MEET THE TEAM

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DIRECTOR

Rebecca Hasson, PhD

As Director of the Michigan Childhood Disparities Research Laboratory, Dr. Rebecca Hasson enjoys using her expertise in pediatric physical activity, implementation science, and health equity research to improve the health and well-being of children and their families across the state of Michigan. For the past eight years, Dr. Hasson’s research has focused on the development and implementation of physical activity interventions in school and home environments, especially for low-income and ethnic minority pediatric populations. As Principal Investigator of the “Interrupting Prolonged sitting with ACTivity” (InPACT) program, she has rigorously tested the feasibility of implementing InPACT activity breaks in classroom settings; tailored InPACT to enhance implementation fidelity and flexibility; augmented InPACT sustainability by strengthening district wellness policies; and adapted InPACT for dissemination in the home environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together with organizational partners across the state, Dr. Hasson has made it her mission to get children, teachers, families and communities moving again.  For more information about Dr. Hasson's research accomplishments click here. 

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RESEARCH STAFF

Melia Schliebe, BS

Melia is a recent graduate from the School of Kinesiology (Class of 2020). She is a research assistant on the InPACT at School and InPACT at Home projects. She is specifically interested in the use of physical activity as a preventative intervention for negative health outcomes in children. 

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GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTS

Lexie Beemer, PhDc

Lexie is a fourth year Ph.D. student studying Movement Science in the School of Kinesiology. Her academic focus centers on the implementation of classroom-based and home-based pediatric physical activity interventions with the goal of decreasing disparities in access to physical activity opportunities. She is a graduate research assistant working on the Interrupting Prolonged Sitting with ACTivity (InPACT) at School and InPACT at Home projects and ExHALE study. For more information about Lexie's research accomplishments click here.

 

 

Penelope Friday, MPH

is a first-year PhD student at the University of Michigan within the School of Kinesiology. She attended Michigan State University for her undergraduate degree in Kinesiology and Indiana University-Bloomington for her Master of Public Health. She worked for three years as the Childhood Obesity Prevention Coordinator for the Indiana Department of Health focusing on school and early childhood education wellness initiatives to child health. Her long-term goal is improving the quality and quantity of physical activity of school-aged children through policy, system and environment approaches.

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UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTS

Anna Schwartz

Anna is a senior studying Movement Science in the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology. Her research interests include developing innovative strategies to promote physical activity in elementary school classrooms and for children with asthma. Anna is an undergraduate research assistant working on the ExHALE, InPACT at School, and InPACT at Home projects. 

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Brigid O'Brien

Brigid is a senior studying Movement Science in the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology. She is an undergraduate research assistant working mainly on the InPACT at School and InPACT at Home projects and is planning on pursuing pediatric sports medicine. 

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Jonel Emlaw

Jonel is a senior studying Movement Science in the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology. She is an undergraduate research assistant writing a manuscript on the SODA dataset and assisting on the InPACT at Home and InPACT at School projects. Her research interests include expanding representation in healthcare, and understanding children and adolescent health behaviors in order to promote long term health. 

 

 

 

Sruti Ramamoorthy

Sruti is a junior studying Movement Science at the University of Michigan's School of Kinesiology. Her research interests involve utilizing both innovation and technology to make physical activity more engaging for children. She is an undergraduate research assistant working on the InPACT at Home project. 

 

 

 

 

Mariam Habring

Mariam is a freshman studying biology in the School of LSA. Her academic focus is around pediatrics, and how implementing InPACT can improve the health and physical activity of children. She is participating in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program student working on the InPACT at Home project. 

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