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Dr. Daniel O'Connor Becomes Chair of the HHP Department

Dr. Daniel P. O'Connor was named the new chair of the Health and Human Performance Department on April 1, 2016. Outgoing chair Dr. Charles Layne is resigning after 15 years at the helm of the department.

Dr. Daniel O'Connor
HHP Chair Dr. Daniel O'Connor

An Associate Professor at HHP who has conducted wide-ranging interdisciplinary research in health and wellness, Dr. O'Connor joined the department in Spring 2007. He has collaborated with more than 100 investigators from different institutions, scientific disciplines, and health professions around the world. A prolific researcher, in the past 10 years Dr. O'Connor has been awarded more than $12 million in external research funding as principal or co-investigator. Agencies that have sponsored his work include NIH, CDC, NASA, U.S. Department of Education, and private and public foundations. Dr. O'Connor served as the interim Director of the Texas Obesity Research Center at UH from 2013 to 2015.

Dr. Charles Layne
Dr. Charles Layne

Outgoing Chair Dr. Charles Layne will continue as a Professor in the department. Dr. Layne thanked faculty and staff for their support over the years, and added, "On those days when things got tough, it was easy to stop, look around and remember that we were continually building toward a better tomorrow. Keeping our future in mind made it easy to keep going. Together we have accomplished a great many things with more to come. I look forward to working with Dr. O'Connor to continue strengthening our department as we strive to reach our full potential".

Dr. O’Connor said he is excited about his new role, and stated, “Dr. Layne transformed HHP in many fundamental and important ways, and his contributions to our successes and accomplishments cannot be overstated. We are all appreciative of his long dedication and strong guidance over the past 15 years. As we move forward, I am excited to have the opportunity to support our faculty and students as we continue on our path to national and international prominence.”


Learn more about Dr. O'Connor's research

Dr. O'Connor's profile on Google Scholar