About

Marissa Burgermaster, PhD, is the Principal Investigator of the Burgermaster Lab, which is affiliated with the Department of Population Health at Dell Medical School and the Department of Nutritional Sciences in the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on health and nutrition, as indicated by her leadership role within the lab and its departmental affiliations. The lab's team includes various research assistants and students working under her guidance, contributing to projects related to population health and nutritional sciences. Further details about her specific research interests, background, or key contributions are not provided in the available page text.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Medicine
• Sociology
• Artificial Intelligence
• Applied psychology
• Data Mining
• Data science
• Knowledge management
• Human–computer interaction
• Social psychology
• Multimedia
• World Wide Web
• Gerontology
• Psychotherapist

Selected publications

• The effect of consuming diets containing beef compared with plant-based beef substitute on human milk composition in the study of nutrition in postpartum and early-life (SUPER) randomized crossover feeding trial

  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · 2025-11-17

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  BACKGROUND: Ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), including plant-based meat substitutes, are marketed as healthy alternatives to whole foods. However, little evidence exists regarding their effects on human milk composition, particularly how dietary UPFs might alter human milk fatty acids. OBJECTIVES: We tested whether replacing beef with an ultraprocessed plant-based beef substitute alters human milk fatty acid profiles. METHODS: In a double-blind, randomized, crossover feeding trial, 17 lactating females whose infants were fed only their milk completed 2 6-d diet phases separated by 6-d washout periods. Participants consumed 339 g (12 oz) daily of beef or plant-based substitute, depending on the diet phase. All meals were prepared in a metabolic kitchen and fully provided. Dietary compliance exceeded 95%. The final human milk samples collected on day 6 of each condition were analyzed for 27 fatty acids. Mean differences in fatty acid percentages were assessed with independent and paired t-tests for intervention food and human milk samples, respectively. Maternal weight, satiety, glucose response, and infant intake were also measured. RESULTS: Human milk collected during the substitute diet contained higher levels of tropical oil-derived medium-chain saturated fatty acids, such as lauric acid (12:0: 9.32 ± 1.8 compared with 4.47 ± 1.82, P < 0.001) and lower levels of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs), including arachidonic acid (20:4n-6: 0.35 ± 0.06 compared with 0.41 ± 0.06, P < 0.001) compared with milk form the beef diet. No significant differences were observed in maternal weight, satiety, glucose response, or infant intake. CONCLUSIONS: Replacing beef with plant-based UPF changed human milk fatty acid composition, reducing LCPUFAs and increasing tropical oil-derived saturated fats. These shifts may have implications for infant neurodevelopment and immune function, highlighting the need to distinguish between nutrient-equivalent and biologically equivalent foods in postpartum dietary guidance. This trial was registered at www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov as NCT06082921.

  PublisherDOI

• Exploring the Immigrant Paradox: Nativity, Ethnicity, and Postpartum Mental Health Among Latinas in Central Texas

  Journal of Primary Care & Community Health · 2025-07-01

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  BACKGROUND: Mental health conditions are a leading cause of maternal mortality. Within Latina ethnicity, being foreign-born has been associated with better health outcomes than being US born, but the relevance of this immigrant paradox to perinatal mental health remains underexplored. This study investigates whether ethnicity (Latina/non-Latina) and nativity (foreign vs. US born) are associated with differences in postpartum depression and anxiety within a sample of women in Central Texas. METHODS: We conducted a secondary analysis of a prospective observational cohort (n = 76). Participants completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) between 6 and 12 weeks postpartum. We performed stepwise forward linear regression models with log-transformed depression and anxiety scores. RESULTS: The mean GAD-7 score amongst all participants was 4.07 (SD = 4.72), and the mean EPDS score was 4.68 (SD = 5.21). Approximately 21% of participants met the clinical threshold for anxiety, and 10.8% met the clinical threshold for depression. Hispanic/Latina participants had 56% lower GAD-7 scores compared to non-Latina participants (95% CI: 0.29-0.67), and foreign-born participants had 39% lower GAD-7 scores compared to U.S. born participants (95% CI: 0.39-0.95). Nativity was not significantly associated with EPDS scores and was not retained in the final depression model. Hispanic/Latina participants had 43.1% lower EPDS scores than non-Latinas (95% CI: 0.38-0.86). All results are based on adjusted, log-transformed linear models. CONCLUSIONS: We found that Hispanic/Latina ethnicity was associated with lower postpartum anxiety and depression scores. Additionally, being foreign born was associated with lower postpartum anxiety scores. These findings suggest the immigrant paradox may apply to perinatal mental health outcomes among Latinas. Future research should explore within-group differences among Latinas and consider variables such as acculturation, immigration status, income, and country of origin.

