Kinesiology Professor Named New STRIDE Director

Kinesiology Professor Suzanne Phelan began a three-year term as director of STRIDE in summer 2016. Phelan joined the kinesiology faculty in 2008. She is a clinical health psychologist whose research focuses on promoting weight loss and preventing weight gain in a variety of settings. Currently, she is exploring interventions to prevent pregnancy-associated weight gain and obesity.

In addition to serving as the principal investigator on multiple National Institutes of Health-funded projects, Phelan also mentors faculty and students throughout the university. Referring to herself as a scientist-practitioner, she supervises a variety of senior projects and co-teaches a graduate course on thesis and grant proposal writing. She believes that research experiences provide an important context to material learned in the classroom, an approach that exemplifies Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing philosophy and STRIDE’s focus on research and student development.

As director, Phelan plans to work with members of the university and local community to advance knowledge and practice in obesity prevention and treatment by conducting innovative, transdisciplinary research; preparing the next generation of professionals, researchers and leaders in obesity prevention and treatment; and encouraging evidence-based decision making by connecting the community to peer-reviewed research on obesity treatment and prevention.