Dr. Deborah Young headshot

Deborah Rohm Young, PhD, MBA

Director

Division of Behavioral Research

626-564-7000

Deborah.R.Young@kp.org

Biography

Dr. Deborah Young is the director of the Division of Behavioral Research for the Department of Research & Evaluation. She is a recognized scholar in the conduct of community-based physical activity intervention trials for both adolescents and adults. She is particularly interested in interventions that reduce the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Much of her work has been conducted in populations with high racial and ethnic diversity. She has also been a co-investigator for several behavior change trials of diet and physical activity in adult populations.  She is a professor in the Department of Health Systems Science of the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine and an adjunct professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA. Dr. Young has served on multiple committees of the American Health Association Lifestyle and Metabolic Health Council and the American College of Sports Medicine. She has been appointed to numerous National Institutes of Health scientific grant review committees and was a standing member and chair of the Community Level Health Promotion study section.

Areas of Focus

  • Physical activity interventions in community settings
  • Primary prevention of overweight and obesity
  • Racial and ethnic health disparities

Education

PhD, Health Education
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas
MBA
Texas Christian University
Fort Worth, Texas

Honors and Awards

  • Fellow, American Heart Association
  • Fellow, American College of Sports Medicine
  • Fellow, National Academy of Kinesiology
  • Hall of Honor Inductee, University of Texas