Lab Members

Phillips’s interdisciplinary research is focused on understanding the determinants and health outcomes of physical activity participation and the translation of this research into practice. Phillips is a behavioral interventionist by training and has worked with data from prospective, cohort and national datasets. She has extensive training, experience and expertise in designing, conducting and analyzing randomized exercise interventions to maximize adherence and cognitive and physical functioning as well as in using accelerometers to objectively measure physical activity. Phillips has worked with older adults, individuals with multiple sclerosis, college students, prostate cancer survivors, breast cancer survivors and childhood cancer survivors. She has published over 70 articles in the areas of physical activity, aging, cancer and implementation sciences.
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Her current research interests include understanding the biopsychosocial mechanisms underlying the relationship between physical activity and health and disease outcomes; identifying the determinants of physical activity behavior change and maintenance; the intersection of cancer and aging, the role of physical activity in the primary and secondary disease prevention; and the translation of research in these areas to practice using technology and innovative study designs and methods. In her free time, she enjoys reading, running, spending time with her family and traveling.

Alexander completed a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology, with a concentration in exercise science and health promotion and a minor in human nutrition, at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has also completed an HIV data surveillance internship with Peoria City/County Health Department, an area with some of the highest STI rates in the country. She is a current Master of Public Health student at George Washington University. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, trying new foods, exercising, tutoring and dancing.

Freeman graduated from Boston University in 2016 with a BA in neuroscience. Prior to joining the EHL, she was working with the Young Women’s Study and Adult Survivorship research teams at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. She is interested in women’s health and oncology, with a focus on improving quality of life through mobile technologies. When not at the lab, Hannah enjoys spending time outdoors, cycling and volunteering at community gardens.

Hickey is a student in Northwestern University’s Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medicine Program and hopes to attend medical school upon graduation. He is particularly interested in rehabilitation medicine. Hickey studied music and journalism at Georgetown University and earned a master's in journalism at Northwestern. Before deciding to switch to a medical career, he ran a video production company in Chicago. In his free time, he enjoys playing music in a cover band, reading fantasy and sci-fi novels, hiking and traveling.

Solk graduated in 2018 from the University of Michigan, where she studied psychology and digital studies, and served as an undergraduate assistant in the university's Child Development and Family Relations Lab. Solk began working as a research assistant/project coordinator at the EHL in June 2018 and is excited to continue contributing to research in the lab as a graduate student. She is interested in technology-based interventions that promote health behavior change. Ultimately, she hopes to provide support to individuals coping with chronic disease and treatment.

Starikovsky graduated from the University of Maryland in 2019 with a BA in psychology and a minor in neuroscience. After college, she worked for almost two years with youth multiple sclerosis and early-onset Alzheimer’s disease populations as a clinical research coordinator at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania. Starikovsky recently received her master’s degree in clinical psychology at Northwestern University and is excited to begin her PhD in clinical psychology with the Exercise & Health Lab. She is interested in creating manageable and sustainable lifestyle interventions (i.e. physical activity, mindfulness, sleep) for those with chronic illnesses.