On October 8, faculty, students, and researchers from the Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering and Department of Health and Kinesiology gathered at the iHotel for the 2025 Chittenden Symposium: “Lifelong Health by Design – Human-Centered Innovations in Chronic Disease Prevention.” The event united experts across disciplines to explore how engineering precision and health science insight can combine to design systems that foster long-term, equitable health outcomes.
New research invites Champaign-Urbana families to help track children’s physical activity
Assistant Professor Otavio Leão on WCIA 3 News.
Health and Kinesiology Assistant Professor Otavio Leão appeared on WCIA 3 News segment “Community Spotlight” to explain a new research project recruiting young participants this fall.
Illini Kindergarten Cohort is a study seeking to estimate the physical activity, sleep and screen-time of kindergarten-age children. Families in the Champaign-Urbana area can complete a 20- to 30-minute survey and enroll their kindergartner, who will wear a basic accelerometer for a week. All participants will be awarded a $40 Amazon gift card.
Join activities hosted by Health and Kinesiology faculty and students
Exercise is Medicine Month on Campus kicked off with an in-person yoga event at Freer Hall lawn. (Provided)
Exercise is Medicine on Campus (EIM-OC) is an annual initiative that calls upon colleges and universities to promote physical activity as a core component of health and wellness. More than 200 campuses in the United States have registered for the program.
This month, Health and Kinesiology faculty and students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign—led by this year’s EIM at Illinois committee chair Emerson Sebastião—have planned out several activities to bring campus together in movement. Representatives from the Illinois Counseling Center, Campus Recreation, McKinley Health Center, Carle Illinois College of Medicine and local health organizations joined this year’s committee.
All month, participants can join the online “Move More Challenge” by posting a video or photo of them exercising, and tagging @illinoishealthkin on Instagram.
Coming up:
Free Pilates
A free, introductory pilates class in front of Freer Hall, led by HK Teaching Assistant Professor Alana Harris. Bring your own mat!
When: Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 12 p.m. at Freer Hall lawn
Check your vitals
Get your blood pressure and resting heart rate checked for free by HK students and faculty. Students will provide education on physical activity and exercise guidelines.
When: Wednesday, Oct. 15 from noon to 1 p.m. at Illinois Street Residence Hall Wednesday, Oct. 22 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Student Dining and Residential Programs building (SDRP)
Fall into Fitness 5K | Run, Walk and Roll
Join a 5K race that starts at Freer Hall and loops through campus. Check-in and registration begins at 7:30 a.m., and the race starts at 8:30 a.m.
When: Sunday, Oct. 19 at 8:30 a.m. Check-in begins at 7:30 a.m.
Read Chancellor Isbell’s official proclamation for Exercise is Medicine Month on Campus:
Committee Members 2025-2026
Chair: Emerson Sebastião, Ph.D., Health and Kinesiology
Nicholas Burd, Ph.D., Health and Kinesiology
Alana Harris, Ph.D, Health and Kinesiology
Diana Morales (Graduate Student Representative)
Harrison Guo (Undergraduate Student Representative)
Maggie Verklan, the Counseling Center
Alexia Hammonds (Graduate Student Representative)
Brie Whitted, McKinley Health Center
Jared Willard, MD, Christie Clinic
Annie Tigranyan (Carle Illinois College of Medicine Student Representative)
Megan Huibregtse, Ph.D., is a first-year assistant professor in the Department of Health and Kinesiology, but she’s no stranger to the Midwest. Huibregtse obtained her bachelor’s in neuroscience and a Ph.D. in human performance from Indiana University, Bloomington.She worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Emory University before joining the AHS faculty this fall.
Megan Huibregtse (Fred Zwicky / University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Talk about what drew you to the College of AHS. Why did you choose to come to Illinois?
Megan: I was looking for an environment where I could connect with a vibrant research community and work directly with undergraduate and graduate students. While my work spans multiple disciplines such as clinical neuroscience or psychiatry, traumatic brain injury is one of the most common neurological conditions (Maas et al., 2022 The Lancet Neurology), and there’s a real public health concern about acute and long-term neurobehavioral effects.