  PublisherDOI

• Developing Psychosocial Phenotypes to Understand Engagement with Digital Health Technologies for Heart Failure

  npj Digital Medicine · 2025-12-04

  preprintOpen access

  Digital health technologies (DHTs) such as wearables, smartphones, and connected devices have immense potential for supporting self-care in chronic disease management, yet engagement remains highly variable and is often measured by usage metrics alone. Guided by the AIM-ACT framework, this mixed-methods study examined how psychosocial and contextual factors shape DHT engagement among 146 adults with heart failure who completed a 6-month digital intervention involving multiple devices (ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT05056129). Using k-medoids clustering of survey, ecological momentary assessment, and device-log data, we identified three distinct psychosocial phenotypes-Challenged Survivors, Activated Learners, Engaged Self-Regulators-reflecting differences in motivation, psychosocial resources, and interaction with DHTs. Qualitative interviews with 26 participants contextualized these phenotypes and revealed mechanisms linking psychosocial traits to DHT engagement quality. Findings underscore the value of psychosocial phenotyping for understanding heterogeneity in DHT engagement to inform the design of adaptive and equitable digital interventions that remain effective as they scale across diverse populations.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Fiber Intake in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

  Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology · 2025-10-13

  article

  GOALS: To assess if patients were meeting dietary fiber recommendations and compare intake between those with active versus inactive IBD, and between Crohn's (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). BACKGROUND: Fiber is an important component of the diet to maintain a healthy gut, including in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). STUDY: A prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional study of eating habits was performed in 2 academic gastroenterology practices. Patients completed a food frequency questionnaire to assess fiber intake. Objective evidence of disease activity was assessed through fecal calprotectin, endoscopy or cross-sectional imaging. High fiber diets were those with ≥30 g/day for men or ≥25 g/day for women. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess predictors of high fiber intake. RESULTS: Of 117 patients (71 CD, 43 UC, 3 IBDU), only 26% of patients were consuming high fiber diets. Average dietary fiber intake was lower for patients with active disease versus inactive disease (19 g vs. 24 g, P=0.0048) but on subgroup analysis this remained significant in UC (13 g vs. 22 g, P=0.0044) but not CD (21 g vs. 24 g, P=0.38). Increased education on nutrition was the most important predictor of eating a high fiber diet. CONCLUSIONS: While most IBD patients are not eating high fiber diets, dietary fiber intake is likely similar to the average American diet. Fiber consumption is lower for IBD patients with active disease, particularly for patients with UC. Given education is the best predictor for consuming a high fiber diet, increased education efforts on the benefits of fiber should improve dietary fiber intake.

  PublisherDOI

• Pilot Trial of Nutri, a Digital Intervention for Personalized Dietary Management of Diabetes in Safety-Net Primary Care

  Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior · 2025-05-26 · 3 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Breast Milk Saturated Fatty Acids Are Directly Influenced by Dietary Intake: A Test of Beef Versus Coconut Oil-Based Substitute Beef

  Current Developments in Nutrition · 2025-05-01

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Parental Weaning Style Intent vs Reality: What Factors Affect If a Parent Intends and Completes Baby-led Weaning, Mixed Weaning, or Traditional Weaning

  Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · 2025-09-23

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Integrating ASA24 Into a Data-Driven Nutrition Education Intervention in Community Health Center Clinics

  Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior · 2025-09-27

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• The Relationship Between Food Insecurity, Nutrition Security, Perceived Limited Availability, and Utilization Barriers

  Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior · 2025-08-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Designing a Clinical Decision Support System to Improve Education Material Quality: Dietitians’ Design Needs for Successful Integration into Practice

  Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · 2025-09-23

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• David S. Seres

  23 shared

• Lena Mamykina

  19 shared

• Pamela Koch

  17 shared

• Kate G. Burt

  City University of New York

  17 shared

• Isobel R. Contento

  Columbia University

  16 shared

• Dagny Larson

  13 shared

• David J. Albers

  University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

  13 shared

• Lisa M. Klesges

  Washington University in St. Louis

  11 shared

Labs

• Burgermaster LabPI

Education

• PhD, Behavioral Nutrition

  Columbia University

  2015

• MS, Nutrition and Food Science

  Montclair State University

  2012

• MAEd, Curriculum & Instruction

  College of William and Mary

  2004

• BA, Psychology, Music

  College of William and Mary

  2002

Awards & honors

• Early Career Award from the New York Academy of Sciences Nut…