Assistant Professor
Phone: (619) 594-7272
Office: ENS 313
Email: amcclain@sdsu.edu
Download CV (pdf)
Education
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Nutritional Epidemiology, Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 2018
- PhD, Nutritional Sciences (Concentration: Community Nutrition), Cornell University, 2016
- MS, Human Movement Sciences (Concentration: Health Promotion), The University of Memphis, 2004
- BS, Sports Medicine, University of Evansville, 2002
Biography
Dr. McClain’s mixed methods research employs community-based and social science perspectives to investigate how the stress of marginalization, especially food insecurity, shapes food choice and dietary intake and gets ‘under the skin’ to impact allostatic load and cardiometabolic risk among low-income and historically-marginalized populations, particularly Hispanics/Latinos. Simultaneously, her research aims to identify and leverage existing cultural, social, human, and material capacities (i.e., assets), as a part of behavior-change interventions embedded in existing infrastructure (e.g., federally-qualified health centers, food assistance programs), to mitigate the stress of marginalization and promote food security, nutritious diets, and cardiometabolic health equity. She is the Primary Investigator for several research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dr. McClain serves on the advisory committees for two San Diego community-based organizations addressing food access and food insecurity, including Project New Village, a BIPOC-led, grassroots nonprofit. Dr. McClain is also a core member of Project New Village’s Urban Agriculture Workgroup, which has developed necessary infrastructure to promote equitable access to local produce in an historically-marginalized area of San Diego through support from Danone Institute and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Professional Affiliation
- American Heart Association- Member
- American Public Health Association– Member
- American Society for Nutrition- Member
- International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity- Member
Recent/Selected Publications
- McClain, A.C., Gallo, L.C., & Mattei, J. (2022). Subjective social status and cardiometabolic risk markers by intersectionality of race/ethnicity and sex among U.S. young adults. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 56, 442-460. DOI: 10.1093/abm/kaab025
- McClain, A.C., Evans, G.W., & Dickin, K.L. (2021). Maternal stress moderates the relationship of food insufficiency with body mass index trajectories from childhood to early adulthood among U.S. rural youth. Childhood Obesity, 17(4), 263-271. Doi: 10.1089/chi.2020.0284
- McClain, A.C., Tucker, K.L. Falcón, L.M. & Mattei, J. (2019). Food insecurity and dietary intake by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation status among mainland U.S. Puerto Rican adults after the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Public Health Nutrition, 9, 1-10. DOI: 10.1017/S1368980019002209
- McClain, A.C., Dickin, K.L., & Dollahite, J.S. (2019). Life course influences on food provisioning among low-income, Mexican-born mothers with young children at risk of food insecurity. Appetite, 132, 8-17. DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2018.09.014
- McClain, A.C., Xiao, R.S., Gao, X., Tucker, K.L. Falcón, L.M. & Mattei, J. (2018) Food insecurity and odds of high allostatic load in Puerto Rican adults: the role of participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during 5 years of follow-up. Psychosomatic Medicine, 80(8), 733-741. DOI: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000628
Publications
- For an up to date publications list see Google Scholar.
Teaching Responsibilities
- NUTR 510- Community Nutrition