So, AHS’s mission of improving health and well-being across the lifespan is a great fit for my research program. Plus, the neuroimaging resources here are unparalleled, and I can’t wait to start using the 7 Tesla scanner.
(The University of Illinois and Carle Health co-own a 7 Tesla MRI scanner, which provides a huge step up in quality for brain imaging.)
You’ve described yourself as ‘obsessed with the brain.’ When and how did your fascination with neuroscience begin?
I was unlucky enough to get two concussions from playing volleyball when I was younger, and the second led to the discovery of a brain tumor in my left frontal lobe. It might have been a coincidence, but the tumor was right next to where I hit my head when I got the first concussion.
Fortunately, the surgery to remove it went well, and I’ve been fascinated by the brain and what happens in response to injury ever since. Having personally gone through many hours of magnetic resonance imaging, I learned what a powerful tool it is to non-invasively examine the brain.
Within the area of traumatic brain injury, you’ve already investigated a wide variety of topics, from sub-concussive head impacts in high school football to head trauma from intimate partner violence. How do you generally describe your research interests?
That’s right—I’ve been fascinated by various aspects of neurotrauma. In general, I would say that my interests revolve around comprehending how our experiences (brain injuries, traumatic events, and when they occur simultaneously) impact our brain health. I consider brain health in terms of both structural integrity and function.
What are your priorities as you’re getting started here at Illinois?
This year, I’m working on setting up my research program—recruiting graduate students and undergraduate research assistants, submitting my protocols to the Institutional Review Board, and getting acquainted with the excellent neuroimaging resources at the Beckman Institute.
How has your experience in Urbana-Champaign been so far? Is there anything you’d like your colleagues to know about you?
It’s been great so far! Having completed my degrees at another Big Ten school (Indiana), Urbana-Champaign feels familiar already. Outside of work, I love to cook and bake for my family and friends.
Honorees embody resilience, leadership, service, and equity
AHS Dean Cheryl Hanley-Maxwell, second from left, poses with AHS alumni award winners Jack Groppel, left, Adrienne Albrecht, right, and Brandon Buchanan, far right. (Photo by Craig Pessman).
The College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign once again shined a light on extraordinary alumni at its annual Alumni Awards celebration, held during Homecoming weekend. This year’s honorees—Dr. Jack Groppel, Justice Adrienne Albrecht and Brandon Buchanan—embody the college’s enduring mission of advancing health, equity and human potential.
The ceremony, led by Dean Cheryl Hanley-Maxwell, is designed not only to recognize the professional accomplishments of alumni but also to share the personal journeys that shaped their paths. “The individuals who receive these awards never fail to impress and fascinate me,” Hanley-Maxwell said. “As you hear their stories today, I’m sure you’ll find yourself saying, ‘Wow!’ many times, just as I have.”
Distinguished Alumni Award: Dr. Jack Groppel
Few careers demonstrate the power of seizing opportunity quite like that of Jack Groppel, recipient of the 2025 AHS Distinguished Alumni Award. An internationally recognized scholar in the science of human performance, Groppel has been a professor, tennis coach, entrepreneur, author, corporate consultant and motivational speaker.
And yet none of that would have happened without the University of Illinois.
“If the leaders in this college hadn’t given me a shot, I’d be counting wolves in Wyoming,” he said.
Growing up in a small southern Illinois town, Groppel was drawn to sports early, teaching himself to play tennis and eventually becoming one of the top junior players in the St. Louis area. Determined to play for the University of Illinois, he convinced men’s tennis coach Dan Olson to give him a chance—a story that foreshadowed a career marked by persistence and boldness.
His academic path was less direct. Pressured to pursue a “practical” major, Groppel earned a degree in wildlife biology. Yet his passion for athletics led him to graduate study in biomechanics at Illinois, where mentor Dr. Charles Dillman helped redirect his career. Groppel later completed a Ph.D. in exercise physiology at Florida State University before returning to Illinois as a professor and head tennis coach.
