June Tester, MD, MPH

I am an Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics who has a deep interest in cardiometabolic risk that has been informed by both my care of patients with obesity and my research program. For nine years, I was a co-director of a large pediatric weight management program at Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland (2,400+ patients). I have board certification in both Obesity Medicine as well as Clinical Lipidology, and currently see patients at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland for prediabetes and for lipid disorders.

My current research focuses on interventions that support individuals with risk for diet-sensitive chronic disease such as diabetes. My current work centers around the following two projects:
• The ADELANTE Trial: Testing a multi-level approach for improving household food insecurity and glycemic control among Latinos with diabetes. This randomized controlled trial will evaluate the impact of food deliveries and group support on the primary outcome of HbA1c in Latinos recruited from a federally-qualified health center who have type 2 diabetes and household food insecurity. (PI Rosas/Tester, NIMHD 1R01MD016738
• Evaluating the effectiveness of a Food Prescription program in community health clinics as part of the Food as Medicine program in Alameda County called Recipe 4 Health. This is a large collaborative effort including multiple partners (HCSA, Dig Deep Farms, Open Source Wellness, Stanford University, and UCSF) in an ongoing food prescription program since 2020 that has thus far served over 3,000 patients in Alameda County.

Other recent areas of focus have included:
• Measurement dietary intake, using 24-hour diet recall data from NHANES, using Nutrition Data System for Research (NDSR) and ASA-24
• Concurrent food insecurity and obesity in children (K23 HD075852)
• Delivery interventions to increase consumption of whole grains
• Longitudinal analyses of weight trajectory among children seen for weight management

Previously, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as a Health and Society Scholar and later as a grantee with the Healthy Eating Research and Active Living Research grant mechanisms, my research focused on other things: urban food access, public health potential for improved access with healthy mobile food vending, contribution of corner stores to food environment, and neighborhoods and parks.
Education
MD, 06/2002 - Medicine, UC San Francisco School of Medicine
MPH, 6/2001 - Interdisciplinary, UC Berkeley School of Public Health
AB, 06/1996 - Biology, Harvard University

  1. Tester JM, Xiao L, Chau CA, Tinajero-Deck L, Srinivasan S, Rosas LG. Greater Improvement in Obesity Among Children With Prediabetes in a Clinical Weight Management Program. Childhood obesity (Print) 2023. PMID: 37347933


  2. Rosas LG, Chen S, Xiao L, Emmert-Aronson BO, Chen WT, Ng E, Martinez E, Baiocchi M, Thompson-Lastad A, Markle EA, Tester J. Addressing food insecurity and chronic conditions in community health centres: protocol of a quasi-experimental evaluation of Recipe4Health. BMJ open 2023. PMID: 37024257


  3. Tester JM, Xiao L, Tinajero-Deck L, Juarez L, Rosas LG. Food Insecurity Influences Weight Trajectory in Children with Obesity. 2022. PMID: 35171045


  4. Tester JM, Leak TM. Fiber-rich foods delivered to Low-Income Households: A feasibility study of children with prediabetes and spillover effect on their caregivers. Preventive medicine reports 2021. PMID: 34458078


  5. Leak TM, Gangrade N, Tester J. Facilitators and barriers to preparing and offering whole grains to children diagnosed with prediabetes: qualitative interviews with low-income caregivers. BMC public health 2021. PMID: 34001074


  6. Meza A, Tester JM, Yen IH, Laraia BA, Wolfson JA, Leung CW. Perceptions of SNAP and Stocking Standards: A Qualitative Study of California Small Food Store Owners and Managers. Nutrients 2021. PMID: 33652765


  7. Tester JM, Stiers KB, Garber A, Leung CW. Whole Grain Intake and Impaired Fasting Glucose in Adolescents, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005-2014. Preventing chronic disease 2020. PMID: 33092687


  8. Tester JM, Rosas LG, Leung CW. Food Insecurity and Pediatric Obesity: a Double Whammy in the Era of COVID-19. Current obesity reports 2020. PMID: 33064269


  9. Leung CW, Tester JM. The Association between Food Insecurity and Diet Quality Varies by Race/Ethnicity: An Analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2014 Results. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 2018. PMID: 30579633


  10. Mirza N, Phan TL, Tester J, Fals A, Fernandez C, Datto G, Estrada E, Eneli I. A Narrative Review of Medical and Genetic Risk Factors among Children Age 5 and Younger with Severe Obesity. Childhood obesity (Print) 2018. PMID: 29791184


