Shannon L. Mihalko

Dr. Shannon Mihalko received her undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University and her MS and PhD degrees from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Dr. Mihalko holds a joint appointment in the Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy within the Division of Public Health Sciences at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Dr. Mihalko teaches Health Psychology, Epidemiology, and is the Director of the HES Honors Research Program.

Dr. Mihalko is a behavioral scientist whose research focuses on adherence and quality of life in adults with chronic disease, with a special interest in knee osteoarthritis and cancer populations. Specifically, her work examines determinants and consequences of behavior change and adherence, with a specific focus on building self-efficacy in older adults to engage in physical activity and healthy nutritional practices on their road to independence.

Teaching

• Health Psychology
• Epidemiology
• Research in Human Populations
• Honors Research

Publications

• Mihalko SL, Cox P, Beavers DP, Miller GD, Nicklas BJ, Lyles M, Hunter DJ, Eckstein F, Guermazi A, Loeser RF, DeVita P, Messier SP. Effect of intensive diet and exercise on self- efficacy in overweight and obese adults with knee osteoarthritis: The IDEA randomized clinical trial. Translational Behavioral Medicine 2019; 9(2): 227-235. PMID: 29635402.
• Messier, S.P., Mihalko, S.L., Legault, C., Miller, G.D., Nicklas, B.J., DeVita, P., Beavers, D.P., Hunter, D.J., Lyles, M.F., Eckstein, F., Williamson, J.D., Carr, J.J., Guermazi, A., Loeser, R.F. Effects of intensive diet and exercise on knee joint loads, inflammation, and clinical outcomes among overweight and obese adults with knee osteoarthritis: The IDEA randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 2013: 310(12):1263-1273. PMID: 24065013.
• Anderson, R.T., Kimmick, G., McCoy, T., Hopkins, J., Levine, E., Miller, G., Rosenberger, E., Ribisl, P., & Mihalko, S.L. A Randomized Trial of Exercise on Well-being and Function following Breast Cancer Surgery: The RESTORE trial. Journal of Cancer Survivorship 2012; 6(2): 172-81. PMID: 22160629.
• Mihalko SL, Brenes GA, Farmer DF, Katula JA, Balkrishnan R, Bowen DJ. Challenges and innovations in enhancing adherence. Control Clin Trials 2004; 25:447-457. PMID: 15465615.

Research

Understanding and Predicting Fatigue, CV Decline & Events After Breast CA Treatment (UPBEAT)

This multi-center study will be the first to define and fully characterize the time course of Adj-C cardiotoxicity and factors (with and without radiation treatment) that influence the development of subclinical CV dysfunction, exercise intolerance, fatigue, and CV events among women of different ages and races/ethnicities, ultimately informing future development of therapies and risk factor prediction models that can be used to prevent CV events and thereby improve overall breast cancer-related survival.

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Weight loss and exercise for communities with arthritis in North Carolina (WE-CAN)

This study is a pragmatic community based trial designed to determine whether an 18-month diet-induced weight loss with exercise intervention significantly decreases pain in overweight and obese adults with knee OA relative to an attention control group.

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Improving exercise capacity with a tailored physical activity intervention in lymphoma patients undergoing treatment (PALS)

The purpose of this study is to assess the utility of a patient-centric, individually tailored physical activity intervention implemented throughout chemotherapy in lymphoma patients to attenuate physical inactivity, reduce fatigue, and preserve exercise capacity, cardiac and cognitive function, strength, and health-related quality of life: all metrics that associate with or reduce cardiovascular risk.

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Breast Cancer Strength and Range of Motion Study

The overall objective of this study is to prospectively examine changes in physical activity participation, upper body strength and shoulder mobility from pre-surgery through survivorship in a cohort of 400 women diagnosed with breast cancer.