-Rodriguez E.H., Avila-Rodriguez, A., Araujo-Contreras, J.M., Villareal-Martinez, A., Nava-Ortiz, E., Arreola-Leyva, N.M., Retana-Felix, L., Flores-Soria, R., Taren, D., Rivas-Avila, E. Evaluacion del Estado Nutricio de la Poblacion que acude al Hospital Municipal del Nino de Durango. 1. Deterioro del Crecimiento y Factores Associados. La Salud en Durango 6 (2): 15-21, 2005.

 

Sankaranarayanan, S., Suarez, M., Taren, D., Genaro-Wolf, D., Duncan, B., Shrestha, K., Shrestha, N., Rosales, R.J. The concentration of retinol bound to retinol-binding protein (holo-RBP) increases during late gestation in vitamin A sufficient Nepalese women. J. Nutrition 135 (12): 2817-22, 2005.

 

Maurer, J., Taren, D.L., Teixeira, P.J., Houtkooper, L.B., Thomson, C.A., Lohman, T.G., Going, S.B. The Psychosocial and Behavioral Characteristics Related to Energy Misreporting. Nutrition Reviews 64 (2): 53-66, 2006.

 

Avila-Rodriguez, E.A., Avila-Rodriguez, A.A., Araujo-Contreras, J.M., Villareal-Martinez, A., Taren, D. Factores asociados a parasitosis intesitnal en ninos de la consulta ambulatoria de un hospital asistencial. Revista Mexicana de Pediatria 74 (1): 5-8, 2007.

 

Maurer, J., Thomson, C., Ranger-Moore, J., Teixeira, P.J., Lohman, T.G., Taren, D., Cussler, E., Going, S., Houtkooper, L. The Psychosocial and Behavioral Profile and Predictors of Self-Reported Energy Underreporting in Obese Middle-Aged Women. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 108: 114-119, 2008. 

 

Broyles, M.E., Harris, R., Taren, D.L. Diabetics Under Report Energy Intake in NHANES III Greater than Non-Diabetics. Open Nutrition Journal 2: 54-62, 2008.

 

Shrestha, R., Taren, D.L. Lead Toxicity: An Under Appreciated Harm for Refugee Children Entering the USA. In: Nutrition Information in Crises Situations. United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition, Report No. 16, March 2008.

 

Taren, D.L., Varela, F. Dotson, J.W., Eden, J., Egger, M., Harper, J., Johnson, R., Kennedy, R., Kent, H., Muramoto, M., Peacock, J.C., Roberts, R., Shea-Ramirez, J., Streeter, N., Velarde, L., and the Rocky Mountain Public Health Education Consortium. Developing a University-Workforce Partnership to Address Rural and Frontier MCH Training Needs: the Rocky Mountain Public Health Education Consortium (RMPHEC). Maternal and Child Health Journal DOI 10.1007/s10995-008-0420-7.

 

Avila-Rodriguez, A.M., Avila-Rodriguez, E.H., Araujo-Contreras, J.M., Rivas-Avila, E., Taren, D., Casanueva, E. Patron de Lactancia Materna en Ninos de la Ciudad de Durango, DG., Mexico. Enlaces Academicos 1 (1): 5-15, 2008.

 

 

Douglas L. Taren, Ph.D., started his career in public health as a nutritionist for the Navajo Nation Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Dr. Taren was the nutritionist from 1979 to 1982. This cross-cultural experience set the stage for the rest of his career in public health including his interest in the use of natural products in health and disease.

 

Dr. Taren’s work on the prevention of preterm birth has included research on access to care, evaluation of the Florida Prevention of Preterm Birth Program and the identification of risk factors for premature labor along with identifying factors associated with the quality of prenatal care. His studies have identified the importance of prenatal education for the preventing of preterm labor, shortcomings with scores that have tried to identify women who are at high risk for preterm labor, and the use of support systems to have women access Medicaid. This research led to improvements in the prenatal services provided by the State of Florida.

 

Dr. Taren has been one of the original faculty members at two schools of public health. At the University of South Florida, he was part of their initial maternal and child health training grant in charge of nutrition. At the University of Arizona he was the deputy director for their new MPH program that included a tri-university collaboration. This program has now evolved into a tri-university College of Public Health. Dr. Taren is the chair for the Master of Public Health Program in the College. He is currently the program director for a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funded regional Maternal and Child Health Certificate Program. This program is part of the Rocky Mountain Public Health Education Consortium efforts that include several public health program and Title V programs in the region. This program uses face-to-face and distance learning courses and has a strong mentoring component. Dr. Taren’s experience with designing and developing education programs that meet the needs of students allows him to better develop new education programs as needed. He is also the co-investigator on a HRSA funded grant to develop three web-based continuing education courses on substance abuse in the maternal and child health program. The first course of The Substance Abuse Distance Learning (SADLE) program will focus on alcohol and tobacco cessation during pregnancy. The second course on the effects of alcohol and tobacco exposure on infants and children, including early detection and interventions, and the final course on prevention and cessation of alcohol and tobacco use in adolescents.

 

 

Dr. Taren’s research also includes developing appropriate dietary assessment methods for the WIC program and for research studies in the Southwest. He has worked with developing dietary intake systems for the Florida and Arizona WIC Programs. He has conducted specific research to identify psychosocial factors that affect dietary reports. Dr. Taren has also worked on the development and evaluation of a bilingual Southwest Food Frequency Questionnaire (SWFFQ). The evaluation of the SWFFQ has established this form for research and many others in the field now use it. Dr. Taren was also the chair for the Fourth International Conference on Dietary Assessment Methods (September 2000) that received national and international support.

 

 

Dr. Taren has been involved with several studies on the food intake and weight of infants and children. Many of these studies have taken place in developing countries and focused on the association between parasitic infections and nutritional status. However, more recently Dr. Taren has conducted reviews and studies regarding childhood obesity and has co-authored a handbook on pediatric nutrition. Dr. Taren’s research focus on nutritional assessment has also covered issues regarding biochemical and dietary assessments of children and elderly.

 

Dr. Taren also directed a study on the knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of children in Kingston, Jamaica, in conjunction with the World Health Organization Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute. In this study, 15 focus groups with 180 high school youth were conducted. It was determined that the majority of male students showed a negative attitude and feelings toward being obese. Yet many preferred women who were heavier or had a lower body distribution, which they referred to as a “coca-cola bottle shape.” The majority of female students expressed a positive attitude toward having the coca-cola shape, but expressed their dislike for obese men. Furthermore, the student’s knowledge about the causes of obesity and prevention measures was not consistent with their daily patterns. Most of the students did not think that obesity was a nutritional disease, but rather regarded it as a sign of wealth, good living and access to an abundance of food.

 

Dr. Taren’s international work on nutrition has focused on vitamin A. His dissertation topic was on the affect of Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworms) on the vitamin A status of Panamanian children. Dr. Taren has continued working on vitamin A deficiency and has recently completed an evaluation of the Night Vision Threshold Test (NVTT) as an objective measure of night blindness. These studies, funded by the CDC were conducted in Zambia and Nepal. He also used the NVTT to evaluate how to better distribute vitamin A supplements to night blind pregnant women in southern Nepal.