Michael Perko
BRIEF BIO
PERSONAL INTRODUCTION
Falling in love with health and wellness at an early age, I have had the best job ever has as a university professor for over two decades. When not writing award-winning children’s books on health, I can be found in UNCG’s Department of Public Health Education where I am a Full Professor and Director of both the MPH program and the 8th-ranked PhD Program in the country. At home, my wife and I enjoy nothing more than watching our kids stay active in multiple sports!
PROFESSIONAL BIO
A Master Certified Health Education Specialist and a Fellow of the American Association for Health Education, Dr. Perko has received multiple teaching awards including the 2018 UNC Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award for UNCG. His fifth children’s book, “How to EAT, LEAP, and SLEEP like a SUPERHERO!” won a Bronze Medal at the National Health Information Awards Competition in 2017. He is one of the world’s experts on research on young athletes and performance sport enhancement and was the inaugural speaker for a sports performance initiative for US ARMY forces stationed at the 173Rd Airborne division in Vicenza, Italy. Dr. Perko has given over 100 invited and keynote addresses and has appeared on ESPN Outside the Lines, the Voice of America, in the New York Times, NY Magazine, NPR, and Sports Illustrated.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Sports performance use by young athletes (Not the what but the why)
- Worksite Health Promotion
CURRENT PROJECTS
- Intent to use social media by health educators – with PhD Student Quinn Duclos
- Transforming Workplace Wellness: A Strategic Partnership and National Research Agenda
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Evans, M. W., Ndetan, H., Williams, R, Oliver, B., Perko, M.A., & Woolsey, C. (2017). Adult Use of Complementary and Integrative Approaches to Improve Athletic Performance. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine.
Weaver, G, Mendenhall, B., Hunnicutt, D., Picarella, R, Perko, M. A., & Bibeau, D. (2016). Performance Against WELCOA’s Worksite Health Promotion Benchmarks Across Years Among Selected U.S. Organizations. American Journal of Health Promotion, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0890117116679305.
Hege, B. A., Perko, M. A., Apostolopoulos, Y., Sönmez, S., & Strack, R.S (2016). U.S. Long-Haul Truck Driver Work Organization and the Association with Cardiometabolic Disease Risk. Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health, Sept; http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19338244.2016.1242468. Perko, M. A., Williams, R., & Evans, M. W. (2015). Sports Supplements and Females Athletes: Risks, Realities and Recommendations. Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal, 23; 89-92.