Dr. Jennifer D. Roberts (she/her)

headshot of Dr. Jen Roberts

Jennifer D. Roberts is an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology, School of Public Health at the University of Maryland College Park (UMD). Dr. Roberts is also the Founder and Director of the Public Health Outcomes and Effects of the Built Environment (PHOEBE) Laboratory as well as the Co-Founder and Co-Director of NatureRx@UMD, an initiative that emphasizes the green space benefits interspersed throughout and around the UMD campus and acknowledges the ancestral lands of the Piscataway People as well as the historical slave trade legacies of the UMD campus land. Her scholarship focuses on the impact of built, social, and natural environments, including the institutional and structural inequities of these environments, on the public health outcomes of marginalized communities. More specifically, much of her research has explored the dynamic relationship between environmental, social, and cultural determinants of physical activity and using empirical evidence of this relationship to infer complex health outcome patterns and disparities among adults and children.

Education:

B.A., Brown University

M.P.H., Emory University Rollins School of Public Health

Dr.P.H., Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

Research

Interests: health equity; physical activity; built, natural, social environments

Contact:

Email: jenrob@umd.edu

Personal Website: https://jenniferdeniseroberts.com

Twitter: @ActiveRoberts

Featured Publications

Croft K., Hamovit N., Guangxiao H., Roberts JD., Niemeier D. Assessing Vulnerabilities Underlying Racial Disparities of COVID-19 Mortality in Louisiana. (Accepted). PNAS.

Boeing G., Higgs C., Liu S. Giles-Corti B., Sallis JF., Cerin E., Lowe M., Adlakha D., Hinckson E., Moudon AV., Salvo D., Adams MA., Barrozo LV., Bozovic T., Callejo GV., Delclòs-Alió X., Dygrýn J., Ferguson A., Gebel K., Ho TP., Lai, P., Martori JC., Kornsupha N., Queralt A., Roberts JD., Sambo GH., Schipperjin J. Using Open Data and Open-Source Software to Develop Spatial Indicators of Urban Design and Transport Features for Achieving Healthy and Sustainable Cities: A 25 City Study. (2022) The Lancet Global Health. doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(22)00072-9.

Gerder ME., Aistis LA., Sachs NA., Williams M., Roberts JD., Goldstein RER. Reducing Anxiety with Nature and Gardening (RANG): A Cross-Sectional Study Evaluating the Impacts of Gardening and Outdoor Time in Anxiety During the COVID-19 Pandemic. (2022).  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.  doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095121.

Roberts JD. Black Bodies: It’s Time to Reclaim Our Green Space Freedom. (2022) Journal of Healthy Eating and Active Living. 2(1), 1-4.

Roberts JD., Dickinson KL., Hendricks MD, Jennings V. “I Can’t Breathe”: Examining the Legacy of American Racism on Determinants of Health and the Ongoing Pursuit of Environmental Justice. (2022) Current Environmental Health Reports. doi.org/10.1007/s40572-022-00343-x.

Berrigan D., Dannenberg AL., Lee M., Rodgers K., Wojcik J., Wali B., Tribby CP., Buehler R., Sallis JF., Roberts JD., Steedly A., Peng B., Eisenberg Y., Rodriguez DA. (2021). The 2019 Conference on Health and Active Transportation: Research Needs and Opportunities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182211842.

Dickinson KL., Roberts JD., Banacos, N., Neiberger L., Koebele EA., Blanch-Hartigan D., Shanahan EA. (2021). Structural Racism and the COVID-19 Experience in the United States.   Health Security.  doi: 10.1089/hs.2021.0031.

Koebele EA., Albright EA, Dickinson KL., Blanch-Hartigan D., Neiberger L., DeLeo RA., Shanahan EA.,  Roberts JD. (2021). Perceptions of Efficacy are Key Determinants of Mask-Wearing Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic.   Natural Hazards Review.  22(3). doi.org/  10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000489.

Roberts JD., Ada M., and Jette SL. (2021). NatureRx.@.UMD: A Review for Pursuing Green Space as a Health and Wellness Resource for the Body, Mind and Soul. American Journal of Health Promotion. doi.org/ 10.1177/0890117120970334d.

Hu M., Roberts JD., Azevedo GP, Milner D. (2021). The Role of the Built and Social Environments in COVID-19 Transmission: A Look at America's Capital City. Sustainable Cities and Society. doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2020.102580.

