Dr. Renee Underwood is an Assistant Professor of Health Sciences in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Southeastern Louisiana University. She earned her PhD in Public Health with a concentration in Behavioral and Community Health Sciences from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans; she is also a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). She serves as a rotating reviewer for journals such as Health Promotion Practice and Current Obesity Reports. Dr. Underwood is a consultant for the Pediatric Obesity and Health Behavior Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, where she contributes to grant development, scientific writing, program evaluation, mentoring, and research initiatives focused on improving child health outcomes.
Her professional background includes more than a decade of public health leadership, most notably at the Louisiana Office of Public Health, where she managed statewide chronic disease prevention and health promotion programs. Dr. Underwood provides significant service to Southeastern through her leadership as chair of the University’s Employee Wellness Committee, chair of the Advancing Science and Knowledge in Kinesiology and Health Studies (ASK KHS) Conference committee, and membership on various college and departmental committees.
Dr. Underwood’s area of expertise centers on chronic disease prevention with a focus on employee wellness, program planning, implementation, and evaluation, obesity prevention, and disparities in health outcomes. She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals, including Scientific Reports, Pediatric Obesity, and Health Promotion Practice, and regularly presents her work at national and international conferences.
