Leah Robinson

Dr. Leah Robinson is professor and program chair of Movement Science at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology. She is director of the Child Movement, Activity, and Developmental Health Laboratory and a research professor at the Center for Human Growth and Development. Prior to her time at U-M, she was on the faculty of Auburn University's School of Kinesiology.

Dr. Robinson's research agenda takes a developmental approach to three complementary areas: motor skill acquisition, physical activity, and developmental health in preschool and school-age children. She seeks to understand the underlying mechanisms of motor skill acquisition, or, What drives a child’s ability to move? Leah implements interventions in school-based settings to maximize physical activity, motor skills, health, and development in pediatric populations. She then explores how these interventions contribute to children’s developmental trajectories. The overarching goal of her research is encouraging children to be physically active and to ensure that they enter school healthy, active, and ready to learn.

Dr. Robinson's grant funding has topped $3,000,000 and she is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH funding supports her research on A PATH (Promoting Activity and Trajectories of Health) for Children.

Dr. Robinson has more than 75 articles in peer-reviewed journals. Her articles appear in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, Health Psychology, Journal of Motor Learning and Development, Sports Medicine, and Child: Care, Health, and Development. She serves on the editorial boards of several journals, including Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport and Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy.

Dr. Robinson is a Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Her other professional affiliations include African American Collaborative Obesity Research Network, American Heart Association, and North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA).