Department of Public Health Education
Michael Perko, Ph.D., CHES, FAAHE, Associate Professor
Department of Public Health Education
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
PO Box 26170,
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
(336) 344-3238 (fax)
m_perko@uncg.edu
Curriculum Vita (PDF)
PO Box 26170,
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
(336) 344-3238 (fax)
m_perko@uncg.edu
Curriculum Vita (PDF)
Education
A.A. Liberal Arts, Keystone Jr. College
B.S. Health and Physical Education, East Stroudsburg University
M.S. Community Health Education, East Stroudsburg University
Ph.D. Health Education and Promotion, The University of Alabama
Research Interests
Sports Performance Enhancers and Athletes
Dr. Mike Perko is Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Public Health Education. His research focuses on athletes and their use of sport performance products and takes a health behavior and educational approach rather than clinical approach. While many researchers focus on the testing of a particular sports performance enhancer (Creatine, Ephedra, Andro), Dr. Perko insists a crucial factor is the process of decision-making towards taking these products, and the influences that help athletes make good decisions (physicians, athletic trainers) or poor decisions (Media, dietary supplement industry) towards use.
His overriding philosophy is that sports products come and go, but the process stays the same. Dr. Perko is author of the books “Taking One for the Team: The New Thinking on Dietary Supplements and Young Athletes” and “Can You Win Without Supplements?” Both of these books focus on the unregulated dietary supplement industry and the potential health risks faced by vulnerable young athletes.
Dr. Perko has testified at Senate hearings, served as an NCAA Expert Speaker, appeared on ESPN's "Outside the Lines" and been quoted numerous times in Sports Illustrated, the NY Times and many other media outlets on his research in this area.
Worksite Health Promotion
From 1992 to1997 he served as the Associate Director of the Good Health Makes Sense program, a comprehensive worksite health promotion and disease prevention initiative for employees, spouses, and retiree's of Alabama and Gulf Power Companies. With over 160 sites in two states, the program met the needs of over 12,000 participants. In 1995 Good Health Makes Sense was recognized with the National Health and Human Secretary’s Award as one of the top 10 best programs in the US. Dr. Perko has worked with worksite wellness programs in Alabama, Louisiana, Ohio, and with National Rural Electric Coop’s throughout the country.
He serves on the Medical Advisory Board of the Wellness Councils of America (WELCOA), served as Senior Editor of the WELCOA publication Absolute Advantage , and over a five-year period wrote 125 articles on health and fitness for WELCOA’s Well Workplace Newsletter, delivered monthly to over 3 million employees at worksites around the country. In 2006 he chaired the Executive Search Committee at the University of Alabama to hire their first ever Director of Health Promotion and Wellness.
In 2003 Dr. Perko was named Health Educator of the Year in North Carolina and also received the Chancellors Teaching Award from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
From 2004-2008 Dr. Perko served as Chair of the Department of Health Science at the University of Alabama and is a graduate of UA's two-year Executive Leadership Academy.
He has been invited numerous times to Capital Hill to advocate to congressional leaders for healthier schools and greater access for kids to become physically fit. He is a Fellow of the American Association for Health Education and was honored by them in 2008 as the National Health Educator of the Year in Administration.
He lives in Jamestown, NC with his wife Sarah and kids Jack and Elena Rose.
Dr. Mike Perko is Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Public Health Education. His research focuses on athletes and their use of sport performance products and takes a health behavior and educational approach rather than clinical approach. While many researchers focus on the testing of a particular sports performance enhancer (Creatine, Ephedra, Andro), Dr. Perko insists a crucial factor is the process of decision-making towards taking these products, and the influences that help athletes make good decisions (physicians, athletic trainers) or poor decisions (Media, dietary supplement industry) towards use.
His overriding philosophy is that sports products come and go, but the process stays the same. Dr. Perko is author of the books “Taking One for the Team: The New Thinking on Dietary Supplements and Young Athletes” and “Can You Win Without Supplements?” Both of these books focus on the unregulated dietary supplement industry and the potential health risks faced by vulnerable young athletes.
Dr. Perko has testified at Senate hearings, served as an NCAA Expert Speaker, appeared on ESPN's "Outside the Lines" and been quoted numerous times in Sports Illustrated, the NY Times and many other media outlets on his research in this area.
Worksite Health Promotion
From 1992 to1997 he served as the Associate Director of the Good Health Makes Sense program, a comprehensive worksite health promotion and disease prevention initiative for employees, spouses, and retiree's of Alabama and Gulf Power Companies. With over 160 sites in two states, the program met the needs of over 12,000 participants. In 1995 Good Health Makes Sense was recognized with the National Health and Human Secretary’s Award as one of the top 10 best programs in the US. Dr. Perko has worked with worksite wellness programs in Alabama, Louisiana, Ohio, and with National Rural Electric Coop’s throughout the country.
He serves on the Medical Advisory Board of the Wellness Councils of America (WELCOA), served as Senior Editor of the WELCOA publication Absolute Advantage , and over a five-year period wrote 125 articles on health and fitness for WELCOA’s Well Workplace Newsletter, delivered monthly to over 3 million employees at worksites around the country. In 2006 he chaired the Executive Search Committee at the University of Alabama to hire their first ever Director of Health Promotion and Wellness.
In 2003 Dr. Perko was named Health Educator of the Year in North Carolina and also received the Chancellors Teaching Award from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
From 2004-2008 Dr. Perko served as Chair of the Department of Health Science at the University of Alabama and is a graduate of UA's two-year Executive Leadership Academy.
He has been invited numerous times to Capital Hill to advocate to congressional leaders for healthier schools and greater access for kids to become physically fit. He is a Fellow of the American Association for Health Education and was honored by them in 2008 as the National Health Educator of the Year in Administration.
He lives in Jamestown, NC with his wife Sarah and kids Jack and Elena Rose.
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courses taught