My bio
My name is Heather Vincent, PhD, and I am the vice chair of research and director of the UF Health Sports Performance Center at the University of Florida Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. I earned my PhD from UF and completed my postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Virginia. I am an active researcher in the health benefits of exercise and using physical activity to prevent injury and fight diseases, such as obesity and osteoarthritis. Exercise is medicine!
I am an active member of organizations, such as the American College of Sports Medicine, Osteoarthritis Research Society International and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
Patients of all ages and backgrounds see me for fitness and exercise consults, sport and health assessments, including gait analysis, motion analysis, VO2 and lactate threshold testing, and custom bike fittings and/or pedal analysis. As a fellowship-trained expert in the field, it is my goal to keep people active and moving from youth through old age while enjoying life – no matter where you are starting your journey!
To keep myself balanced, I enjoy trail runs and walks, painting, shelling on the beach, landscaping and nature. Most importantly, I love to spend time with my husband and our three sons laughing together.
Education
-
Postdoctoral Fellowship
University of Virginia, 2003-2005
-
PhD
University of Florida, 1995-1999
-
MS
University of Massachusetts, 1993-1995
-
BS
University of Massachusetts, 1987-1991
Specialties
Subspecialties
Gender
Female
Accomplishments
-
Elected to UF Promotion and Tenure Committee
University of Florida, 2021-2023
-
Selected for UF Leadership Development Program
University of Florida, College of Medicine, 2021-2022
-
Chair, Consumer Outreach Committee
American College of Sports Medicine, 2020
-
Elected to OAAA Steering Committee
Osteoarthritis Action Alliance, 2020
-
Committee Member, Evidence Committee
American Academy for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2018-2021
-
University of Florida Term Professor
University of Florida, 2018-2021
-
Task Force Member
Osteoarthritis Action Alliance Weight Management Task Force, 2017-current
-
Exemplary Teaching Award
University of Florida, College of Medicine, 2016-2019
-
Elected to Faculty Senate
University of Florida, 2014-2017
-
Fellow Status
American College of Sports Medicine, 2014
-
US Bone and Joint Decade Scholar
US Bone and Joint Decade, 2009-2011