Roberts JD., Dickinson KL, Koebele EA, Albright EA, Neiberger L, Bancos N., Blanch-Hartigan D., Welston-Mitchell C. (2020). Clincians, Cooks, and Cashiers: Examining Health Equity and the COVID-19 Risks to Essential Workers. Toxicology and Health. doi:10.1177/0748233720970439.

Hu M.and Roberts JD. (2020). Built Environment Evaluation in Virtual Reality Environments: A Cognitive Neuroscience Approach. Urban Science. 4(4), 48. doi.org/10.3390/urbansci4040048.

Roberts JD., Tehrani SO., Isom R., Stone EA., Garcia VN. (2020). A Case-Comparison Study Protocol for Gauging Effects of Neighborhoos Trends and Sickness: Examining the Percetions of Transit-Induced Gentrification in Prince George's County. BMJ Open. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039733.

Roberts JD. and Tehrani SO. (2020). Environments, Buildings and Inequalities: Reflecting on the Impact and Reimagining a New Normal in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(12). doi.org/10.3390/ijerph.

Stone EA. and Roberts JD. (2020). Park Spaces and the User Experience: Reconsidering the Body in Park Analysis Tools. Journal of Nature and Culture, 15(2). doi.org/10.3167/nc.2020.150201.

Patrick P., Wang N., Hu M. and Roberts JD. (2020). Editorial – Sustainable, Healthy Buildings and Communities. Building and Environment, 174. doi.org/10.1016/j/buildenv.2020.106806.

Hu M. and Roberts JD. (2020). Connections and Divergence between Public Health and Built Environment Design – A Review. Urban Science, 4(1). doi.org/10.3390/urbansci4010012.

Tehrani SO., Wu SJ., Roberts JD. (2019). The Color of Health: Residential Segregation, Light Rail Transit Developments, and Gentrification in the United States. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(19). doi: 10.3390/ ijerph16193683.​

Roberts JD., Mandic S., Fryer CS., Brachman ML., Ray R. (2019). Between privilege and oppression: An intersectional analysis of active transportation experiences among Washington DC area youth. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(8). doi:10.3390/ijerph16081313.

Puett R., Huang D., Montresor-López J., Ray R., Roberts JD. (2019). Relationship of sociodemographic factors with indoor and outdoor physical activity environments among Washington DC area children. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 16(7). doi: 10.1123/jpah.2019-0142​.

Roberts JD., Hu M., Saksvig BI., Brachman ML., Durand CP. (2018). Examining the influence of a new light rail line on the health of a demographically diverse and understudied population within the Washington, DC metropolitan area: A protocol for a natural experiment study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(2). doi:10.3390/ijerph15020333.

Roberts JD., Rodkey L., Ray R., Saelens B. (2018). Don’t forget about public transportation: Analysis of the association of active transportation to school among Washington DC area children with parental perceived built environment measures. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 15(7). doi: 10.1123/jpah.2017-0266​. 

Roberts JD., Rodkey L., Grisham C., Ray R. (2017). The influence of family dog ownership and parental perceived built environment measures on childrens' physical activity within the Washington DC area. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(11). doi:10.3390/ijerph14111398.

Ray R., Sewell AA., Gilbert KL., Roberts JD. (2017). Missed opportunity? Leveraging mobile technology to reduce racial health disparities. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 42(5). doi: 10.1215/03616878-3940477.

Roberts JD., Rodkey L., Ray R., Knight B., Saelens B. (2017). Electronic media time and sedentary behaviors in children: Findings from the Built Environment and Active Play Study in the Washington DC Area. Preventive Medicine Reports, 6. doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2017.02.021.

Roberts JD., Knight B., Ray R., Saelens. (2016). Parental perceived built environment measures and active play in Washington DC Metropolitan children. Preventive Medicine Reports, 3. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2016.04.001.

Roberts JD., Ray R., Biles A., Knight B., Saelens B. (2015). Built environment and active play among D.C. Metropolitan children: A protocol for a cross-sectional study. Archives of Public Health. 73(22). doi:10.1186/s13690-015-0070-3.

Roberts JD., Voss JD., Knight B. (2014). Physical inactivity, ambient air pollution and obesity in the United States. PLoS ONE. 9(3). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0090143.