Physical Activity & Public Health
Postgraduate Course on Research Directions and Strategies
to September 11-18, 2024

Description

This 7-day course serves post-doctoral personnel and is designed to develop research competencies related to physical activity and public health.  Topics include grantsmanship skills; research funding opportunities; measurement of physical activity; design of epidemiologic studies; clinical trials; dose-response issues; individual, institutional, community, and policy interventions; dissemination and implementation research; health disparities and numerous special topics.  Instructional techniques include lectures, small group discussions, individual meetings with faculty, and individual grant writing projects.

Course Director: Russell R. Pate, PhD, Professor, Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina.

Faculty

Faculty for the 7-day course consist of a panel of leading researchers in physical activity and include:

Michael Beets, PhD – University of South Carolina
David Berrigan, PhD, MPH – National Cancer Institute
Jamie Chriqui, PhD, MHS – University of Illinois Chicago
David Conroy, PhD  – Pennsylvania State University
Loretta DiPietro, PhD, MPH – George Washington University
Paul Estabrooks, PhD – University of Utah
Kelly Evenson, PhD – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Andy Kaczynski, PhD – University of South Carolina
Bill Kraus, MD – Duke University
David Marquez, PhD – University of Illinois Chicago
Brooke McKeever, PhD – University of Alabama
Amanda Paluch, PhD – University of Massachusetts Amherst
Christine Pellegrini, PhD – University of South Carolina
Jim Sallis, PhD – University of California San Diego
Michelle Segar, PhD – University of Michigan
Damon Swift, PhD – University of Virginia
Rachel Tabak, PhD, RD – Washington University
Richard Troiano, PhD – U.S. Public Health Service (Retired)
Greg Welk, PhD – Iowa State University
Geoffrey Whitfield, PhD – U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Sara Wilcox, PhD – University of South Carolina

Testimonials

Here’s what past participants have said about the Postgraduate Course on Research Directions & Strategies.

State of the art research; excellent overview of field and links with public health; great networking with faculty/experts; good overview of funding opportunities; excellent constructive feedback and support

Great faculty who were willing to talk; sessions were well-planned and focused; the environment was very supportive which was important for many of us who were struggling in the first few years of our career.

The strength of the course was the quality of the people. It was fantastic to learn from the experts (and budding experts) in the field.

The course helped me see the true breadth of work and key multidisciplinary interactions of physical activity research.

It is one of the BEST experiences I have had in my professional world!

The one-on-one contact with experts — Unbelievable.

I feel like I can now connect the dots between basic exercise science, to individual level interventions, to population surveillance and environment/policy practice.

Getting to connect on a more personal level with the researchers was a key strength of the course.

Participation in this course will absolutely positively influence my future professional activities, and I will be recommending this course to others for years to come.

I believe this was the single most beneficial training experience I have had to date and that the knowledge gained and connections made will serve me well throughout my career.