Dudley & Beverly Coates Endowed Professor,Pennington Biomedical Research CenterDirector, PBRC Behavior Technology Laboratory

Hometown: Born in Lake Charles, raised in FloridaAge: 45Family: Married to spouse Devin LemoineYears with company: 18

Tiffany Stewart admits to having two favorite words, both of which say a lot about this respected clinical psychologist and research scientists secret to success. The first is resiliencea trait Stewart is driven to understand in human beings. Discovering what makes people physically and mentally resilient, or why they struggle to adapt, has been an underlying focus of her research for more than two decades.

Stewarts other favorite word, equanimity, reveals something about how she has personally achieved resiliency. Equanimity, she says, is a psychological state in which one manages to find composure and calm even in the eye of the storm. Aiming for equanimity means its OK that things dont always go the way you had expected. And sometimes, they can turn out better, not worse.

Fueled by those guiding principles, Stewart has spent her career pioneering translational research programs, or programs that push scientific research from labs and journals into the hands of everyday people who need it. As director of Penningtons Behavior Technology Laboratory, Stewart finds ways of improving health through behavioral change strategies, notably technology. Stewart spent years developing and testing e-health technologies that were ahead of their time, including programs that help keep Army troops and NCAA athletes functioning at their optimum, both physically and mentally.

Earlier this year, Stewart led the launch of the Pennington Diabetes Clinic, the research centers first treatment clinic for patients struggling with obesity and Type 2 diabetes in Louisiana. Using 30 years of research science conducted at Pennington, the clinic, which works with Medicaid patients, is a model for treatment of obesity and diabetes, costly conditions that affect communities across the globe. If successful, Stewart and her team aim to scale the clinics approach and expand its application beyond Louisiana.

Originally from Lake Charles, Stewarts interest in science, psychology and understanding what drives human behavior was cultivated in her youth. She recalls winning top honors for a science project on Type 2 diabetes in sixth grade, an award she still keeps in her office. Later, as a competitive gymnast, Stewart also learned how demoralizing a career-ending injury could be when she suffered one herselfand what such an experience could teach serious athletes about bouncing back. Both experiences were bellwethers for her professional pursuits.

After earning an undergraduate degree in psychology from Florida State University, Stewart chose to pursue her doctorate at LSU in large part because of Penningtons worldwide reputation. She became a faculty member at the research center the same day her dissertation was accepted, embarking on a professional journey that has seen her secure nearly $20 million in funding to pursue groundbreaking work. She has worked with the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense to execute large, multisite projects that have included the development and deployment of new behavior change technologies, including a program she created for Army soldiers and their families that tracks nutrition, fitness and sleep. These factors greatly influence how people can bounce back after physically and mentally taxing situations. Stewart has also developed programs that support nutrition, fitness and sleep in children and in the ability of NCAA female athletes to endure abrupt changes, including injuries and transitioning to life after competition.

Stewart loves the endless exploration that science affords, but she approaches her work with a keen sense of business.

Ultimately, there are people out there who can use the science, she says. Thinking about them as actual customers and receivers of this information is a very important part of it.

2002: Graduates from LSU with doctorate in clinical psychology; joins the faculty at Pennington Biomedical; becomes assistant director of OLOL hospital inpatient unit for eating disorder treatment.

2004: $4.5 million grant awarded by the Department of Defense kicks off the first Army study examining the use of an internet-based program, Army H.E.A.L.T.H., for nutrition and fitness for the U.S. Army at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

2009: $8.2 million grant secured from the Department of Defense builds on prior success and the first smartphone app-based program is developed for use with the Louisiana National Guard to tackle behavioral nutrition, fitness, sleep, and mental resilience.

2012: $2.3 million grant awarded from the National Institutes of Health to prevent eating disorders and boost mental health in NCAA female athletes; receives Patriotic Employer Award from Office of the Secretary of Defense.

2015: Named the Dudley & Beverly Coates Endowed Professor; receives Louisiana Legislative Caucus Women of Excellence Award for Health & Medicine; Army app program is scaled and used Army-wide.

2016-2017: Develops the Athlete S.C.O.R.E. program to target physical and mental health and resilience in athletes transitioning from competitive sports; TEDxLSU speaker.

2019-2020: Launches program at the Knock-Knock Museum for kids targeting nutrition, fitness, body appreciation and mental resilience in partnership with Mayor Broomes Healthy Baton Rouge initiative; receives LSUs Esprit de Femme Award; establishes the Diabetes Clinic at Pennington Biomedical.

Best adviceShow up no matter what. You miss 100% of opportunities if you are not present. That includes physical and/or mental presence.

Necessary workplace changeEqual regard and equal pay. This community has women visionaries that have made significant and impactful contributions. Despite progress, we still need more representation at the leadership table in most of our organizations.

Advice for young womenAt the end of the day, this journey is a balance of grit and gracedont think you cant be what you cant see. The numbers we chase (that may define traditional versions of success) often dont measure what we are actually capable of in our work. Summon your courage and forge the path.

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Tiffany Stewart: 2020 Influential Women in Business - Greater Baton Rouge Business Report