Samoan Obesity, Lifestyle and Genetic Adaptations Study Group

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Samoan Obesity, Lifestyle and Genetic Adaptations Study Group

A research organization focused on improving lifelong health for all Samoans.

10/06/2026

Are you a 15-19 year old girl in American Samoa? 👧🏻

Join our study! We are currently recruiting girls to join our study about sexual and reproductive health education in American Samoa!

Participation includes sharing information in a focus group with peers around your age for an hour.

If you are interested, please reach out to participate:
📞 256-6187
📧 [email protected]

You will be compensated for your time.

If you are an adolescent boy, don’t worry - we will be recruiting you soon!

03/06/2026

Know someone 8-10 weeks pregnant, living in American Samoa 🇦🇸, and interested in being part of an exciting research study? 🌺

Tag them below or share this post so they don’t miss out on the opportunity to participate!

30/04/2026

Asking our Facebook friends for help getting a small package from Honolulu to Pago. Please let us know if you might be able to help!

Thank you!

02/04/2026

O lea la ua iai si ou silafia itititi ile HOPE ma mea matou te faia, ae faapefea foi ona e auai?

E mafai ona e agava’a e te auai ile su’esu’ega pe a faapea o oe o se tagatanu’u o Samoa po’o se tagatanu’u ole Pasefika, ma ia itiiti ifo ile 34 vaia*o ole ma’itaga .

Afai e te auai, e itiiti ni itu lamatia o lenei su’esu’ega .E te maitauina ni vaega itiiti e tiga ile taimi e aoina ai fa’amaumauga, ma e fa’ailoa atu lava i fa’amatalaga i luga o lau pepa fesili. O lou auai foi o lou lava finagalo malie.

A iai se fesili pe fia malamalama atili? Fa’ailoa mai au fesili ile vaega o komeni. A e silafia foi se tasi o lo fia auai ile tatou su’esu’ega ? Fa’a*oa iai la tatou Polokalame
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Now that you know a little about what HOPE and what we do, how can you get involved?

You are eligible to join this study if you are Samoan or Pacific Islander, and at least 34 weeks pregnant.

If you participate, the risks for this study are minor. You may experience some small discomforts or pain during data collection, and will reveal some personal information on your questionnaires. All participation is voluntary!!!

Any questions? Put any question you might have in the comments. Do you know anyone who might be interested in our study? Share this post with them.

01/04/2026

O a vaega faatino i asiasiga nei?

Afai ua e filifili e te auai,o le a matou aoina sina vaega o le faua mai ia te oe ma lau pepe, o se vaega o le toto, inuina o le vai suamalie i lou maota ae e te lei agai mai i le ofisa mo lau polokalame, o ni faamaumauga mai ia te oe ma pepe e uiga i au faamaumauga mai i le falemai, O le a matou faaaogaina nei vaega uma e maua ai faamatalaga sao mai ia te oe ma lou tagata.
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What’s going to happen during these visits?

If you choose to participate, we will collect things like spit from you and your baby, small blood samples, drinking water samples from your home, and information about you and your baby's medical records. We will use these samples to look at your biological data, which we find in your saliva, blood, and stool to look at your genes and your microbiome, as well as some of the chemicals in your everyday environment. This data will help us understand the unique health experiences of women and children in American Samoa.

31/03/2026

Please join us for Mata'u Faiai's dissertation presentation titled "Understanding the Cardiometabolic Health of Adolescents in American Samoa" 🎓✨

🗓 April 14
🕐 1:00 PM EST (6:00 AM American Samoa time)

This will be a hybrid event — you can attend in person at 47 College St. or join us via Zoom.

We hope to see you there!

31/03/2026

O le a le mea e tupu pe a e auai i le polokalame o le HOPE?
O lenei su’esu’ega e aofia ai asiasiga e lima:
1. Ae le’i fanau
2. Taimi ua fanau ai
3. ina ua 2 masina o le pepe
4. ina ua 4 masina o le pepe
5. ina ua 6 masina o le pepe
Matou te taumafai e fetuunai nei asiasiga uma pe afai ua iai se a*o ua faailoa atu e foma’i mo lau polokalame,pe mafai foi ona matou oo atu i lou maota ma lou laoa,ia poo nisi foi o gaioiga poo fesili e faatino i luga o le telefoni.
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So, what happens if you join the HOPE study?
This study involves five visits:
1. Before birth
2. Right after birth
3. When your baby is 2 months old
4. When your baby is 4 months old
5. And when your baby is 6 months old!
We try to schedule these visits for when you already have doctors appointments, or we can come to your home, or do some activities over the phone.

30/03/2026

Na matou fa’aavanoaina nai vaia*o talu ai e talanoa ai e uiga i la matou su’esu’ega i le polokalame o le GROW, ua o’o i le taimi e talanoa ai e uiga i se isi a matou su’esu’ega i le polokalame o le HOPE

O le HOPE o lona uiga o le Taunu’uga o le Soifua Maloloina i le Ma’itaga ma tamaiti laiti,O le faamoemoega o lenei polokalame e tutusa ma le GROW- Matou te fia iloa ma aoaoina pe faapefea ona aafia le soifua maloloina o fafine i le taimi ma le ma’ea o le ma’itaga, faapea foi le soifua maloloina o le tamaiti i Amerika Samoa ma isi atu motu o le pasefika, e na’o e GROW, o le polokalame o le HOPE e faatatau i le gasegase o le s**a i le taimi olel ma’itaga, faatasi ai ma le lapo’a o le tino o le tamaititi ma le ola tuputupua’e
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We have shared in the past weeks about the GROW study and its time to talk about another study called the HOPE study.

HOPE stands for Health Outcomes in Pregnancy and Early Childhood! The purpose of this study is similar to GROW - we want to learn how different factors like our genes, environment, and behavior affect the health of women during and after pregnancy, and also the health of children from American Samoa and other Pacific Islands. Just like GROW, the HOPE study also focuses on gestational diabetes, with an extra focus on child body size and growth!

17/03/2026

O lenei tama’ita’i foma’i, Dr Erin Kershaw, o se tama’ita’i foma’i mo le suesuega o le GROW! Dr Kershaw o se foma’i fapitoa mai le Iuniveiste a Pittsburgh o lo’o ia sailia pe faapefea e le ga’o o le tino ona aafia le soifua maloloina i maua ai le tino p**a, ma’i s**a, ma le tele o le ga’o o le tino. O ia o se Ta’ta’i i le vaega o le Endocronology ma le Metabolism ma o lo’o Ta’ita’ifono mo suesuega o le Tino P**a.

O ona suesuega e sailia ai pe faapefea e musela o le tino ma le kenera ona faagaioia le ola maloloina o tatou Metabolism, o loo ia fesoa*oani i fomai saeanisi ia malamalama i vaega eseese e mafai ona foia ai nei fa’ama’i e pei o le tino p**a, ma le ma’i s**a.
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Next up, we have Dr. Erin Kershaw, a Principal Investigator on GROW! Dr. Kershaw is an endocrinologist and researcher at the University of Pittsburgh who studies how body fat affects metabolism and diseases like obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol. She is Chief of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism and holds the Endowed Chair for Obesity Research.

Her research explores how fat cells and genes influence metabolic health, helping scientists better understand and treat conditions such as obesity and metabolic disease. Dr. Kershaw is so incredible!

Address

Sa Iosia Building
Motootua
96799

Website

http://publichealth.yale.edu/olaga/

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