Rate My Professor Brynn Adamson

Brynn Adamson, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs within the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences. She holds a BS in Biology from Brigham Young University (2007), post-baccalaureate studies in exercise science, psychology, and Portuguese at Brigham Young University (2011), an MS in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2013), and a PhD in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2018), where her dissertation examined the role of exercise in negotiating disability identity among individuals with multiple sclerosis. Prior to her current role starting in 2021, she was an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2018 to 2020, and a Graduate Research Assistant in the Exercise Neuroscience Research Laboratory there from 2014 to 2017.

Adamson's research focuses on physical activity, exercise interventions for individuals with multiple sclerosis and disabilities, disability awareness training for exercise instructors, and inclusive fitness programming. Her work has produced key peer-reviewed publications, including 'Effect of exercise on depressive symptoms in adults with neurologic disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis' (Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2015), 'People with MS are less physically active than healthy controls but as active as those with other chronic diseases: an updated meta-analysis' (Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 2017), 'Results of the MOVE MS Program: A Feasibility Study on Group Exercise for Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis' (2023), and 'Evaluating the Impact of Seated Pilates on Functional Outcomes Among Those With Multiple Sclerosis' (2024). With over 1,100 citations across 42 publications, her contributions advance accessible exercise practices. Awards include multiple List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent (University of Illinois, 2012-2019), Laura J. Huelster Award (2018), Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Awards (2018), Switzer Research-Merit Fellowship, UCCS Committee on Research and Creative Works award (2021), Outstanding Research Award (college, 2024-25), and a President's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion grant (2024). She serves on the UCCS Faculty Committee on Disability and is involved with the Center for Active Living.