Our Team

The Mendoza Lab's team includes full-time staff members and part-time employees who assist with studies. Learn more about part-time opportunities.

Trina Colburn, PhD

Dr. Trina Colburn is the research manager for Dr. Jason Mendoza's projects. She is a Seattle native and received her PhD in clinical psychology from Seattle Pacific University and her BA in psychology from the University of Washington. She has been actively involved in various projects focused on the treatment and prevention of childhood obesity since 2007. She loves music, movies and spending time outdoors.

Jason Mendoza, MD, MPH

Dr. Jason Mendoza has devoted his career to eliminating health inequities by the promotion of physical activity and healthy eating among low-income and racial/ethnic minority children or children with chronic diseases. He conducts community and school-based research on reducing sedentary activities, such as television viewing, and increasing physical activity, such as through the "walking school bus" and other "safe routes to school" programs. He also leads research on the influence of food insecurity on chronic diseases in children, such as HIV and diabetes.

Alan Waite, BA

Alan Waite is the clinical research associate for the walking school bus study at Seattle Children's Research Institute. Having grown up as a student in Seattle Public Schools, he enjoys the partnership with the district on the study. Alan received his BA in psychology from Whitworth University. Prior to joining Children's, he was the lead coordinator for a study focused on the criminal justice process in King County.

Research Assistants

Nasira Sharma

Mark Abbey-Lambertz

The research assistants are trained members of the research team and are involved in many parts of the research process. The research assistants are in charge of recruiting students and their parents to be part of the study, collecting data during assessments and managing data to ensure everything is complete and accurate. While research assistants may take on specific roles and responsibilities, they all work together as a team to ensure the study runs smoothly.