JP Marrero-Rivera

JP Marrero-Rivera, MS, is a Graduate Student Researcher in the Department of Health and Human Development at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Education. He is a third-year PhD student, completing his degree in Exercise Physiology with a collateral area of study in Pediatric Developmental Psychology. He has expertise in clinical exercise physiology, with advanced skills in 12-lead electrocardiogram interpretation, clinical exercise testing, exercise pharmacology, and exercise programming across the lifespan. Given his extensive background in clinical exercise physiology, JP spent the first two years of his PhD teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in topics of advanced clinical health assessments, exercise physiology, principles of strength and conditioning, and fitness assessment and prescription for special populations.  

Today, JP currently serves as the lead clinician at the Pittsburgh Site for the Pregnancy 24/7: Offspring Study, where he is responsible for assessing up to eight clinical measures in 24-month-old children. He was recently awarded his first grant – an NIH/NHLBI Diversity Supplement (3R01HL164662-01A1S1) – to add an authentic assessment of child development within the operational framework of the Offspring Study. This project addition aims to help understand the vitality of prenatal physical activity and early childhood physical activity on early neurodevelopment. Upon the completion of his degree, JP intends to work as an independently-funded research faculty member at a high-ranking institution of higher education, centering his work on pediatric exercise psychology by merging his expertise in clinical exercise physiology with his education in pediatric developmental psychology. In the near future, he hopes to investigate the impacts of multi-modal physical activity interventions on cardiovascular and neurological health in children with congenital heart defects.