Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Report
Subcommittee Assignments & Biographical Sketches

• Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Subcommittee Assignments
• Biographical Sketches of the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Members
  • William L. Haskell, PhD, Chair
  • Miriam E. Nelson, PhD, Vice Chair
  • Rod K. Dishman, PhD
  • Edward T. Howley, PhD
  • Wendy M. Kohrt, PhD
  • William E. Kraus, MD
  • I-Min Lee, MBBS, ScD
  • Anne McTiernan, MD, PhD
  • Russell R. Pate, PhD
  • Kenneth E. Powell, MD, MPH
  • Judith G. Regensteiner, PhD
  • James H. Rimmer, PhD
  • Antronette K. (Toni) Yancey, MD, MPH

Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee
Subcommittee Assignments

Biographical Sketches of the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Members

William L. Haskell, PhD, Chair

Dr. Haskell is Professor of Medicine (Active Emeritus), Stanford University School of Medicine. He received his PhD in exercise physiology from the University of Illinois. Professor Haskell has spent 40 years conducting research investigating the effects of habitual physical activity on health and performance, especially in the areas of chronic disease prevention, cardiac rehabilitation, and assessment of physical activity in free-living populations. He is an author on more than 350 scientific articles, chapters, and books. In addition to this research experience, he has participated in the development of guidelines for physical activity and health by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), American Heart Association (AHA), American College of Cardiology, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). His professional recognitions include an Honorary Doctor of Medicine from Linkoping University, (Sweden); Honorary Member, Order of the Horse Collar Knights, University of Kuopio (Finland); the Honor Award for lifetime achievement from the American College of Sports Medicine; Science Honor Award for 2007, the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports; and the Lifetime Achievement Award, University of California at Santa Barbara Alumni Association. He continues to be actively involved in physical activity and health research and development and dissemination of educational materials for health professionals and the public.

Miriam E. Nelson, PhD, Vice Chair

Dr. Nelson is Director of the John Hancock Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition and associate professor of Nutrition at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. She is also an adjunct faculty member of Tufts University’s Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service. Dr. Nelson received her PhD in nutrition from Tufts University.

For the past 20 years, Dr. Nelson has been Principal Investigator of studies on exercise and nutrition supported by grants from the Federal government and private foundations. Her research has focused on midlife and older adult health, with an emphasis on women. She has directed and collaborated on many studies examining the effects of strength training, endurance exercise, and balance training on reducing risk and/or minimizing symptoms of chronic disease and functional decline. Key areas of interest include bone health, arthritis, frailty, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and sarcopenia. Recently, Dr. Nelson chaired an ACSM/AHA committee to develop recommendations for physical activity for older adults. The report was published in 2007.
Dr. Nelson has been recognized for her scientific contributions by a number of organizations. Following her doctoral research, Dr. Nelson received an American Association for the Advancement of Science Congressional research fellowship, allowing her to work for Senator Patrick Leahy from Vermont on issues related to health and human services. In 1994, she was named a Brookdale National Fellow, an award given to future leaders in the field of aging. Dr. Nelson is also a fellow of the ACSM. She is a frequent writer and public speaker to consumer audiences on physical activity and health issues.

Rod K. Dishman, PhD

Dr. Dishman is Professor of Kinesiology and Adjunct Professor of Psychology at the University of Georgia. He received his PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has focused his research on neurobiological aspects of the mental health outcomes associated with physical activity and on behavioral determinants of physical activity. His research has been funded by the NIH, CDC, the AHA, and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). Dr. Dishman is a fellow of the ACSM, the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education. He has served as a consultant on exercise to the NIH, CDC, the Sports Medicine Council for the USOC, and the Olympic Prize subcommittee of the Medical Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Dr. Dishman was one of 22 founding members of the IOC’s Olympic Academy of Sport Sciences. He was a contributor to Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General and was a member of the writing committee for the ACSM Position Stand, The Recommended Quantity and Quality of Exercise for Developing and Maintaining Cardiorespiratory and Muscular Fitness and Flexibility in Healthy Adults.

Edward T. Howley, PhD

Dr. Howley received his PhD degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He completed a 1-year postdoctoral appointment at Pennsylvania State University and then joined the faculty of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). Dr. Howley taught classes in exercise physiology and in fitness testing and prescription, and has co-authored textbooks in both areas. He recently retired from UTK after 37 years of service and holds the rank of Professor Emeritus.

Dr. Howley’s research interests include metabolic and hormonal responses to exercise, caloric cost of various physical activities, and the interaction of exercise and diet on weight loss. He has published more than 60 research articles.

Most of Dr. Howley’s volunteer efforts have been with the ACSM. He was actively involved in the development of ACSM certification programs, was an associate editor of the 6th edition of the ACSM Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, and served as ACSM President in 2002-2003. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal and chairs the program planning committee for the annual ACSM Health & Fitness Summit meeting. He also served as a member of the Science Board of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (2005-2007). Dr. Howley worked at the local level as the co-chair of the East Tennessee 2 Step Healthy Weight Initiative, a 12‑month collaboration between the University of Tennessee, the Knox County Health Department, and the East Tennessee Regional Health Office. In 2007, Dr. Howley was recognized for his contributions with the ACSM Citation Award.

