Two awards were given for Young Professional Award at the 22nd ISAPA 2019. One of the awards was given to Dr. Andrew Colombo-Dougovito and the other was given to Dr. Chunxiao Li
After completing his PhD from the University of Virginia in 2017, Dr. Andrew Colombo-Dougovito has been working as an Assistant Professor in Motor Behavior and Sport Pedagogy in the Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion, and Recreation at the University of North Texas (UNT). Additionally, at UNT, he has served as the Director of the Physical Activity and Motor Skills program (UNT-PAMS) and as a faculty liaison to the Kristin Farmer Autism Center.
Dr. Colombo-Dougovito’s research interests focus on the physical activity behaviors and motor skills development across the lifespan of individuals on the autism spectrum. Specifically, he is interested on the socio-environmental barriers to physical activity and the development process for autistic people, the methodology of assessment and teaching for those with developmental disabilities, and understanding the support structures available for autistic individuals to lead active lives.
To date, Dr. Colombo-Dougovito has 13 publication and has given over 30 national and international presentations. He has served as a student representative for the North American Federation of Adapted Physical Activity (NAFAPA) and as a member-at-large for National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities (NCPEID). Additionally, he served as the chair of the Membership Committed for NCPEID and, most recently, he was elected to serve as Historian for the NCPEID board. He serves as the chair-elect for the APE Special Interest Group for SHAPE America and as a co-chair of the special interest group on physical activity for autistic individuals for the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR). Additionally, Dr. Colombo-Dougovito serves on the editorial board of PALAESTRA. In 2017, he was awarded the APE/A Doctoral Student of the Year by SHAPE America.
2019 IFAPA Young Professional Awardees
