An interview with Maher, the 2024 UNCG Early Career Research Excellence Award winner
UNCG Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Center for Women’s Health and Wellness Director Dr. Jaclyn Maher is advancing our understanding of how to help older adults stay active. With more than 70 publications and over 3,700 citations, she is internationally recognized for exploring how automatic, moment-to-moment processes influence physical activity. Her research examines how daily cues—like environment, routines, or social settings—can encourage older adults to move more naturally and with less mental effort.
“People are living longer, and we want to make sure that those additional years of life are quality years. This also has ripple effects for society by reducing healthcare spending and lessening the burden on caregivers.” – Dr. Jaclyn Maher
Maher was the first to demonstrate that ecological momentary assessment, a tool widely used with youth and adults, is also effective with older adults across diverse backgrounds. Using smartphone prompts paired with wearable monitors, she has shown that real-time motivation and context predict activity patterns more accurately than overall motivation levels.
Her innovative approach, supported by funding from the NIH and American College of Sports Medicine, is shaping how researchers and practitioners think about healthy aging. By uncovering the subtle cues that drive behavior, her work is helping design strategies that make physical activity a more natural and sustainable part of daily life for older adults.