Nancy I. Williams is an American kinesiologist who is a professor at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

. Her research considers the physiological mechanisms that underpin energy balance, exercise performance and bone health. She is a former president of the American Kinesiology Association and Fellow of the

American College of Sports Medicine The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a sports medicine and exercise science membership organization. Founded in 1954, ACSM holds conferences, publishes books and journals, and offers certific ...

Early life and education

Williams is from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. She attended Shawnee High School. Williams studied biology at

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. ...

before moving to

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

for a graduate degree. Williams moved to the

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

for her doctoral research, where she focussed on anatomy and physiology. After earning her doctoral degree, Williams moved to the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

, where she worked as a postdoctoral researcher in reproductive sciences.

Research and career

Williams studies women's health and exercise. In 1997, Williams joined the faculty at

, where she was promoted to full professor in 2009. In 2012 Williams was made Head of Department of Kinesiology at the Pennsylvania State University College of Health and Human Development. Her research includes

randomized controlled trial A randomized controlled trial (or randomized control trial; RCT) is a form of scientific experiment used to control factors not under direct experimental control. Examples of RCTs are clinical trials that compare the effects of drugs, surgical te ...

s to understand the female athlete triad. She has shown that up to 60% of women recreational athletes experience menstrual dysfunction. She has explored how weight loss impacts the acute-exercise induced suppression of appetite. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Female and Male Athlete Triad. In 2019 Williams was elected President of the American Kinesiology Association.

Awards and honours

* 1994

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

Individual National Research Service Award * 1998 Elected Fellow of the

* 2001

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

Breast Cancer Research Program Career Development Award * 2011 Elected Fellow of the National Academy of Kinesiology

Selected publications

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Nancy I. Sports scientists Bucknell University alumni Boston University alumni Ohio State University alumni Pennsylvania State University faculty People from Burlington County, New Jersey Shawnee High School (New Jersey) alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people