Meg Patterson, PhD, MPH
Member Delegate Statement:
Greetings! I’m Meg Patterson and am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Behavior at Texas A&M University. I earned my MPH in Community Health from Baylor University in 2012, and my PhD in Health Education from Texas A&M University in 2016. My research is focused on using social network analysis to determine the impact social connections and social structure have on various health behaviors and outcomes.
I began attending AAHB's annual meetings as a graduate student in 2012, and have since appreciated and grown from continued participation with the Academy. Specific to AAHB, I have served on an ad-hoc committee led by Dr. Renee Umstattd Meyer in partnership with the Diversity and Equity Council focused on preventing gender and power-based harassment and violence in conference settings, and I served as the 2022 Research Review Chair, where I oversaw and orchestrated the presentation proposal submission, review, and scheduling processes for the 2022 meeting in Key Largo. I also participated as a mentee in AAHB’s 2020 RSMP program with her mentor Dr. Katie Heinrich, who I still collaborate with now. AAHB has been, and continues to be, a fundamental part of my professional journey, and it would be an honor to serve as the newest Member Delegate for this organization.
My AAHB experience has undoubtedly been positive and transformative in my growth, development, and learning as a health behavior researcher and as Member Delegate, I would aim to support and facilitate a similar (or BETTER) membership experience for others. What I love about AAHB is the way the organization prioritizes scientific rigor within a warm and inclusive environment. I want to represent and maintain this structure of good science among great people, while also evolving the organization in ways that make sense for our current membership and changing world. This means being thoughtful and creative about ensuring AAHB remains a rigorous and welcoming place for folks across career phases, research foci, and individual backgrounds, while also being receptive to the membership’s needs and ideas as we collectively press on into the future. Ultimately as Member Delegate, but also as an AAHB member in general, I hope to champion what makes AAHB a community of great people doing good science. Thank you for considering me for this position, it’s an honor to be nominated.