About the PSFP
Lifestyle Sections
Program Directors
About Dr. Jay Segal
Dr. Jay Segal is currently a Professor in the Department of Public Health at Temple University, where he provides leadership through his teaching, training and research. Dr. Segal’s expertise encompass a variety of contemporary health issues, including initiatives relating to obesity, stress management and lifestyle assessment. As an internationally recognized author and researcher on Stress Management and Health Promotion, Dr. Segal is best known for his Personalized Stress & Fitness Profile (PSFP).
He is also recognized for the research he has conducted about the five causes of stress, which has been used to counsel and provide stress-related training programs for healthcare providers, professional associations, and corporations nationwide. His clients have included groups such as The United States Senate, Merck Sharpe Dohme, Campbell's Soup, AT&T, US Healthcare, US Customs, The American Bar Association, Travelers Insurance, The Tropicana Hotel, The Department of Homeland Security and other large and small professional groups, universities, and business institutions.
About Dr. Dominique Ruggieri
Dr. Dominique Ruggieri works in the Department of Health Services at Saint Joseph's University, where her teaching and research specialties focus on healthy eating and exercise, health communication, and pediatric health issues. In addition to teaching a variety of classes at Temple University for 10 years, Dr. Ruggieri has had significant professional experiences at the Temple University Center for Obesity Research and Education (CORE), the Risk Communication Laboratory (RCL) at Temple University, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) Bioterrorism Unit, and the Fox Chase Cancer Center. Her work in “tailored health messaging” is the cornerstone of her enormously successful programs and courses. Dr. Ruggieri’s major areas of research focus on parental perceptions of body mass index (BMI) report cards and lifestyle factors affecting healthy eating and weight management.
Dr. Ruggieri’s work in the areas of healthy eating and weight management has fostered a strong interest in the numerous lifestyle factors that influence our health decisions. Although there are a variety of factors that are unique to everyone, some consistent lifestyle factors often appear to influence these choices: coping styles, time management skills, social interaction and assertiveness, exercise habits, nutrient density of one’s diet, and causes of stress. While lifestyle factors are not traditionally coupled with dietary interventions, Dr. Ruggieri believes that an initial assessment of lifestyle (The PSFP) can greatly improve the tailoring of a healthy eating program and one’s likelihood to make healthy choices. Dr. Ruggieri is best known for the development of her “user friendly” dietary communication tools to assist people in understanding sometimes complex dietary issues including trans fats, fiber, high fructose corn syrup, processed foods and food enrichment. Dr. Dom's Daily Dishes are the foundation of HEP's Healthy Eating workshops and training for corporations, organizations and governmental agencies on a local, regional and national level.