Shariwa Oke is a doctoral candidate, working with Dr. Laura Bellows. She received her undergraduate degrees in Physiology and Nutrition at the University of Arizona and her MS in Biomedical Visualization from the University of Illinois at Chicago where she developed a mobile app-based intervention to mediate patient-provider interactions surrounding obesity diagnoses. She then worked at the University of Chicago creating scientific visualizations and developing a tobacco cessation curriculum for public health research.
Shariwa’s current work focuses on the design, development, and implementation of a digital behavioral intervention focused on nutrition, physical activity, and mindful parenting for parents of preschoolers in low-income and rural areas of the US. Her broad research interests lie in developing, implementing, and sustaining interventions for improving health behaviors through the appropriate and personal use of communication, technology, and behavioral theory.

1.        Liu, R., Oke, S., Shao, Q., Kibbee, M. (In press) Implementation Determinants of Nutrition Interventions in the Charitable Food System in the United States: A Scoping Review. Nutrition Reviews.  2.        Reyes, L.I., Johnson, S.L., Oke, S., Carmona, B.A., Bellows, L.L. (2025). Understanding Parents’ Digital Use and Preferences for a m-Health Intervention, in Low-Income Rural Settings. Health Education Research. https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyaf024  3.        Bellows, L.L, Oke, S.A., Reyes, L.I., Carmona, B.A., Johnson, S.L. (2025) Development of a Digital Parent Intervention to Promote Healthy Eating and Activity in Preschoolers: The eHEROs Study. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, S1499-4046(25)00012-0. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2025.01.008

M.S., University of Illinois at Chicago
B.S., University of Arizona