Dr. Jowers directs two major grant projects, including the Texas Initiatives for Children’s Activity & Nutrition (I-CAN!) project, and the Walk Texas! Diabetes Prevention and Control Project. Texas I-CAN! is an obesity prevention project that aims to increase both physical activity and healthy eating in elementary school children. This project has been funded through the National Institutes of Health/ Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center for Child Development. The goal is to train elementary school teachers to incorporate physical activity into their academic lessons daily and to evaluate the corresponding physical activity changes and academic impact in the participating children. Walk Texas! is funded by the Department of State Health Services (DSHS)/Texas Diabetes Council/Program to provide diabetes prevention and technical assistance/expertise to state-funded community diabetes prevention projects. Dr. Jowers plays an integral role in the development and implementation of these two large research studies.