Faculty Profile

Rebecca Hasson

Rebecca E Hasson, PhD

  • Associate Professor, Kinesiology
  • Assistant Professor, Nutritional Sciences

As Director of the University of Michigan Childhood Disparities Research Laboratory, Dr. Rebecca Hasson enjoys using her expertise in pediatric physical activity, implementation science, and health equity research to improve the health and well-being of children and their families across the state of Michigan. For the past eight years, Dr. Hasson's research has focused on the development and implementation of physical activity interventions in school and home environments. As Principal Investigator of the "Interrupting Prolonged sitting with ACTivity" (InPACT) program, she has rigorously tested the feasibility of implementing InPACT activity breaks in classroom settings; tailored InPACT to enhance implementation fidelity and flexibility; augmented InPACT sustainability by strengthening district wellness policies; and adapted InPACT for dissemination in the home environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together with organizational partners across the state, Dr. Hasson has made it her mission to get children, teachers, families and communities moving again.

  • PhD, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2009
  • MS, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2005
  • BS, University of Massachusetts, 2001

Research Interests:
Pediatric physical activity interventions

Research Projects:
Hasson's research has focused on the development and implementation of physical activity interventions in school and home environments. Current projects include implementing a comprehensive plan to effectively disseminate InPACT in elementary schools and homes across the state of Michigan to promote a system-wide increase in youth physical activity levels.

Hasson has collaborations with the Michigan Department of Education, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principals Association, and Michigan School Health Coordinators' Association.

Hasson RE, Beemer LR, Eisman AB, Friday PE. Closing the gap between classroom-based physical activity intervention adoption and use in low-resource schools. In press at Kinesiology Reviews, 2022.

Hasson RE, Eisman AB, Wassmann A, Martin S, Pugh P, Winkelseth K, Zernicke R, Rabaut L. Rapid cycle adaptation of a classroom-based intervention to promote equity in access to youth physical activity. Transl Behav Med. 2022 Oct 7;12(9):945-955.

Beemer LR, Lewis TC, Ajibewa TA, Dopp R, B Eisman A, Hasson RE. Classroom-Based Strategies to Reduce Disparities in Physical Activity Among Children with Asthma. Prev Sci. 2022 May;23(4):587-597.

Hasson RE, Beemer LR, Ajibewa TA, Eisman AB. Adapting the InPACT Intervention to Enhance Implementation Fidelity and Flexibility. Prev Sci. 2021 Apr;22(3):324-333.

Beemer LR, Ajibewa TA, DellaVecchia G, Hasson RE. A Pilot Intervention Using Gamification to Enhance Student Participation in Classroom Activity Breaks. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Oct 24;16(21):4082.

Beemer LR, Ajibewa TA, O'Sullivan MP, Nagy MR, Ransier B, Vance US, Stockdill D, Colabianchi N, Hasson RE. Feasibility of the InPACT Intervention to enhance movement and learning in the classroom. Transl J Am Coll Sports Med. 2018, Sept 15;3(18):136-151.

Email: [email protected]
Office: 734-763-8671
Fax: 734-647-6375

Address: SKB 4220
830 North University
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Areas of Expertise: Child Health,  Health Equity