“How do you go from crying yourself to sleep at 22 to this?,” Gropple said, referencing his unhappy time seeking a career in the wildlife industry. “I have been truly blessed in my life, thanks to my time at the University of Illinois.”
After a decade, Groppel made another daring move: leaving a tenured faculty position to work in Florida at the Saddlebrook Resort. That leap led him to co-found the Human Performance Institute with Dr. Jim Loehr, a venture later acquired by Johnson & Johnson. Groppel became a pioneer in applying the training principles of elite athletes to business leaders, co-authoring the influential book The Corporate Athlete. He went on to brief Congress on worksite wellness, share stages with global icons like Muhammad Ali and Margaret Thatcher, and earn induction into three tennis halls of fame.
Groppel credits the University of Illinois with giving him the scientific foundation and teaching passion that shaped his career.
One of his mentors was Thomas K. Cureton, considered the father of physical fitness. After a semester working with Cureton and others in the precursor to what is now known as the Department of Health and Kinesiology in AHS, Groppel was hooked.
“AHS molded me into a person who can do quality research,” he said. “It all began with leaders in AHS taking a chance on me. It started in that small town and on those small farms where young Jack dared to dream big.”
Harold Scharper Award: Justice Adrienne Albrecht
If Groppel’s story is about breaking down doors, Adrienne Albrecht’s is about perseverance and the power of access. Recipient of the Harold Scharper Award, presented by the Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services, Albrecht retired in 2024 as a Justice of the Third District Appellate Court of Illinois, capping a distinguished legal career.
Born in Kankakee as the eighth of 10 children, Albrecht was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that severely impaired her vision. In the 1960s, long before disability rights laws provided protections, her mother fought to secure accommodations like front-row seating and access to blackboards. “My mother was extraordinary,” Albrecht said. “She understood what I needed and made sure I got it.”
“If the leaders in this college hadn’t given me a shot, I’d be counting wolves in Wyoming.
Jack Groppel
Distinguished Alumni Award winner
DRES founder Tim Nugent also played a vital role. Several of Albrecht’s siblings, who also had Marfan syndrome, attended Illinois with the support of DRES scholarships.
“I can’t tell you what a profound effect the University of Illinois had on my entire family. Imagine this family of 10 children, thinking they could all go to college and have great careers. The University of Illinois was just so crucial to my family,” she said.
Despite limited assistive technology at the time, Albrecht thrived academically, drawn to international relations before pursuing law. A constitutional history course sparked her passion for legal analysis, while her visual impairment forced her to develop a near-photographic memory—an asset in her legal work.
Over a 30-year career, Albrecht became known for her skill, adaptability and dedication to justice. She was among the first attorneys in Kankakee to integrate personal computers into her practice, eventually teaching technology courses for the Illinois State Bar Association. She served on the circuit court bench before her appointment to the appellate court, where she helped interpret Illinois’ landmark cashless bail statute.
Her proudest moments, however, were deeply personal. “People approach me in the grocery store to thank me, to tell me I made a difference in their lives,” she said. “That means more than anything.”
Dean Hanley-Maxwell said Nugent would be proud to see how Albrecht carried forward his legacy of inclusion and access.
“(Nugent) would join all of us in AHS and DRES in saying that you are richly deserving of this award,” Hanley-Maxwell said.
Young Alumni Award: Brandon Buchanan
Brandon Buchanan was honored with the AHS Young Alumni Award for his leadership in health equity and hospital administration. Buchanan is now associate chief operating officer of Orlando Health Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, but his path began in Champaign with a shift in academic focus.
Originally a journalism major, Buchanan found his calling while volunteering at Smile Healthy, a clinic providing dental care to underserved populations. “Community health took a holistic approach to how society looks at health and well-being,” he said. Inspired, he switched majors and pursued graduate training in health administration.
That decision launched a career devoted to improving access to care. Buchanan managed HIV and STI outreach programs at Ohio State, then spent nearly seven years at Endeavor Health in Chicago. There, he built the health equity impact team from a one-person office into a 30-member department that improved mammogram screening rates, reduced hypertension in Black communities, and expanded community education.
