Dr. Katie H.

Before pursuing post-graduate education, Dr. Heinrich graduated summa cum laude from Graceland University with a degree in psychology and sport science. She earned multiple honors that include the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Academic All-American recognition in track & field, academic and athletic scholarships, and multiple university awards. Before obtaining her PhD, Dr. Heinrich graduated summa cum laude with an MA in educational research and psychology, with an emphasis on sport and exercise psychology. 

Dr. Heinrich is a health behavior researcher and educator with extensive experience leading funded public health and health psychology research. She is a Principal Investigator on an NIH-funded R01 with five years of funding and has led additional externally funded projects supported by the Sunflower Foundation of Kansas, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Active Living Research program, and the State of Hawaii. Before becoming an adjunct professor at Kansas State University, Dr. Heinrich worked as a professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and as a Senior Researcher at The Phoenix. 

Across her research career, Dr. Heinrich has worked at the intersection of health psychology, public health, physical activity policy, and applied exercise interventions. Her research spans youth through older adults and includes diverse populations such as healthy and obese adults, cancer survivors, firefighters, military personnel, and policymakers. She has authored a substantial body of scholarly work, including 31 first-author and 38 senior/last-author peer-reviewed publications, with research appearing in journals such as Scientific Reports, the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, JMIR mHealth and uHealth, Sports Medicine, and Biology. Dr. Heinrich’s work has also reached broad audiences through media and professional platforms. She has been interviewed by outlets including The New York Times, and Vox.

With 22 years of mentorship experience, Dr. Heinrich has a strong track record of mentoring students who have presented and published research, secured research funding, and gained admission to strong medical and graduate programs. She has also been a research mentor for the international organization ReachSci, helping students and faculty members from multiple underrepresented countries conduct and publish research in peer-reviewed journals.

As a research mentor, Dr. Heinrich is known for empowering her students throughout the research process by challenging them to learn and apply their practical and course knowledge, recognize their strengths, and extend kindness. She takes a structured approach to mentoring by first getting to know the student, their background, interests, and goals, and collaboratively developing a plan for their research with clear and specific deadlines. Students who Dr. Heinrich has supported in research have been accepted to Oklahoma State University, the University of Kansas Medical Center, Wichita State University, Tufts University, St. Mary's University, Michigan State University, the University of Central Missouri, and Kansas State University.

Dr. Heinrich helps students develop a passion for research by focusing on the simplicity of asking an important question and designing a research study to clearly answer it. She believes this approach equips future medical students with applied experiences that deepen critical thinking and enable them to translate knowledge beyond the classroom and into practice. Supporting students as they ask meaningful questions and generate new knowledge brings her joy.