M. Renée Umstattd Meyer, PhD

Renée Umstattd Meyer, PhD, MCHES, FAAHB, serves Associate Dean for Research for the Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences. In her role she supports the contributions of Robbins College to Baylor’s Strategic Plan in Deeds in the areas of research and scholarship. Specifically, she collaborates with the dean to lead strategic initiatives to support Robbins faculty in their research, scholarship, and impact across Baylor’s five signature academic areas, with the aim of increasing the engagement of Robbins faculty in innovative research that improves health and quality of life across all populations. 

Dr. Umstattd Meyer also serves as Professor for the Department of Public Health and is an avid researcher. Her work focuses on promoting health and access to opportunities for healthy living through an active living lens.  She collaborates with communities using mixed methods to understand cultural context and advance approaches and policies to foster healthy and active opportunities and lifestyles for all people.

Much of Dr. Umstattd Meyer's work focuses on partnering with underserved rural communities and families. This work has been supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) through Active Living Research and the Physical Activity Research Center (PARC), the Physical Activity Policy Research Network Plus (PAPRN+) through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), the American Heart Association through Voices for Healthy Kids, the National Institutes for Health (NIH) - National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).    

Dr. Umstattd Meyer leads the rural Hub of the CDC-funded Physical Activity Policy Research and Evaluation Network (PAPREN) and currently serves on the advisory board for the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) Physical Activity Special Interest Group. She is a Fellow and Past-President of the American Academy of Health Behavior (AAHB), a multidisciplinary society of health behavior scholars and researchers. She previously co-chaired the RWJF-funded Physical Activity Research Center (PARC) through dissemination and has served on advisory panels and/or lead webinars for the American Heart Association, Voices for Healthy Kids, America Walks, PlayCore, and a sub-committee for the 2016 National Physical Activity Plan, to name a few. In addition to serving in these capacities, she co-chaired the 2019 Active Living Annual Conference and chaired the 2014 AAHB Annual Scientific Meeting.