Erik Willis, PhD

Data Analyst
Research Scientist

Dr. Willis joined UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in 2019. His research interests include both public health and clinical approaches to understanding the beneficial effects of physical activity, weight loss, and decreasing sedentary time on a variety of health outcomes in both children and adults. More specifically, he is interested in understanding compensatory responses to initiating exercise and diet programs, use of technology for delivery and assessment of interventions, and exploring etiology of obesity related diseases.

Dr. Willis holds a Doctorate and Master’s degrees in Exercise Physiology from the University of Kansas and the University of Pittsburgh, respectively, and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Yale University. Prior to his current position, Dr. Willis completed his postdoctoral fellowship in the Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program at the National Cancer Institute.