Now in Florida, Buchanan serves on the board of the local YMCA and mentors students pursuing careers in healthcare administration. “I’m proud when I see them flourish and shine,” he said.
Hanley-Maxwell praised Buchanan’s blend of leadership and compassion: “You cannot go wrong when you are committed to improving your community through service, fairness and respect.”
Pedro Hallal has built an international reputation for his research on physical inactivity
Pedro Hallal accepts the King James McCristal Distinguished Scholar Award on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2025.
Like many young researchers, Pedro Hallal thought his first study would be groundbreaking and potentially change the paradigm of the study of physical activity. Ultimately, he said, it didn’t, but now, with the value of experience at hand, he understands that was OK.
“We are trained to think of things that no one has ever studied. But science is much more about consistency of results nowadays, than about brand-new findings,” said Hallal, the Alvin M. and Ruth L. Sandall Professor in the Department of Health and Kinesiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “We do research because of the questions; we don’t start with the answers.”
Thanks to that curiosity and because of the breadth of his research, Hallal on Sept. 24 was awarded the King James McCristal Distinguished Scholar Award, one of the most prestigious recognitions in the College of Applied Health Sciences. The award honors faculty whose scholarly contributions have significantly advanced their disciplines while elevating the reputation of the university.
For Hallal—whose research has transformed global understanding of physical activity and health—the honor represents both a recognition of past achievements and an encouragement to push forward in addressing one of the world’s most pressing public health challenges: physical inactivity.
“Professor Hallal’s scholarly work has substantially elevated the profile of his department, our college and the university by advancing public health knowledge and global health equity,” said Cheryl Hanley-Maxwell, dean of the College of Applied Health Sciences.
A Global Lens on Physical Activity
Hallal, who is also director of AHS’ Master of Public Health program, has built an international reputation for his research on physical inactivity, a phenomenon he argues must be understood in the context of modern life.
“Today, we have fewer people being active,” Hallal said. “Most of them are indoors, looking at a screen. We have to think about what physical activity is today, not decades ago. The notion that physical activity is good for health has been known for centuries. Only since the 1950s and ‘60s have we really been studying it.”
His scholarship began in Brazil, where his master’s thesis—“Physical Inactivity: Prevalence and Associated Variables in Brazilian Adults”—found that 41.1 percent of the surveyed population did not meet recommended activity levels of 150 minutes per week. This early work set the stage for his career-long focus on understanding inactivity as both a personal and societal issue.
Hallal’s impact expanded dramatically with his contributions to a series in The Lancet, one of the most influential medical journals in the world. His research revealed that one-third of adults worldwide—approximately 1.5 billion people—failed to achieve the minimum recommended level of physical activity. Equally concerning, four-fifths of children ages 13 to 15 fell short of the one-hour daily activity guideline. The findings underscored physical inactivity as a global pandemic, drawing international attention to a public health crisis with profound implications for chronic disease and health equity.
Hallal has often said that this work in The Lancet is the “research I am most proud of.”
Redefining Scientific Inquiry
Throughout his career, Hallal has emphasized the importance of scientific rigor and humility.
That philosophy has guided him to produce a body of work that does not merely identify problems but interrogates the systems that perpetuate them. His studies consistently highlight how socioeconomic and geographic inequalities shape access to safe and purposeful physical activity.
“Access to safe, purposeful physical activity must be a societal priority,” Hallal said. By framing physical inactivity not only as an individual choice but also as an issue of structural inequities, he has pushed the field toward broader, more inclusive approaches to solutions.
Access to safe, purposeful physical activity must be a societal priority
Pedro Hallal
Professor of Health and Kinesiology
A Legacy of Impact
The King James McCristal Distinguished Scholar Award cements Hallal’s place among the most influential scholars at Illinois. The recognition highlights not only his academic achievements but also his role in shaping the conversation around health equity worldwide.
From uncovering high rates of inactivity in Brazil to leading global efforts to quantify physical inactivity, Hallal has consistently produced research that informs public policy, inspires further scientific exploration, and elevates the role of physical activity in public health discourse.
