Steven N. Blair, PED, was a distinguished professor emeritus in the departments of exercise science and epidemiology and biostatistics at the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina. His research focused on the associations between lifestyle and health, with a specific emphasis on exercise, physical fitness, body composition, and chronic disease. Listed as one of the world’s most influential scientific minds by Thomson Reuters, Blair published more than 700 papers and chapters in scientific literature. With over 60,000 citations of his body of work (h-index of 114), he was one of the most highly cited exercise scientists.
Blair was a fellow of the American College of Epidemiology, Society of Behavioral Medicine, American College of Sports Medicine, American Heart Association, Obesity Society, and European Society of Preventive Medicine. He was a retired fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine–London and the National Academy of Kinesiology A past president of the American College of Sports Medicine, National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity, and the National Academy of Kinesiology, he received four honorary doctoral degrees. He received awards from many professional associations, including a MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health, an Honor Award from the American College of Sports Medicine, and a Population Science Award from the American Heart Association. He was one of the few individuals outside the U.S. Public Health Service to be awarded the Surgeon General's Medallion.
Steven Blair passed away in 2023.
Andrea L. Dunn, PhD, is an emeritus senior scientist from Klein Buendel in Golden, Colorado, where she conducted research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) aimed at dissemination of evidence-based programs through uses of technology, including websites and Internet-based television. Prior to her time at Klein Buendel, she served at The Cooper Institute as an investigator of several NIH-funded research projects aimed at increasing and maintaining physical activity in sedentary adults, and she cowrote the curriculum for Project Active and PRIME (Physically Ready for Invigorating Movement Everyday), the basis for Active Living Every Day. She also served as the principal investigator of research aimed at examining how much exercise is needed to reduce depressive symptoms in individuals diagnosed with major depressive disorder.
Dunn was named the 2012 Dorothy Harris Memorial Scholar by the Pennsylvania State University department of kinesiology and was the 2017 recipient of the distinguished Alumnus Award from the department of kinesiology in the College of Education at the University of Georgia. She is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
Bess Marcus, PhD, is a professor of behavioral and social sciences and served as the second dean of the School of Public Health at Brown University. She is a clinical health psychologist who has spent over 30 years conducting research on physical activity behavior and has published over 275 papers and book chapters as well as three books on this topic. She has developed a series of assessment instruments to measure psychosocial mediators of physical activity behavior and has also developed low-cost interventions to promote physical activity behavior in community, workplace, and primary care settings. Marcus served on the executive committee for the Development of a National Strategic Plan for Physical Activity, and she serves on the board of directors for the National Physical Activity Plan Alliance, the editorial board of the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, the international editorial board of Mental Health and Physical Activity, and the Rhode Island Long Term Health Planning Committee. Dr. Marcus is actively involved in numerous NIH-funded projects on physical activity behavior and public health. Her work increasingly focuses on promoting physical activity in underserved and vulnerable populations.
Ruth Ann Carpenter, MS, RDN, has extensive experience developing and delivering innovative behavior change programs in print, face-to-face, and online formats for public health entities, nonprofits, corporations, and the military. Carpenter received a master of science degree in applied nutrition, with extra coursework in exercise physiology, from Pennsylvania State University. Her career traced the arc of the disease prevention and population health fields, first focusing on translating behavioral science into consumer-oriented lifestyle-change interventions. She then pivoted to create train-the-trainer models that amplified program reach through dissemination by paraprofessionals, peers, and commercial partners. Along the way, she obtained a second master’s degree in instructional systems and online learning to strengthen her capacities for harnessing technologies to train and support those who work to transform the health of individuals, organizations, and communities.
Carpenter has authored six consumer books and 15 research articles in nutrition, physical activity, weight management, and health promotion. She worked for 22 years at The Cooper Institute in Dallas, Texas, and currently consults with organizations—including the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute—to create and disseminate content and training assets that advance their missions.
Peter Jaret, MA, is an award-winning journalist who writes widely on health, business, science, food, and the environment. His work has appeared in the New York Times, National Geographic, Newsweek, National Wildlife, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and numerous other publications. He has also served as contributing editor for Health, Reader’s Digest, Alternative Medicine, and Eating Well magazines.
Jaret was the recipient of the 1992 American Medical Association award for medical reporting. In 1998 and again in 2008 he received the James Beard Award for journalism. The author of many books on health and science, Jaret received a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in English and American literature from the University of Virginia.
