Kinesiology Major Marie Fandy Named Rising Researcher
The Rising Researcher program celebrates students who excel in research, scholarship or creative activity.
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Kinesiology major Marie Fandy ’26 has been named a spring 2026 UMass Amherst Rising Researcher. The Rising Researcher program recognizes undergraduate students who excel in research, challenge their intellect, and exercise exceptional creativity.
Fandy studies how movement, sleep, and other daily behaviors shape healthy brain development in preschool-aged children. She has contributed to several projects in the UMass Moove and Snooze Lab under Assistant Professor of Kinesiology Christine St. Laurent, examining links between daily movement behaviors and early cognitive outcomes. Her honors thesis assesses the feasibility of using child-friendly electroencephalogram systems during cognitive tasks to advance this research, as well as examines whether a short period of physical activity leads to measurable changes in attention or information processing. Fandy presented her research at the 2024 American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting and at the Massachusetts Undergraduate Research Conference. She is a co-author on a peer-reviewed manuscript currently under journal review.
"My research combines several things I am passionate about, including neuroscience, human movement, and working with children!" says Fandy "I’m interested in understanding how to preserve or increase brain health and function, as well as the impacts of physical activity on cognition."