Looking Ahead: Challenging Assumptions
As Hallal reflects on the future of his field, he sees opportunities to question prevailing assumptions and generate new lines of inquiry.
He is particularly interested in challenging the idea that “every movement counts.” While small bursts of activity are beneficial, Hallal believes that the global challenge lies in ensuring people have the opportunity for meaningful, sustained physical activity. He also underscores the importance of recognizing how time scarcity and resource inequality reinforce global disparities in health behaviors.
“I think this place, this campus and college, are in a great position to tackle these things,” Hallal said. “We are already one of the country’s leaders in the field, and we are one of the most productive groups in the world on this topic.”
Postpartum depression linked to heightened pain perception in mothers’ brains
Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo
Bringing a new baby into the world is often described as joyful, overwhelming, and exhausting all at once. But what’s less often talked about is how the postpartum body—and brain—handle pain, especially for mothers dealing with postpartum depression.
A team of researchers led by Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo, an associate professor in the Department of Health and Kinesiology at Illinois, recently took a bold step to explore that question. Their study, published in Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, asked: Can we measure how new moms’ brains respond to pain using fMRI ? And would moms even be willing to do it?
It turns out the answer is yes.
The study focused on 13 women, 11 without depression and 2 with postpartum depression. The point was to see if the idea would work: Would new moms come into a lab, be willing to experience a controlled pain test while researchers measured their brain activity?
The “pain test” was simple but effective: participants were exposed to a cold-pain device while in the scanner, enough to be uncomfortable but not unsafe. The experiment was repeated five times, during which the women reported how intense and how unpleasant the pain felt.
“Although there is growing interest in the postpartum brain, including in the context of depression, the focus on postpartum pain has stalled,” Lara-Cinisomo said. “Birthing people experience changes that are not often observable. fMRI offers an opportunity to measure their minds process pain while creating a space for them to tell us how it feels to be in pain. This study is the first step toward unveiling how postpartum depression affects pain perception.”
The researchers then compared those reports to what was happening in their brains.
For the women without depression, the scans showed activation in the places you’d expect:
The amygdala (linked to the assessment of pain intensity)
The insula (a key hub for processing physical sensations of pain)
The anterior cingulate cortex, or ACC (involved in emotional components of pain)
When the researchers compared women with depression to those without, they found higher brain responses in the depressed group. Still, those differences were not significant, likely due to the small sample size.
Where things got interesting was in how the women described their pain.
Even though the numbers didn’t hit statistical significance, there was a clear pattern: women with higher depression symptoms tended to find the pain more unpleasant and intense. The depressed group also tended to report the onset of pain earlier in the experiment than the non-depressed group.
So, what is the takeaway from this study?
First, it proved the concept. Postpartum women were willing to take part and found the process acceptable. That matters because there’s often concern about asking new moms to volunteer for time-consuming or physically demanding studies.
Second, it showed that fMRI can capture real brain activity linked to pain in this group. That opens the door to larger-sample studies that could dig deeper into how PPD changes the pain experience—and maybe test which treatments (such as therapy, medication or support programs) improve mood and pain.
The study also adds to the growing recognition that postpartum health is complex. It’s not just about healing physically or adjusting emotionally—it’s about how those two processes interact in ways that can shape daily life for mothers.
Lara-Cinisomo and her co-authors are clear about what’s next: larger studies, with more women experiencing postpartum depression, and identifying interventions to help alleviate their physical and psychological discomfort. That way, they can track how the brain responds to pain might shift as symptoms improve.
Tacoria Humphrey was recently named a Dike Eddleman Athlete of the Year, presented annually to the top Fighting Illini male and female athlete
Big Ten long jump champ Tacoria Humphrey has plans beyond her track and field competitions. (Photo courtesy of Fighting Illini)
She races down the rubberized runway, determination pumping through her arms, energy coursing across her strides and focus blazing in her eyes. With a mighty leap, she seems to sail through the air. Sand mushrooms under her shoes as she lands in the pit, the crowd roaring. That’s Tacoria Humphrey—champion of the 2025 Big Ten Long Jump.
