Danielle Ostendorf

Danielle Ostendorf, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, within the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences. Her research integrates epidemiology, exercise physiology, psychology, and dissemination and implementation science to design and evaluate lifestyle interventions for adults, with a focus on preventing chronic diseases through sustainable behavior change. She holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the Colorado School of Public Health and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, followed by an Endeavour Fellowship at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia.

Dr. Ostendorf has been funded by the NIH and American Heart Association, including a current NIH Career Development Award to co-design physical activity programs for adults with obesity. Her work emphasizes human-centered design to ensure interventions align with patient needs. She is actively involved in professional societies such as the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) and the Obesity Society (TOS).

Her recent publications explore topics like peer-delivered interventions for breast cancer survivors, microbiome effects in weight loss, and the impact of environmental factors on obesity outcomes. Key awards include the Endeavour Fellowship. Dr. Ostendorf collaborates on grants focused on wearable technology in sleep studies and algorithmic analysis of health data, reflecting her interdisciplinary approach to health science.