Cecilia Marinho Tenorio

Maria Cecília M. Tenório is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Health and Kinesiology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She holds a Ph.D. in Children and Adolescent Health from the Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil (2014), an M.S. in Determinants of Adolescent Health (2007), and a B.S. in Physical Education (2002). 

Before joining UIUC in 2023, Dr. Tenório was a tenured Associate Professor at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, where she also chaired the Department of Physical Education (2017–2022). 

Her research and teaching focus on physical activity, chronic disease prevention, health promotion, and adolescent health. She has published extensively on physical activity epidemiology, school-based interventions, and health-related behaviors among youth. Dr. Tenório has also contributed to the development of the Physical Activity Guidelines for the Brazilian Population  She is an active member of the Brazilian Society of Physical Activity and Health, where she served as President (2022–2024).