  11. Tester JM, Phan TT, Tucker JM, Leung CW, Dreyer Gillette ML, Sweeney BR, Kirk S, Tindall A, Olivo-Marston SE, Eneli IU. Characteristics of Children 2 to 5 Years of Age With Severe Obesity. Pediatrics 2018. PMID: 29487163


  12. Tester JM, Leung CW, Leak TM, Laraia BA. Recent Uptrend in Whole-Grain Intake Is Absent for Low-Income Adolescents, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005-2012. Preventing chronic disease 2017. PMID: 28682743


  13. Leung C, Tester J, Laraia B. Household Food Insecurity and Ideal Cardiovascular Health Factors in US Adults. JAMA internal medicine 2017. PMID: 28319225


  14. Laraia BA, Leak TM, Tester JM, Leung CW. Biobehavioral Factors That Shape Nutrition in Low-Income Populations: A Narrative Review. American journal of preventive medicine 2017. PMID: 28109413


  15. Leung CW, Tester JM, Rimm EB, Willett WC. SNAP Participation and Diet-Sensitive Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Adolescents. American journal of preventive medicine 2017. PMID: 28109414


  16. Tester JM, Leung CW, Crawford PB. Revised WIC Food Package and Children's Diet Quality. Pediatrics 2016. PMID: 27244804


  17. Tester JM, Laraia BA, Leung CW, Mietus-Snyder ML. Dyslipidemia and Food Security in Low-Income US Adolescents: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003-2010. Preventing chronic disease 2016. PMID: 26866948


  18. Tester JM, Lang TC, Laraia BA. Disordered eating behaviours and food insecurity: A qualitative study about children with obesity in low-income households. Obesity research & clinical practice 2015. PMID: 26689335


  19. Tester J, Sharma S, Jasik CB, Mietus-Snyder M, Tinajero-Deck L. Gender differences in prediabetes and insulin resistance among 1356 obese children in Northern California. Diabetes & metabolic syndrome 2013. PMID: 23953182


  20. Gittelsohn J, Laska MN, Andreyeva T, Foster G, Rose D, Tester J, Lee SH, Zenk SN, Odoms-Young A, McCoy T, Ayala GX. Small retailer perspectives of the 2009 Women, Infants and Children Program food package changes. American journal of health behavior 2012. PMID: 22584093


  21. Tester JM, Yen IH, Laraia B. Using mobile fruit vendors to increase access to fresh fruit and vegetables for schoolchildren. Preventing chronic disease 2012. PMID: 22632739


  22. Ayala GX, Laska MN, Zenk SN, Tester J, Rose D, Odoms-Young A, McCoy T, Gittelsohn J, Foster GD, Andreyeva T. Stocking characteristics and perceived increases in sales among small food store managers/owners associated with the introduction of new food products approved by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Public health nutrition 2012. PMID: 22583675


  23. Tester JM, Yen IH, Pallis LC, Laraia BA. Healthy food availability and participation in WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) in food stores around lower- and higher-income elementary schools. Public health nutrition 2010. PMID: 21205402


  24. Tester JM, Stevens SA, Yen IH, Laraia BL. An analysis of public health policy and legal issues relevant to mobile food vending. American journal of public health 2010. PMID: 20864711


  25. Razani N, Tester J. Childhood obesity and the built environment. Pediatric annals 2010. PMID: 20302244


  26. Tester JM, Yen IH, Laraia B. Mobile food vending and the after-school food environment. American journal of preventive medicine 2010. PMID: 20117559


  27. Laska MN, Borradaile KE, Tester J, Foster GD, Gittelsohn J. Healthy food availability in small urban food stores: a comparison of four US cities. Public health nutrition 2009. PMID: 19968901


  28. Committee on Environmental Health , Tester JM. The built environment: designing communities to promote physical activity in children. Pediatrics 2009. PMID: 19482771


  29. Tester J, Baker R. Making the playfields even: evaluating the impact of an environmental intervention on park use and physical activity. Preventive medicine 2009. PMID: 19463491


  30. Jackson RJJ, Tester J. Environment shapes health, including children's mental health. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2008. PMID: 18216714


  31. Tester JM, Rutherford GW, Wald Z, Rutherford MW. A matched case-control study evaluating the effectiveness of speed humps in reducing child pedestrian injuries. American journal of public health 2004. PMID: 15054019