Dr. Brandon Alderman recently stepped into the Department Chair position for the Department of Kinesiology and Health on July 1, 2021. Get to know a little about Dr. Alderman!
Tell me about yourself
I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health and Director of the Exercise Psychophysiology lab. I have been here at Rutgers for 12 years now and for many reasons, New Jersey has become home. I was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico and attended the University of Wyoming as a student-athlete (wrestling). I completed degrees in biology and secondary science education at UW, and worked as an undergraduate RA in a genetics laboratory. So it’s great to be part of a division with such a strong genetics department (although, admittedly, I know very little about genetics).
What are you researching?
My research interests in kinesiology and health began to form during a MS program in Kinesiology and Health, where I studied parental and peer influences on young children’s physical activity. It was during my PhD years that I really began to develop interests in the potential for exercise and physical activity to influence clinical psychological outcomes in major depression. My laboratory uses a variety of psychophysiological approaches including electroencephalography (EEG) and heart rate variability to study the impact of health behaviors on clinical outcomes in depression and related psychological disorders.
What do you like about being at Rutgers?
I have come to love Rutgers and the greater NJ community in large part because I started a family here with my wife Dominy. We have two amazing young boys (Warren, 11 and Miles, 7) who keep me quite busy at home. I am also fortunate to have benefitted from the outstanding research environment at Rutgers, and from a close network of amazing and talented friends and colleagues in our department, DLS, and across Rutgers.
