Dr. Woolford, is an Associate Professor in the Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Center, a Co-Director for the Healthy Flint Research Coordinating Center (HFRCC) and a faculty member in the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR) Community Engagement Program and leads the MICHR Summer Health Disparities Program at the University of Michigan. From 2006 to 2016 she was the Medical Director of the Pediatric Comprehensive Weight Management Center (PCWMC). In this role she led the development and implementation of the programs offered by the PCWMC from its inception, including the Michigan Pediatric Outpatient Weight Evaluation and Reduction (MPOWER) programs, intensive, multidisciplinary interventions for children with obesity and their families.
Her research is focused on using new technologies in conjunction with message tailoring to enhance provider-patient communication, particularly with diverse populations, using community-engaged approaches. Her work has been informed by over 10 years of general pediatric practice, completion of a rigorous pediatric health service research fellowship, and completion of the Masters of Public Health degree. Her NIH funded research is focused on automated delivery of tailored messaging to improve adherence to treatment recommendations among adolescents and their parents participating in lifestyle modification and the use of location-linked mobile applications designed to prompt adolescents living in obesogenic communities to make healthy food choices at the point of sale. Due to her work in the area of e-communication, she served as the founding Chair of The Obesity Society Section on eHealth/mHealth, as the Co-Medical Director for the Children’s Hospital Association Expert Exchange on Childhood Obesity, and as a member of the Advisory Board for the American Academy of Pediatrics Institute for a Health Childhood Weight.

Primary Interest: Behavioral interventions in the clinical setting for the treatment of obesity in children and adolescents; focusing on the use of communications technology to enhance engagement and adherence among diverse patient populations using community engaged methods.

Secondary Interest: Dissemination of health-related science to, and in collaboration with, diverse communities with the goal of increasing understanding and promoting behavior change.