Jenny Etnier, Ph.D
Julia Taylor Morton Distinguished Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), Principal Investigator of PAAD2
University of Tennessee (B.S.), University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (M.A.), and Arizona State University (Ph.D.)
Departmental Homepage
Brief Bio
Dr. Jennifer (Jenny) Etnier is the Julia Taylor Morton Distinguished Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Jenny has over 80 publications in the area of exercise and cognitive performance. As Principal Investigator of PAAD2, she has received over $3.8 million in external funding and is currently conducting an R01 focused on the effects of physical activity on cognitive performance, blood-based biomarkers, and cerebral structure and function of adults with a family history of Alzheimer’s disease.
Awards & Accomplishment
Jenny has received numerous awards in recognition of accomplishments across the range of faculty responsibilities. These include awards for teaching (UNCG Alumni Teaching Excellence Award, 2011; School of Health and Human Sciences (HHS) Teaching Excellence Award, 2016), for graduate student mentoring (School of HHS Graduate Mentoring Award, 2013; UNCG Graduate School´s Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award, 2014), and for service (Department of Kinesiology HUMARTS Award, 2018). In addition to her data-based scholarship, Jenny has written two books for youth sport participants (Bring your ‘A’ Game, 2009; Coaching For the Love of the Game, 2020).
Jenny is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the National Academy of Kinesiology (Fellow #525, NAK). She previously served as President of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity. She was Editor of the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity (JAPA), Associate Editor for the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (JSEP) and JAPA, and Section Editor for Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. She is currently Member at Large for NAK and an editorial board member for Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology; JAPA; JSEP; Journal of Sport and Health Science; and Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
She received her degrees from the University of Tennessee (B.S.), University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (M.A.), and Arizona State University (Ph.D.).