Zachary C. Pope, Ph.D., ACSM-EP, is an Assistant Professor within the University of Oklahoma’s Hudson College of Public Health, Department of Health Promotion Sciences. Pope was previously a scientist and the Research Lead within the Well Living Lab, founded as a Delos and Mayo Clinic collaboration, as well as an adjunct Assistant Professor within Mayo Clinic’s Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering. Pope completed a NIH-NHLBI T32 postdoctoral fellowship focused on cardiovascular disease within the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health. He earned his doctorate in Kinesiology, with a minor in Public Health, in 2018 within the University of Minnesota’s School of Kinesiology.
Pope is an American College of Sports Medicine Certified Exercise Physiologist (ID#: 698528) with additional expertise in behavioral science. Broadly, his research examines how health behaviors (e.g., physical activity, sedentary behavior, sleep) and/or environmental exposures (e.g., pollutants, biophilia) impact cardiometabolic disease markers (e.g., heart rate variability, blood lipid profiles) and psychosocial outcomes (e.g., stress, cognitive function) across clinical and underserved populations. Pope has specific expertise using technology (e.g., smartwatches, smartphones, virtual reality) in the implementation of behavioral theory-based (e.g., Social Cognitive Theory) community health interventions focused on the above exposures and outcomes. He also has epidemiological research experience which informs the development of more precise interventional research.
Within the TSET Health Promotion Research Center, Pope is concentrating on leveraging the above technologies to implement personalized and actionable health behavior change interventions among cancer survivors, individuals undergoing cancer treatment, and individuals with prediabetes or metabolic syndrome. Emphasis is being placed on those in most need (e.g., individuals in rural, underserved communities with less access to health promoting resources such as gyms, nutritious foods).
Degree-Granting Institutions:
Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science, Fitness Evaluation and Programming, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho (May 2012)
Master of Kinesiology in Exercise Science and Sport Studies, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho (May 2014)
Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology, with Freestanding Minor in Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota (June 2018)
Postgraduate Training:
NIH-NHLBI T32 Postdoctoral Fellow in Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota (2018-2020)
Select Publications:
*Mentored first author.
McDonough, D., Pereira, M., Schreiner, P., Jacobs, D., VanWagner, L., Terry, G., Carr, J., Pope, Z.C., Gabriel, K.P., & Reis, J. (2023). Aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity, sedentary behavior, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: the CARDIA study. Journal of Clinical Medicine. DOI: 10.3390/jcm12175603. PMID: 37685671. PMCID: PMC10488389.
Coleman, C.J., McDonough, D.J., Pope, Z.C., & Pope III, C.A. (2022). Dose-response association of aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity with mortality: A national cohort study of 426,651 U.S. adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2022-105519. PMID: 35953241. PMCID: PMC10064988.
*Brito, J.N., Pope, Z.C., Mitchell, N.R., Schneider, I.E., Larson, J.M., Horton, T.H. & Pereira, M.A. (2020). Green walking improves heart rate variability: A pilot crossover study. Environmental Research. DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109408. PMID: 33072714. PMCID: PMC7538636.
Pope, Z.C. & Gao, Z. (2020). Feasibility of smartphone application and social media intervention on college student health: A pilot randomized trial. Journal of American College Health. DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2020.1726925. PMID: 32150514.
Pope, Z.C., Gabriel, K.P., Whitaker, K.M., Chen, L.Y., Schreiner, P.J., Jacobs Jr., D.J., Sternfeld, B., Carr, J.J., Lloyd-Jones, D.M., & Pereira, M.A. (2020). Association between accelerometer-estimated physical activity intensity and heart rate variability: Mediation by cardiovascular disease risk factors (CARDIA). Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002259. PMID: 32427750. PMCID: PMC7275933.
*Brito, J.N., Pope, Z.C., Mitchell, N.R., Schneider, I.E., Larson, J.M., Horton, T.H. & Pereira, M.A. (2019). Changes in psychological and cognitive outcomes after green versus suburban walking: A pilot crossover study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16162894. PMID: 31412602. PMCID: PMC6719990.
Pope, Z.C., Gao, Z., Zeng, N., Li, X., & Liu, W. (2019). Accuracy of smartwatches in assessing energy expenditure during rest and exercise. Journal for the Measurement of Physical Behaviour. DOI: 10.1123/jmpb.2018-0037.
Pope, Z.C., Barr-Anderson, D.J., Lewis, B.A., Pereira, M.A., & Gao, Z. (2019). Use of wearable technology and social media to improve physical activity and dietary behaviors among college students: A 12-week randomized pilot study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 16. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16193579. PMID: 31557812. PMCID: PMC6801802.
Pope, Z., Lee, J.E., Zeng, N., & Gao, Z. (2018). Feasibility of smartphone application and social media intervention on breast cancer survivors’ health outcomes. Translational Behavioral Medicine. DOI: 10.1093/tbm/iby002. PMID: 29471477.
Pope, Z., Zeng, N., Zhang, R., Lee, H.Y., & Gao, Z. (2018). Effectiveness of combined smartwatch and social media intervention on breast cancer survivor health outcomes: A 10-week pilot randomized trial. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 7, 140. DOI: 10.3390/jcm7060140. PMID: 29880779. PMCID: PMC6025572.