The Science Board was formed in 2003 to ensure that the messages and programs of the Council are scientifically sound. The Board includes scholars who have made significant contributions to the research and science of physical activity, health, sports, and nutrition.
David Buchner, M.D., MPH, FACSM
Dr. Buchner is a Shahid and Ann Carlson Kahn Professor in Applied Health Sciences, in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, and a fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). His research interests include physical activity and aging, and environmental and policies approaches to promotion of physical activity.
Diane L. Gill, Ph.D.
Dr. Gill is a professor in the Department of Kinesiology and the Linda Arnold Carlisle Distinguished Excellence Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her research emphasizes social psychology and physical activity, with a focus on physical activity and psychological well-being. Current research efforts focus on physical activity and quality of life within the context of community-based programs. Her scholarly publications include the text, Psychological Dynamics of Sport and Exercise, several book chapters, and over 100 journal articles.
Linda Houtkooper, Ph.D., RD, FACSM
Dr. Houtkooper is an Associate Director of Arizona Cooperative Extension and a Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Arizona. Her research and educational programs focus on the relationships of nutrition and physical activity to bone health, obesity prevention, fitness promotion, and sports performance. She is a member of the editorial board for the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism and the ACSM's Health and Fitness Journal.
Rachel K. Johnson, Ph.D., MPH, RD
Dr. Johnson is a Professor of Nutrition and Professor of Medicine at the University of Vermont. Dr. Johnson's research focuses on pediatric nutrition and obesity as well as national nutrition policy. Dr. Johnson was appointed by the U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services to the 2000 U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. She served on a panel for the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) for the National Academy of Sciences-Institute of Medicine.
Peter T. Katzmarzyk, Ph.D., FACSM, FAHA
Dr. Katzmarzyk is currently a professor and the Associate Executive Director for Population Science at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He also holds the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority Endowed Chair in Nutrition. His main research interest is the epidemiology and public health impact of obesity and physical inactivity, and determining the relationships between physical activity, physical fitness, obesity and related disorders such as metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, particularly in children and youth. Dr. Katzmarzyk is currently an editorial board member for the International Journal of Obesity, International Journal of Pediatric Obesity, Journal of Physical Activity and Health, and Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders.
Dr. Harold W. (Bill) Kohl, III
Dr. Kohl is Professor of Epidemiology and Kinesiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center - Houston School of Public Health, Austin Regional Campus and the University of Texas, Austin. Prior to this appointment, he served as Lead Epidemiologist and Team Leader in the Physical Activity and Health Branch of the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. He has worked since 1984 in the area of physical activity and health, including conducting research, developing and evaluating intervention programs for adults and children, and developing and advising on policy issues. He is the founding president of the International Society for Physical Activity and Health. He is currently Co-Editor of the Journal of Physical Activity and Health.
Melinda M. Manore, Ph.D., RD, CSSD
Dr. Manore is a Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Sciences at Oregon State University. Her primary research interests are the interaction of nutrition and exercise on health and performance. Dr. Manore serves on a number of Editorial Boards and is currently Vice President for the ACSM.
Jeffrey Mechanick, M.D., FACP, FACE, FACN
Dr. Jeffrey Mechanick is Clinical Professor of Medicine and Director of Metabolic Support in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Mechanick's research interests range from predictive modeling in critical illness, to thyroid cancer, metabolic bone disease, diabetes, and nutrition. He is responsible for training endocrine fellows at Mount Sinai in nutrition and metabolic support.
Miriam E. Nelson, Ph.D., FACSM
Dr. Nelson is Professor of Nutrition at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and founder and Director of the John Hancock Research Center on Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Obesity Prevention at Tufts University. Dr. Nelson's research interests include women's health and obesity prevention. She founded the StrongWomen Initiative, a community based nutrition and exercise program for midlife and older women. She served on the advisory committees for the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (committee vice chair) and the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Patricia Patterson, Ph.D.
Dr. Patterson is a professor of Kinesiology at San Diego State University. Her primary focus is on measurement of fitness and physical activity. She has several peer-reviewed publications and presentations on measurement and assessment issues among children and in specific sport contexts. She has served as a reviewer for several publications including, currently, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport and Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science. Dr. Patterson is a Fellow of the Research Consortium of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance National Council for Measurement and Evaluation.
Karin Pfeiffer, Ph.D., FACSM
Dr. Pfeiffer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and faculty in the Center for Physical Activity and Health at Michigan State University. She has been studying physical activity and health-related fitness in children and youth for the past 16 years. She has experience working with age groups ranging from preschool through college. Her main areas of expertise are in measurement of physical activity and interventions to increase physical activity. Dr. Pfeiffer was recently elected to the Board of Trustees for the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and she currently serves on the Leadership Board for the National Youth Sports Health and Safety Institute.
James Pivarnik, Ph.D., FACSM
Dr. Pivarnik is a Professor of Kinesiology and Epidemiology & Biostatistics at Michigan State University, where he directs the Center for Physical Activity and Health and serves as a University Research Integrity Officer. As an exercise physiologist and epidemiologist, his focus is on the role of physical activity in reducing the risk factors for chronic disease development and the morbidity and mortality of those suffering from these conditions. Dr. Pivarnik is immediate past president of the ACSM and a leader of the ACSM "Exercise is Medicine™ On Campus" initiative.
Sharon L. Shields, Ph.D.
Dr. Shields is Associate Dean for Professional Development and Professor in Peabody College at Vanderbilt University. Her career has focused on teaching, clinical research, and practice in the areas of exercise physiology, health promotion and disease prevention, community health, and university/community service-learning and civic engagement initiatives. She was co-founder and Program Director of the Kim Dayani Human Performance Center at Vanderbilt Medical Center. Her most recent scholarly work focused on community development and action research projects and initiatives related to physical activity, nutrition, health promotion, and disease risk reduction, in both rural and urban settings.
Linda V. Van Horn, Ph.D., RD
Dr. Van Horn is a tenured Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine, and Associate Dean for Faculty Development in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, Chicago. Dr. Van Horn's expertise extends across many areas of nutrition research, medical nutrition education, and public health policy relevant to the work of the 2010 U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. She specializes in research on women and children. Since 2003 Dr. Van Horn has been the Editor of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
Hans van der Mars, Ph.D., FAAKPE
Dr. van der Mars is a Full Professor at Arizona State University, where he is actively involved in the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degree programs in Physical Education Teacher Education-Sport Pedagogy. His research has focused on Sport Pedagogy/Physical Education Teacher Education. Dr. van der Mars is a Fellow in the Research Consortium of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education & Recreation.
Stella Lucia Volpe, Ph.D., RD, LDN, FACSM
Dr. Volpe is Professor and Chair of the Department of Nutrition Sciences at Drexel University. She is both an exercise physiologist and a nutritionist, and certified by the ACSM as an Exercise Specialist. Dr. Volpe's research interests include prevention of obesity and diabetes across the lifespan using exercise and nutrition interventions that include ecological and clinical/applied approaches.
