2812 Erwin Rd; Suite 403; Office 459 Duke University Durham, NC 27705

(email)

Education

PhD	University of North Carolina	2005
M.P.H., Health Behavior and Health Education	University of North Carolina; Chapel Hill, NC	1995
BS, Community Health Education	University of Oregon; Eugene, OR	1989
B.S.	University of Oregon	1989

Professional Experience / Employment History

Center for Health Policy; Duke Global Health Institute; Duke University

Assistant Research Professor, Children's Environmental Health Initiative and the Health Inequalities Program, 2009 - present

Research Scholar, Health Inequalities Program, 2008 - 2009

US EPA/NHEERL

Postdoctoral Trainee, Epidemiology and Biomarkers Branch of the Human Studies Division, 2007 - 2008

US EPA/NHEERL and Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering; University of North Carolina

Postdoctoral Trainee, Epidemiology and Biomarkers Branch of the Human Studies Division, 2005 - 2007

University of North Carolina

Project Manager, Pregnancy, Infection and Nutrition Postpartum Physical Activity Study, 2005

Research Assistant, North Carolina Birth Outcomes Partnership, 2002 - 2005

Research Assistant, Pregnancy, Infection and Nutrition Study, 2001 - 2002

Doctoral Fellow, Royster Society of Fellows Multiyear Dissertation Fellowship, 1999 - 2005

Research Assistant, KidsFirst Project, 1993 - 1995

Bowman Gray University

Project Evaluator, North Carolina Cervical Cancer Screening Project, 1995 - 1996

Publications

Chapter in Book

1. L.C. Messer, Natural Experiments (2000 words), Self Efficacy (500 words) and Women's Health Issues (3000 words), in Encyclopedia of Epidemiology, edited by Sarah Boslaugh and Louise-Anne McNutt (2008), Sage publications, Thousand Oakes, CA
2. Messer LC, Kaufman JS., Using Census Variables to Approximate Neighboorhood Effects, in Methods in Social Epidemiology, edited by J. Michael Oakes and Jay S. Kaufman (2006), Wiley, New York

Papers Published

1. Messer LC, Oakes JM, Mason S., Disentangling socioeconomic and racial residential segregation: a cautionary tale of structural confounding., American Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 17 no. 6 (March 15, 2010), pp. 633-73
2. Vinikoor LC, Messer LC, Laraia BA, Kaufman JS., United States birth certificates were found to provide reliable values for most reproductive variables in comparison with directly queried values from a cohort study., Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, vol. 24 no. 10 (January, 2010), pp. 102-12
3. Messer LC, Luben T, Mendola P, Langlois P, Horel S, Corozza S., Urban - Rural exposures and associations with cleft lip and cleft palate., Annals of Epidemiology, vol. 20 no. 1 (January, 2010), pp. 32-9
4. Whetten K, Ostermann J, Whetten R, O'Donnell K, Thielman N, Pence BW, Messer LC, and the Positive Outcomes for Orphans (POFO) Research Team., Are Institutions bad for orphans? The wellbeing of orphans and vulnerable children living in 63 institutions in 5 less wealthy nations., Public Library of Science 1 (PLoS1), vol. 4 no. 12 (December 18, 2009), pp. e8169
5. Holzman C, Eyster J, Kleyn M, Messer LC, Kaufman JS, Laraia BA, O'Campo P, Burke JG, Culhane J, Elo IT., Maternal weathering and risk of preterm delivery, American Journal of Public Health, vol. 99 no. 10 (October, 2009), pp. 1864-71
6. Evenson KE, Sotres-Alvarez D, Herring A, Messer LC, Laraia BA, Rodriguez D., Assessing Neighborhood Characteristics Using an Audit and GIS Data: Derivation and Reliability of Constructs., International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, vol. 6 (July 20, 2009), pp. 44

Papers Submitted

1. Messer LC, Vincus A, Shoe E, Sheppard B., Self-reported developmental assests and assocations with risk-taking behavior among adolescents. (2010)
2. Messer LC, Proeschold-Bell RJ, Wilkin A, Parnell H, Huffaker R., High levels of physician trust: is it setting, selection, or sincere? (2010)
3. Laraia BA, Vinikoor L, Messer LC., Objectively rated neighborhood environments and associations with pregnancy health behaviors and reproductive outcomes: a four county study. (2010)
4. Messer LC, Vincus A, Shoe E, Sheppard B., Reported adolescent social norms and the development of a social marketing campaign to correct youth misperceptions. (2010)
5. Whetten R, Messer LC, Whetten K, Ostermann J, Pence BW, Thielman N, Briggs R, Murphy-McMillan LK., Child Labor and orphaned and abandoned children in five less-wealthy nations. (2009)
6. Messer LC, Pence BW, Whetten K, Whetten R, O'Donnell K, Ostermann J, Thielman N., Prevalence and predictors of HIV-related stigma among institutional- and community - based caregivers of orphans and vulnerable children living in five less-wealthy countries. (2009)

Papers In Progress

1. Schempf A, Kaufman JS, Messer LC, Mendola P., Black-White perinatal disparities: an examination within neighborhoods, Wake and Durham Counties, North Carolina. (1999-2001)
2. Vincus A, Messer LC, Sheppard B, Shoe E., A Socioecologial, evidence-based approach for adolescent pregnancy prevention in schools. (2009)
3. Messer LC, Vinikoor LC, Evenson K, Laraia BA, Conceptualizing neighborhood space: consistency and variation of associations for neighborhood factors across multiple units of aggregation (2009)
4. Hoffman CS, Luben T, Rappazzo K, Messer LC, Hansen C, Carbon monoxide and adverse birth outcomes: a meta regression (2009)
5. Evenson KE, Laraia BA, Messer LC, Fesperman C, Frizelle B., Collecting neighborhood audit data for use in physical activity research in the rural and suburban south: lessons learned (2009)
6. Rappazzo K, Mendola P, Messer LC., Pesticides and women's reproductive health across the life course (2009)
7. Moultrie S, Hogan V, Buescher P, Emch M, Hussey J, Messer LC., Measuring health disparities: conceptualizing the influence of racial residential segregation on the disparity in preterm birth (2004)
8. Moultrie S, Hogan V, Buescher P, Emch M, Hussey J, Messer LC., The impact of segregation and SES: determining the prevalence of maternal medical and social risk factors for preterm birth in North Carolina. (2004)

Book Reviews

1. Messer LC, Kaufman JS., Book Review: Handbook of Urban Health: Populations, Methods and Practice, American Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 163 no. 11 (June 1, 2006), pp. 1065-66
2. Kaufman JS, Messer LC., Book Review: Neighborhoods and Health, Epidemiology, vol. 15 no. 3 (2004), pp. 373