Profile

Dr. Towne’s major research areas emphasize public health and include a focus on social and structural factors, spanning studies focused on the United States, and elsewhere considering built environments, rurality, aging, and global settings. This effort, which has been recognized nationally, has received awards from NIH, APHA, AAHB, and elsewhere, and includes authoring more than 90 peer-reviewed scientific articles published in national and international journals.

External (selected)

• Extramural Loan Repayment Program (n=3 awards) | US National Institutes of Health
• Judy K. Black Early Career Research Award | American Academy of Health Behavior
• Fellow | American Academy of Health Behavior

Internal (selected)

• Faculty Best Paper Award | 2016 - Texas A&M School of Public Health
• Tenure; Promotion | 2023 - University of Central Florida
• Research Incentive Award | 2024 - University of Central Florida

• Principal Investigator. Center for Population Health and Aging (CPHA), Texas A&M University. Identifying Social and Structural Determinants of Health Disparities among at‐Risk Populations.
• Co-Investigator. National Institutes of Health (NIH)-R01. Fighting Obesity by Reinventing Public Transportation: A Natural Experiment.
• Co-Investigator. National Cancer Institute of NIH—R01. Physical Activity Impacts of a Planned Activity-Friendly Community: The What, Where, When and Why of Environmental Approaches to Obesity Prevention.
• Co-Investigator. National Institutes of Health (NIH) - Administrative Supplement - Dementia-Friendly Communities to Promote Active Living in Persons with AD/ADRD. (Parent Grant: Physical Activity Impacts of a Planned Activity-Friendly Community: The What, Where, When and Why of Environmental Approaches to Obesity Prevention).

• Interdisciplinary Summer Research Institute (AA-ISRI) - Alzheimer’s Association - Chicago, Illinois, USA.
• Butler-Williams Scholars Program - U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. National Institutes of Health (NIH). National Institute on Aging - NIH Campus, Bethesda, MD.
• Postdoctoral Training - School of Public Health | Texas A&M University
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - Health Services Policy and Management | Arnold School of Public Health | University of South Carolina

• Public Health and Public Policy
• Social and Structural Determinants
• Aging