Awards

School of Public Health Mobley International Distinguished Alumni Award - 2011

About Laura Capranica

Born in Rome, Italy in 1958, Laura Capranica formally entered the master's program in Physical Education at the School of HPER under Fulbright Scholarship and in 1992 was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar. Full Professor of Sport Sciences at the University of Rome Foro Italico, she acts as President of the Master's Degree on Sport Coaching and as Coordinator of the PhD program on "Sport, Exercise and Ergonomics". She is also a Member of the Inter-University Board at the University of Catanzaro and Treasurer of the Italian Professors of Sport Sciences. As an Erasmus Visiting Professor she lectures at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium; University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; Democritus University of Thrace, Komatini, Greece; Dalarna University, Falun, Sweden, and University of Coimbra, Portugal. She is also the Coordinator of European Intensive Program for PhD students on "Sport Performance: A Lifetime Challenge" (2009-2011).

Capranica was a Founding Member and the Secretary of the European Research Group for the Elderly and Physical Activity (1992-1997); the Italian coordinator of the European Programs on "Gender Equity in the Mediterranean Countries" (2004-2007) and on "Women's International Leadership Development" (2010); the Coordinator of the European Science Foundation Exploratory Workshop "The Future of Research in Sport Participation in the Lifespan" (2011); and a Board Member of the European Network "European Student as Athlete" (2009-2011). Capranica's research interests regard the identification of determinants (example: social, psychological, biological, organizational, and technical) for sport practice and performance in the lifespan; the development of the knowledge base, tools and resources needed to understand the effects of sport and exercise on human health; and the enhancement of bilateral translational links between laboratory and field evaluations. She has published more than 50 manuscripts in scientific journals, proceedings and books, and delivered over 120 lectures and communications in international conferences and meetings. She also acts as a reviewer for several international journals in the area of sport.