Mission: To promote research and the advancement of knowledge of sport psychology with a particular emphasis on psychobiology and health.
Leadership
The Psychobiology & Behavior Special Interest Group is pleased to announce its leadership transition for the upcoming term.
We extend our sincere gratitude to our outgoing Chair, Dr. Grace Giles, and student representatives, Seana Smith & Jacob Ninneman. Simultaneously, we formally welcome our rising Chair, Dr. Katey Wilson, newly elected Co-Chair, Dr. Jacob Ninneman, and incoming student representatives, Derek Elton & Shania Kelly. We look forward to their leadership, fresh perspectives, and shared vision as they guide the group into its next chapter.
Kathryn (Katey) Wilson, PhD, FACSM
Chair
Dr. Kathryn (Katey) Wilson is an Associate Professor with tenure at Georgia State University. Her research focuses on the relevance of personality differences for promoting physical activity and exercise behavior and understanding resultant psychological effects. She also contributes to interdisciplinary research with expertise in personality theory, quantitative analysis, and psychometrics.
Jacob Ninneman, PhD
Co-Chair
Dr. Jacob Ninneman is a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research interests center on understanding how neurological health contributes to chronic health conditions and how lifestyle interventions, such as physical activity, could mitigate those detrimental conditions. His dissertation focused on understanding the neuroinflammatory response to exercise in chronic multisymptom illness, and his master’s thesis focused on brain structure in Gulf War Veterans with and without chronic musculoskeletal pain.
Melissa McGranahan, PhD
Professional in Training
Dr. Melissa McGranahan is a postdoctoral research fellow at Emory University School of Medicine. She received her PhD in Exercise Psychology from the University of Georgia Mary Frances Early College of Education.
Derek Elton
Student Representative
Shania Kelly
Student Representative
Research Awards or Scholarships
Marsh Center Student Research Award
Awarded annually by the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, this competitive award recognizes outstanding research presentations by two student members of the Psychobiology and Behavior Special Interest Group of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Awardees will receive a certificate of achievement, a $500 award, and recognition at the ACSM Annual Meeting. Award winners will also be expected to present the highlights of their research at the special interest group meeting.
Jennifer Forse (University of Pittsburgh) received the Marsh Award in the psychobiology category for her work entitled Sex Differences in Salivary Stress Biomarkers Responses to 10-week USMC Officer Candidate School Training and Kennedy Guess (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) received the Marsh Award in the behavior category for her work entitled The Effect of Sex and Sport on Computerized Neurocognitive Tests.
Well done!
Representation at the 2026 ACSM Annual Meeting
The Psychobiology & Behavior Special Interest Group continues to grow its membership and representation at the 2026 ACSM Annual Meeting. Thank you to all who submitted sessions and abstracts for the annual meeting this year. Our members delivered 10.5 hours of programming this year in the form of tutorial lectures, symposia, and highlighted symposia, and slotted 151 abstracts in free communication and thematic poster sessions. Very impressive!
