Dr. Jennifer D. Roberts research focuses on the impact of built, social, and natural environments, including the institutional and structural inequities of these environments, on the public health outcomes of marginalized communities. As an active living scholar, much of her research has explored the dynamic relationship between environmental, social, and cultural determinants of physical activity using empirical evidence of this relationship to infer complex health outcome patterns and disparities among marginalized communities.

Public Health Outcomes and Effects of the Built Environment (PHOEBE) Laboratory research, such as the Built Environment and Active Play (BEAP) and Physical Environment and Active Transportation (PEAT) Studies, have incorporated state of the art techniques including spatial analysis and geographic information system modeling in order to objectively capture the role and relationship of physical activity determinants.  While relying heavily on quantitative and qualitative data, crosscutting health issues, particularly those stemming directly from structurally racist policies, along with exposure (e.g. transit deserts) and outcome (e.g. obesity) disparities, have also been addressed in her physical activity and public health research program.

Dr. Roberts’ was awarded a JPB Environmental Health Fellowship by Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. This three-year fellowship supports her Gauging Effects of Neighborhood Trends and Sickness (GENTS) Study: Examining the Perceptions of Transit-Induced Gentrification in Prince George’s County. GENTS examines the risk of transit-induced gentrification and associated health outcomes (e.g., anxiety) and determinants (e.g., walkability) as related to the Maryland Purple Line light rail, a new 16.1-mile light rail train with intended operation in 2026.  While the introduction of light rail in communities often encourages physical activity by way of active transportation or human powered movement, such as walking or biking, gentrification is often an unintended consequence and socioeconomic by-product of these types of transit-oriented developments.

Dr. Roberts has received other research and professional development grants from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as well as intramural grants from the University of Maryland.  She was invited to be a Visiting Researcher at the University of Otago School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Sciences in Dunedin, New Zealand.