Directory

Dominika Pindus's directory photo.

Dominika Pindus

Assistant Professor

Primary Affiliation

Cognition, Lifespan Engagement, Aging, and Resilience

Affiliations

Status Affiliate Faculty

Home Department of Health and Kinesiology

Phone 300-7317

Email pindus@illinois.edu

Address

  • Biography

    Dominika Pindus is an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health. Her primary affiliation is Cognition, Lifespan Engagement, Aging, and Resilience. Dominika Pindus directs a Physical Activity and Neurocognitive Health Laboratory, where she mentors graduate and undergraduate students. The laboratory provides research experience opportunities to students across campus.

    Education

    • M.A., psychology, Jagiellonian University, 2004

    • M.S., health psychology, University of Bath, 2005

    • Ph.D., philosophy, Loughborough University, 2015

  • Honors

    2021: List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

    2020: List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

    2016: Travel Grant Recipient, ABI Researcher Links

    2014: List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 

    2012-2015: Doctoral Scholarship Recipient, Loughborough University

    2012: First Place for a Student Poser in the category: Kinesiology and Physiology, University of Saskatchewan

    2011: International Dean’s Scholarship Recipient for doctoral studies, University of Saskatchewan

    2004: First Class Degree in Psychology

  • Research

    Research areas:

    • Behavioral Brain Research 

    • Psychophysiology 

    • Physical Activity and Health

    Research interests:

    • Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology

    • Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

    • Developmental and Cognitive Psychology

    Dominika Pindus’s research focuses on the effects of physically inactive and sedentary lifestyles on cognitive and brain health in children, adolescents and working-age adults. The overarching goal of her research program is to understand how sedentary lifestyles affect cognitive and brain functions and the underlying mechanisms. Her research combines the study of physical activity and sedentary patterns with testing the efficacy of novel intervention strategies to modify sitting patterns and improve executive functions. In her work, she integrates objective methods to assess physical activity and sedentary behaviors with cognitive and psychophysiological methods to understand the effects of physically inactive and sedentary lifestyles on executive functions and their neuroelectric correlates (event-related brain potentials). Her research further incorporates biomarkers to address mechanistic research questions.

  • 2023

    • Pindus, D. M., Shigeta, T. T., Leahy, A. A., Mavilidi, M. F., Nayak, A., Marcozzi, D., Montero-Herrera, B., Abbas, Z., Hillman, C. H., & Lubans, D. R. (2023). Sex moderates the associations between physical activity intensity and attentional control in older adolescents. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports. https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.14311

    2022

    • Keye, S. A., Kim, J., Cannavale, C. N., Walk, A. M., Burd, N. A., Pindus, D., & Khan, N. A. (2022). Neuroelectric indices of motor response preparation are selectively associated with physical activity among adults with obesity. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 182, 200-210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.10.013
    • Pindus, D. M., Selzer-Ninomiya, A., Nayak, A., Pionke, J. J., & Raine, L. B. (2022). Effects of reducing sedentary behaviour duration by increasing physical activity, on cognitive function, brain function and structure across the lifespan: a systematic review protocol. BMJ Open, 12(10), [e046077]. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046077

    2021

    • Ai M, Morris TP, Ordway C, Quinoñez E, D'Agostino F, Whitfield-Gabrieli S, Hillman CH, Pindus DM, McAuley E, Mayo N, de la Colina AN, Phillips S, Kramer AF, Geddes M. The daily activity study of health (DASH): A pilot randomized controlled trial to enhance physical activity in sedentary older adults. Contemporary Clinical Trials. 106405. PMID 33945886 DOI: 10.1016/j.cct.2021.106405
    • Ai, M., Morris, T. P., Ordway, C., Quinoñez, E., D'Agostino, F., Whitfield-Gabrieli, S., Hillman, C. H., Pindus, D. M., McAuley, E., Mayo, N., de la Colina, A. N., Phillips, S., Kramer, A. F., & Geddes, M. (2021). The daily activity study of health (DASH): A pilot randomized controlled trial to enhance physical activity in sedentary older adults. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 106, [106405]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cct.2021.106405
    • Chaddock-Heyman, L., Weng, T. B., Loui, P., Kienzler, C., Weisshappel, R., Drollette, E. S., Raine, L. B., Westfall, D., Kao, S. C., Pindus, D. M., Baniqued, P., Castelli, D. M., Hillman, C. H., & Kramer, A. F. (2021). Brain network modularity predicts changes in cortical thickness in children involved in a physical activity intervention. Psychophysiology, 58(10), [e13890]. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13890
    • Pindus DM, Edwards CG, Walk AM, Reeser G, Burd NA, Holscher HD, Khan NA. Sedentary time is related to deficits in response inhibition among adults with overweight and obesity: An accelerometry and event-related brain potentials study. Psychophysiology. e13843. PMID 34021599 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13843
    • Pindus DM, Edwards CG, Walk AM, Reeser G, Burd NA, Holscher HD, Khan NA. The relationships between prolonged sedentary time, physical activity, cognitive control, and P3 in adults with overweight and obesity. International Journal of Obesity (2005). PMID 33526853 DOI: 10.1038/s41366-020-00734-w

    2020

    • Pindus DM, Zwilling CE, Jarrett JS, Talukdar T, Schwarb H, Anderson E, Cohen NJ, Barbey AK, Kramer AF, Hillman CH. Opposing associations between sedentary time and decision-making competence in young adults revealed by functional connectivity in the dorsal attention network. Scientific Reports. 10: 13993. PMID 32814816 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-70679-7
    • Raine LB, Kao SC, Drollette ES, Pontifex MB, Pindus D, Hunt J, Kramer AF, Hillman CH. The role of BMI on cognition following acute physical activity in preadolescent children. Trends in Neuroscience and Education. 21: 100143. PMID 33303110 DOI: 10.1016/j.tine.2020.100143

    2019

    • Pindus DM, Drollette ES, Raine LB, Kao SC, Khan N, Westfall DR, Hamill M, Shorin R, Calobrisi E, John D, Kramer AF, Hillman CH. Moving fast, thinking fast: The relations of physical activity levels and bouts to neuroelectric indices of inhibitory control in preadolescents. Journal of Sport and Health Science. 8: 301-314. PMID 31333883 DOI: 10.1016/J.Jshs.2019.02.003

    2018

    • Moore RD, Sicard V, Pindus D, Raine LB, Drollette ES, Scudder MR, Decker S, Ellemberg D, Hillman CH. A targeted neuropsychological examination of children with a history of sport-related concussion. Brain Injury. 1-8. PMID 30427210 DOI: 10.1080/02699052.2018.1546408
    • Raine LB, Kao S, Pindus D, Westfall DR, Shigeta TT, Logan N, Cadenas-Sanchez C, Li J, Drollette ES, Pontifex MB, Khan NA, Kramer AF, Hillman CH. A Large-Scale Reanalysis of Childhood Fitness and Inhibitory Control Journal of Cognitive Enhancement. 2: 170-192. DOI: 10.1007/S41465-018-0070-7