Wendy M. Kohrt, PhD

Dr. Kohrt is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Colorado Denver. Dr. Kohrt has conducted clinical intervention studies aimed at understanding the health benefits of physical activity in older people for more than 20 years. Her research focuses on reducing risk for chronic diseases and conditions, such as osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, abdominal obesity, and physical disability. She established the Investigations in Metabolism, Aging, Gender, and Exercise (IMAGE) research group at the University of Colorado Denver, which has the mission to be a national leader in aging research focused on the prevention of disease and the maintenance of functional independence in old age. Dr. Kohrt chaired the writing committee for the 2004 ACSM Position Stand on Physical Activity and Bone Health. She also is an invited member of the Isis Fund Network on Musculoskeletal Health established by the Society for Women’s Health Research.

William E. Kraus, MD

Dr. Kraus is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine; Professor, School of Nursing; and Assistant Professor of Cell Biology at Duke University. He obtained his AB in astronomy and astrophysics from Harvard College in 1977 and his MD from Duke University in 1983. One goal of his research is to understand the cellular signaling mechanisms underlying the normal adaptive responses of skeletal muscle to physiologic stimuli, such as occur in exercise conditioning, and to understand the abnormal maladaptive responses to pathophysiologic stimuli, such as occur in congestive heart failure, aging, and prolonged exposure to microgravity. Dr. Kraus also is Director for Clinical Research at the Duke Center for Living, a multidisciplinary treatment and research facility dedicated to the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, and he is Medical Director of the Duke Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. Dr. Kraus is a Fellow of the AHA, the American College of Cardiology, and the ACSM. He is Chair of the AHA’s Physical Activity Committee of the Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism Council.

I-Min Lee, MBBS, ScD

Dr. Lee is Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. She was born in Malaysia, schooled there, and received her medical degree from the National University of Singapore. She received a master’s degree in public health and a doctoral degree in epidemiology, both from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Dr. Lee’s research interests focus on the role of physical activity in preventing chronic diseases, in enhancing longevity, and in women’s health. She has published more than 190 scientific publications. She has served on several expert committees addressing physical activity and health, including the committee writing the 1996 report Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General, the committee writing the 7th edition of the ACSM’s guidelines for exercise testing and prescription in 2006, and the CDC/World Health Organization Collaborating Center Committee on developing and disseminating global physical activity recommendations in 2008.

Additionally, Dr. Lee is on the Editorial Boards of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise and Harvard Women’s Health Watch. Among the honors she has received for her work on physical activity and health are the Young Epidemiologist Award in 1999 by the Royal Society of Medicine, United Kingdom; and the William G. Anderson Award in 2007 from the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. She is an elected member of the American Epidemiological Society and a fellow of the ACSM.

Anne McTiernan, MD, PhD

Dr. McTiernan is a faculty member in the Division of Public Health Sciences and Director of the Prevention Center at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, and a Research Professor in the University of Washington Schools of Medicine and Public Health and Community Medicine. Dr. McTiernan’s research focuses on identifying ways to prevent new or recurrent breast cancer and colorectal cancer, especially with physical activity, obesity prevention, and chemoprevention. She is Principal Investigator of several clinical trial and cohort studies investigating the associations among exercise, diet, body weight, hormones, chemoprevention agents, and risk of cancer incidence and prognosis. She is Principal Investigator of the Seattle Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (TREC) program, which includes more than 25 scientists conducting research on mechanisms linking obesity and inactivity with cancer, and on obesity prevention. Dr. McTiernan is an elected Fellow of the ACSM, the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, and the American College of Epidemiology. Dr. McTiernan has published widely in major medical journals and is lead author of the book, Breast Fitness: An Optimal Exercise and Health Plan for Reducing Your Risk of Breast Cancer and editor of Cancer Prevention and Management Through Exercise and Weight Control. She has served on several national and international health advisory boards and working groups, including those of the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s Handbook of Cancer Prevention Vol. 6: Weight Control and Physical Activity and the American Cancer Society’s Guidelines for Nutrition and Physical Activity and Prevention of Cancer.

Russell R. Pate, PhD

Dr. Pate received his BS from Springfield College and his master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Oregon. In 1974, he joined the faculty of the University of South Carolina, where he now serves as Associate Vice President for Health Sciences and Professor in the Department of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health.

Dr. Pate is an exercise physiologist whose research focuses on physical activity and physical fitness in children and the health implications of physical activity. He has published more than 170 scholarly papers and has authored or edited 5 books. His research has been supported by the NIH, the CDC, the AHA, and several private foundations and corporations. He heads a research team that currently is conducting research on physical activity and physical activity interventions in preschool children and in middle school girls. He coordinated the development of the 1995 landmark recommendation on Physical Activity and Public Health by the CDC and ACSM. He served on the 2005 U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, and on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) panel that developed guidelines for the prevention of childhood obesity.

