Biography
Dr. Bryan’s life and career reflect an enduring commitment to service of her community, particularly underserved populations who lack access to the many benefits associated with well-care and positive health behaviors. As a professor in health and exercise science, Dr. Bryan pursues and shares her lifetime approach to well-being from a biopsychosocial-spiritual perspective and publishes a science and practice of health blog at stephaniebryanphd.com, her personal website, to share health enhancing information for the benefit of others.
Dr. Bryan has conducted and published research on mindfulness, meditation, yoga, exercise adherence, spiritual well-being, gratitude, and health behavior improvement strategies. She is currently working with a team of colleagues assessing the impact of social media on health and well-being. In addition, Dr. Bryan has published a children’s picture book on the practice of gratitude and a peer reviewed paper on the health benefits of gratitude for all. The children’s book and the peer reviewed paper both have a unique feature of offering the science and practice of gratitude to adults and children in effort to aid in the development of gratitude as a life skill. As God would have it, being grateful literally enhances our physical and mental health.
While raising four children and earning degrees in Adult Fitness, Exercise Science and Health Science, Dr. Bryan worked in corporate fitness, commercial fitness, owned a yoga and fitness studio for a decade, and worked in Academia. Community service has been a cornerstone of Dr. Bryan’s life over the course of her life, volunteering her time teaching exercise at her church; teaching yoga and exercise with Children’s Aid and Family services at a children’s foster home; serving on the streets of Newark with a Christian outreach called New York City Relief, feeding the homeless with Market Street Missions, and working with children at the Fuller Center in Boca Raton Florida. Once again, it is not a coincidence that service, loving, and giving contribute mightily to our well-being!
Degrees
PHD in Health Sciences, Seton Hall University | MS in Exercise Science, Kean University | BA in Physical Education-Adult Fitness, Kean University