Humphrey started track in middle school at Raymond Park Middle School on Indianapolis’ east side, where she broke two records in the high jump and 200 meter. Now, she’s well-decorated: she earned All-American honors in both indoor and outdoor seasons after winning back-to-back Big Ten long jump titles, placed fourth at the NCAA outdoor championships, recorded the third-longest indoor jump in NCAA history as national runner-up and earned a spot on The Bowerman Watch List. Humphrey said her success came from confidence.
“I feel like track is a mental sport,” Humphrey said. “If you believe you can do something, you’re most likely going to be able to do it, whereas if you’re scared or thinking about other people, that’s going to take over your mind and you’re not going to do well.”
Humphrey also attributed her many accomplishments to her training and her coach, Petros Kyprianou, the current director of Track & Field and Cross Country at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“He has inspired me the most because he really believes in me, and when somebody just believes in you so much, you start to believe in yourself,” Humphrey said. “He’s just so thrilled to coach me, and he sees that I have a bright future and it just makes me want to accomplish everything to the highest level I can.”
She recalled a moment at the 2025 regionals for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Competitors only had three jumps, and Humphrey’s weren’t up to the number she needed to qualify for nationals.
“After my second jump, he talked with me,” Humphrey said. “He was giving me that pep talk, like, ‘You got this. This is what you’ve been training for,’ and helping me calm down. I literally went from 15th place to fourth, and I qualified.”
Kyprianou was the one who encouraged Humphrey to switch her event from high jump to long jump her sophomore year of college.
“I definitely was like, ‘This is weird,’ but I love trying new things,” Humphrey said. “I never expected to change events and to do so good in that event, but I 100% don’t regret it.”
“I always love helping people. I’m a people person.
Tacoria Humphrey
Community Health major and Dike Eddleman Athlete of the Year
Outside of her national achievements, Humphrey was recently named a Dike Eddleman Athlete of the Year, presented annually to the top Fighting Illini male and female athlete. The University of Illinois Athlete of the Year was first awarded in 1940, and was named in honor of the 11-time UI letterman and Olympian Dwight “Dike” Eddleman in 1993, who is generally considered the greatest athlete in the history of Illinois Athletics.
Caitlin Clarke, a health and kinesiology teaching assistant professor and chair of the Academic Progress and Eligibility Committee, said that sport performance is typically not the only factor that goes into choosing the recipient of the Dike Eddleman award.
“This is part of the culture of Illinois Athletics—they’re not going to go for someone who’s just really good at their sport and doesn’t care about academics at all,” Clarke said. “We get some really phenomenal students who are both really good at their sport and also really good at their major.”
At Illinois, Humphrey is a community health major, with a concentration in health education and health planning and promotion.
“I always love helping people,” Humphrey said. “I’m a people person.”
This summer, she’s participating in the Health and Kinesiology 471 internship program and working with Wellness4Every1, an organization dedicated to ensuring equitable access to high-quality arts and wellness programs for students in diverse communities. Clarke, additionally a lead faculty for the community health internship program, said Humphrey is doing a great job stepping into the professional world.
“She’s future-thinking, because she knows that she wants to compete professionally for a while, but she isn’t just checking off a box with this internship,” Clarke said. “This experience really pushes students to learn how to communicate professionally, which is an important skill anywhere and can be difficult to navigate.”
Clarke said it’s important for all student athletes to also excel outside of their sport.
“Most of our student athletes are going to go on to careers that are not always directly related to sports, so you have to have a plan,” Clarke said. “You don’t want that plan to be, ‘Well, I just kind of did okay in my major.’ You want to be the rock star that gets into a successful career so that you can enjoy your life and do more to help other people around you.”
Currently, Humphrey is preparing to become a pro athlete. Her first pro meet was the USA Track and Field Championships at the end of July.
“I’ll be a little nervous, but not really, because I’ve been jumping big marks that are close to what pros jump,” Humphrey said. “I’m eager to have better competition, and that will definitely push me.”
For her, success means a gold medal, and with her trademark confidence, it’s not a matter of if—but when.
