John Petrella joined the Department of Kinesiology in 2007. Since then, he has mentored three projects that have received recognition from the Southeast American College of Sports Medicine. Petrella, a professional soccer fan, loves Colossians 3:23–24, "Whatever you do, work it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

Degrees and Certifications

• PhD, exercise science, University of Georgia
• Graduate Certificate, gerontology, University of Georgia
• MEd, clinical exercise science, University of Georgia
• BS, management, Georgia Institute of Technology

Expertise

• Undergraduate research, skeletal muscle changes with aging, skeletal muscle adaptations to resistance training, and physical function and older adults

Awards and Honors

• Orlean Bullard Beeson School of Education and Professional Studies, Outstanding Teaching Award, 2012
• American College of Sports Medicine, fellow, 2011
• Birmingham Top 40 under 40 Birmingham Business Journal, 2010

Involvement

• Southeastern Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine, executive board
• American College of Sports Medicine, fellow
• American Physiological Society, Environmental and Exercise Physiology Section
• International Journal of Exercise Science, editorial board
• Samford University Institutional Review Board, past-chair