Jennifer W. Bea, PhD is a physiological scientist, focused on body composition and chronic disease research, with an emphasis on cancer. She is currently Co-director for the Body Composition Research Laboratory, a member of UACC Cancer Prevention and Control, and a member of the Collaboratory for Metabolic Disease Prevention and Treatment at UA. As an expert in body composition imaging, lifestyle interventions, circulating biomarkers, and genetics, Dr. Bea has made significant strides in understanding how to tailor interventions to optimize body composition and health, particularly among underserved communities.
Dr. Bea has evaluated risk factors for cancer within the Women’s Health Initiative, lifestyle and obesity being predominate. Among many contributions to interventional cancer prevention and control are Dr. Bea’s investigations into weight loss, and separately, resistance training, on metabolic regulation and change in body composition among breast cancer survivors. Dr. Bea is currently UACC PI of a physical activity intervention among Native American cancer survivors, “Restoring Balance in Indian Country”. Cancer prevention and control training is also a passion for Dr. Bea. She previously coordinated the R25 CPC postdoctoral fellowship and is now an M-PI for STEP-UP, an R25 CPC training program for underrepresented undergraduate and early graduate students.