Dr. Gregory Knell
Assistant Professor, Population & Community Health
Education & Experience:
I received a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Texas Health Science Center
at Houston (UTHealth) in Austin, Texas. I completed a postdoctoral fellowship through
UTHealth’s National Cancer Institute Cancer Education & Career Development (T32) program.
I hold bachelor of science and master of science degrees in kinesiology from Texas
A&M University and the University of North Texas, respectively. Prior to joining the
UNT Health College of Public Health in 2023, I was assistant professor of epidemiology
at UTHealth with appointments at the Center for Pediatric Population Health (primary)
and the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living (secondary).
Teaching Areas & Public Health Interests:
My teaching focuses on epidemiology methods and is informed by research in both field
and clinical settings. In the courses I teach, I aim to allow the students to integrate
their research interests into the classroom, so they are equipped to successfully
plan, initiate and execute research projects as part of their culminating experiences
for degree matriculation and when they enter the workforce as independent public health
researchers. In the physical activity courses I teach, I aim to integrate the interdisciplinary
nature of physical activity into my teaching, to serve as a model on how we may be
able to utilize systems-level thinking to tackle health inequality. I teach courses
on advanced epidemiology methods, epidemiology study design and field research methods,
clinical epidemiology, and physical activity epidemiology and public health.
Professional Activities & Awards:
I am an active member of the American Public Health Association (APHA), the American
College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine Society
(PRiSM). I have received awards for my scholarly work, including the Emerging Researcher
Award from the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Disease Prevention, the Deans’
Excellence in Research Award from the UTHealth’s College of Public Health’s Office
of the Dean, and I was nominated for the “Top Digital Biomarker Paper of 2017” from
the journal Digital Biomarkers. My work has been featured in U.S. News & World Report,
CNN, Reuters, TRT World and the New York Times. I am able to share my expertise in
physical activity epidemiology as a member of the board of directors of the Fort Worth
Youth Lacrosse Association and as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board on Med
Outreach in Dallas, Texas.
Scholarly Interests:
My research aims to apply the physical activity epidemiology framework to address
health inequality. Specifically, my research centers around three main areas: 1) understanding
the upstream (political, cultural, societal and economic) factors affecting physical
activity and related behaviors (including sport, sleep and sedentary behaviors); 2)
application of epidemiological methods to advance the prevention, identification and
treatment of sport-related injuries (musculoskeletal and concussion); and 3) advancing
the measurement of physical activity and related behaviors in both clinical and field
(observational) settings. My work has been funded by local, state, federal and private/foundational
organizations and has been disseminated widely in white papers/reports and scholarly
peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.