LaMonte elected National Academy of Kinesiology Fellow

Michael (“Mike”) LaMonte, research professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health and Health Professions, has been elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Kinesiology, one of the field’s highest professional honors recognizing distinguished and sustained contributions to the science of human movement and physical activity.

LaMonte will be formally inducted during the academy’s annual ceremony in October. Since the academy inducted its first fellow in 1926, only 658 individuals have previously received the honor, making LaMonte the organization’s 659th inductee.

The National Academy of Kinesiology recognizes internationally significant career achievements across disciplines related to physical activity and human movement, including exercise science, public health, education, clinical practice, policy and advocacy. Membership is highly selective and limited to 200 active fellows at any given time, with candidates nominated and evaluated by current members through a rigorous multistage review process.

Founded to advance both the study and educational applications of kinesiology, the academy honors people whose work has had a lasting impact on understanding human movement and physical activity. Its distinguished roster of fellows has included Nobel Prize recipients, members of the National Academy of Medicine, Guggenheim Fellows and MacArthur Fellows.

For LaMonte, the recognition reflects decades of research focused on the relationship between physical activity and cardiovascular disease. Throughout his career, he has examined how exercise, fitness and lifestyle behaviors influence heart health and chronic disease prevention across diverse populations.

“My career work in physical activity and cardiovascular disease is being recognized with my induction into NAK,” LaMonte says. “It’s really all I have done in earnest since completing my doctoral degree, in different settings from hospital-based rehabilitation to clinical preventive medicine, to academic epidemiology.”

LaMonte’s research has contributed to a broader scientific understanding of how regular physical activity reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and improves long-term health outcomes. His work has spanned clinical and public health settings, helping to inform approaches to physical activity measurement, prevention strategies, and recommendations designed to improve population health.

The academy’s peer-driven selection process makes the honor especially meaningful. Fellows are nominated not through self-application, but by an international network of scholars and scientists in the field.

At UB and internationally, LaMonte has built a reputation as a leading epidemiologist whose scholarship bridges exercise science, preventive medicine and public health. His induction into the National Academy of Kinesiology places him among a select group of internationally recognized scholars whose work has shaped the understanding of physical activity’s role in human health and disease prevention.