Leah E. Robinson, PhD is a professor of Movement Science in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Michigan. She is also the Assistant Director of the Michigan Institute for Clinical Health Research (MICHR) KL2 Program and a Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

Her academic training is in human motor development, exercise science, and child development (Ohio State University, 2007). Her research takes a developmental perspective to motor skill acquisition, physical activity, and developmental health in preschool- and school-age children. Her work seeks to understand the underlying mechanisms of motor skill acquisition because these salient skills are needed to be physically active across the lifespan and explores the association and effect of motor skills/coordination to health-related constructs (e.g., developmental and behavioral outcomes). Overall, her research aims to investigate how motor skills contribute to children’s developmental trajectories.

In terms of scholarship, she has over 100 peer-reviewed articles and has received over $14 million dollars in grant funding from organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the US Department of Education. She serves as an Associate Editor for Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. In her leisure time, she enjoys golfing with friends, traveling, and the theatre.

The Cynthia and Duncan Campbell Lecture on Childhood Relationships, Risk and Resilience is presented annually and made possible by Cindy and Duncan Campbell.