Danielle Symons Downs

Danielle Symons Downs received the Ph.D. degree in exercise/sport psychology from the University of Florida in Health and Human Performance, Gainesville, FL, USA, in 2002, and the master’s degree in applied behavior change psychology from the State University of New York, Brockport, NY, USA, in 1998. She is currently a Professor of kinesiology and obstetrics and gynecology, the Director of the Exercise Psychology Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, College of Health and Human Development, University Park, PA, USA, and an Associate Director of the Social Science Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA. She has authored or co-authored over 100 papers in international journals and conference proceedings. Her current research interests include understanding motivational determinants of exercise and designing behavioral interventions to promote exercise/health correlates. Her recent interventions have promoted exercise for managing gestational diabetes, used mHealth technology to improve women’s health before pregnancy, and developed an individually tailored, and adaptive intervention to manage gestational weight gain in overweight/obese pregnant women.