LabCompass

Vanessa M. Martinez Kercher

Medicine · Indiana University

OpenAlex ORCID
Mid career · publishing since 2002Rising activity
Physical Activity and HealthObesity, Physical Activity, DietChildren's Physical and Motor DevelopmentMotivation and Self-Concept in SportsBehavioral Health and Interventions

Publications

67

Citations

544

Est. group size

~3

Recurring co-author estimate

Active years

24

Publishing since 2002

Research summary
AI-generated

Vanessa M. Martinez Kercher studies how to promote physical activity and healthy behaviors, especially among children and adolescents in rural communities. Much of the work involves designing and testing school-based interventions—such as sport, strength training, and body-image programs—and examining the psychological factors like motivation and self-efficacy that influence participation. The research combines health promotion, exercise science, and public health approaches.

Physical activity and health promotionSchool-based interventions for rural youthBody image and adolescent well-beingMotivation and self-efficacy in exercise and sportBehavioral health and program feasibility

Publication activity has grown steadily over the past decade, rising sharply in recent years to roughly 17 outputs in 2025.

Generated by claude-opus-4-8 from public bibliographic data · Jul 9, 2026

In context
Among 4,618 mid career Medicine PIs within our index
Citations: 544cohort median 616
h-index: 13cohort median 11
Publications / year (recent): 8.2cohort median 3.4

Typically publishes in teams of ~8 · 13% small-team papers (≤3 authors) · across 28 venues

Publication cadence
Publications per year over the last 10 years — averaging 8.2/year recently
2017: 1 publication172018: 1 publication182019: 1 publication192020: 2 publications202021: 4 publications212022: 4 publications222023: 8 publications232024: 12 publications242025: 17 publications172526
Collaborators per year
Distinct co-authors at Indiana University each year — a rough indication of whether the group around this researcher has been growing or contracting. An estimate from co-authorship, not a roster: collaborators are not necessarily lab members, and recent years can be under-counted while indexing catches up.
2017: 0 collaborators at the same institution2018: 0 collaborators at the same institution2019: 0 collaborators at the same institution2020: 0 collaborators at the same institution2021: 0 collaborators at the same institution2022: 0 collaborators at the same institution2023: 9 collaborators at the same institution2024: 8 collaborators at the same institution2025: 15 collaborators at the same institution1719212325
Recent publications
Publishes in
  • ACSMʼs Health & Fitness Journal×9
  • Research Square×7
  • International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health×4
  • BMC Public Health×3
  • Frontiers in Public Health×3
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This profile was generated automatically from public scholarly data (OpenAlex). Group size and activity levels are estimates derived from co-authorship patterns.

Last updated Sep 1, 2026.

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