Dr. Pate has served in several leadership positions with the ACSM, and in 1993-1994 served as that organization’s president. In 1996, he received the Citation Award from ACSM, and in 1999 he received the Alliance Scholar Award from the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

Kenneth E. Powell, MD, MPH

Dr. Powell is a public health and epidemiologic consultant in Atlanta, Georgia. He holds degrees from Harvard College (AB), Northwestern University Medical School (MD), and Harvard School of Public Health (MPH), and received postgraduate clinical training in internal medicine at the University of Colorado and the University of Utah. He was an epidemiologist with the CDC for 25 years and with the Georgia Department of Human Resources for nearly 8 years. The relationship between physical activity and health has been an important theme during his career. He initiated the CDC’s epidemiologic work in the area by leading a consolidation of the scientific literature and setting the public health research agenda. He also participated in the development of the first nationwide surveillance of physical activity and the development of the physical activity-related objectives for the US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Healthy People 2000. He served on the Committee on Physical Activity, Health, Transportation, and Land Use and the Committee on Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity for the IOM, and is a member of the Physical Activity Work Group for the Task Force for the Guide to Community Preventive Services. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, American College of Epidemiology, and ACSM.

Judith G. Regensteiner, PhD

Dr. Regensteiner is a Professor in the Divisions of Internal Medicine and Cardiology in the School of Medicine at the University of Colorado Denver. She is Director of the Center for Women’s Health Research at that university and has strong research interests in this area, especially with relevance to cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Her expertise is in cardiovascular physiology, functional assessment (exercise testing and questionnaire design/evaluation), and exercise training in people with chronic diseases. She has been Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator of several previous and ongoing large grants from the AHA, NIH, and American Diabetes Association (ADA) to assess exercise performance, functional capacity, and the effects of exercise training in persons with diabetes and peripheral arterial disease. In addition, she is Principal Investigator of the Building Interdisciplinary Careers in Women’s Health program that is funded by a K12 award from NIH. She has been involved with the San Luis Valley Diabetes Study in non-diabetics and persons with impaired glucose tolerance. She also was an investigator in the Diabetes Prevention Program and is currently an investigator of the Look AHEAD study (both multicenter studies from NIH). She developed and validated the Low Level version of the Physical Activity Recall (LOPAR), which was used as a secondary outcome measure in the Diabetes Prevention Program. Dr. Regensteiner has been involved in writing a consensus statement for the ADA addressing the appropriate, evidence-based treatment of persons with diabetes and peripheral arterial disease and in developing for the AHA clinical data standards for treating peripheral arterial disease patients.

James H. Rimmer, PhD

Dr. Rimmer is Professor in the Department of Disability and Human Development, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. He is Director of two federally funded Centers, the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability (funded by CDC) and the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Recreational Technologies and Exercise Physiology Benefiting Persons With Disabilities (funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research). Dr. Rimmer’s research has focused on the effects of physical activity and nutrition on reduction of secondary conditions, including obesity and deconditioning, in adults and youth with physical and cognitive disabilities. He has published more than 90 manuscripts and book chapters and given more than 100 invited presentations to national and international audiences on topics related to physical activity, health promotion, rehabilitation engineering, secondary conditions, and disability. He also is Principal Investigator of a 5-year NIH clinical trial examining the impact of the built environment on obesity in people with mobility disabilities. Dr. Rimmer was recently appointed by HHS Secretary Leavitt to the Board of Scientific Counselors of the Coordinating Center for Health Promotion of the CDC.

Antronette K. (Toni) Yancey , MD, MPH

Dr. Yancey is currently Professor, Department of Health Services, and Principal Investigator of the CDC-funded Center of Excellence in the Elimination of Disparities, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Public Health. She returned to academia full time in 2001 after 5 years in public health practice, first as Director of Public Health, Richmond, Virginia, and, subsequently, as Director of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Dr. Yancey has authored more than 100 scientific publications, including 70 refereed journal articles and editorials. She also has been Principal Investigator on 4 NIH independent investigator (R01, R24) grants. Dr. Yancey’s work has been cited by the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, ABC, NBC, CBS, NPR, and many other media outlets nationally and internationally. She serves on the AHA Physical Activity Subcommittee, and until recently, on the Advisory Committee to the Director of the CDC and the IOM committee authoring the report, Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: How Do We Measure Up? She chairs the Board of Directors of the California-based Public Health Institute. In 2005, Dr. Yancey was awarded the California Public Health Association’s first Health Promotion Award. Dr. Yancey received her BS in biochemistry and molecular biology from Northwestern University and her MD from Duke University. She completed her preventive medicine residency and MPH at UCLA.

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