Spartans make history with national kinesiology honors

Spartans took home almost every major student/alum academic award at the American Kinesiology Academy (AKA) awards cycle this spring. 

This is monumental in and of itself: Spartan excellence was represented across master’s- and doctoral-level research and academic writing generally. 

It speaks volumes that Michigan State University is the first institution to win three student awards through the AKA in a single year. 

“I couldn’t be prouder of these exceptional kinesiology scholars,” said MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., himself a John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor in the Department of Kinesiology. “This remarkable set of recognitions speaks both to the merit of our recipients and the excellence of our kinesiology program and faculty.” 

Meet our awardees 

Awards are selected by an AKA-appointed committee. The 2026 awardees are: 

• National Master’s Scholar Award (sole awardee) - Lilian Klein, M.S. ‘26
• National Doctoral Scholar Award (sole awardee) - Corinne Zimmerman Hobbs, Ph.D. ‘26
• National Graduate Student Writing Award (sole awardee) - Marcelo Cabral, Ph.D. '26 

“The odds of something like this happening are truly infinitesimal,” said Panteleimon “Paddy” Ekkekakis, professor and chairperson of the Department of Kinesiology. “Congratulations to our amazing students and to their mentors. This is indeed an extremely proud moment for us as a department. This is a truly incredible accomplishment.” 

Lilian Klein (National Master’s Scholar Award, sole awardee) 

While earning a master’s in Kinesiology, Klein was also a graduate student researcher in MSU’s Sport Concussion Research Lab, a subset of the larger Athletic Injury and Rehabilitation (AIR) Labs. She has published four peer-reviewed articles to date, including serving as lead author on a 2025 publication in the Journal of Athletic Training. She also supported undergraduate students, serving as a mentor on two projects presented at the annual University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum in 2026 (she won a first prize at the same event in 2022). 

In 2026, the Department of Kinesiology awarded Klein the Outstanding Master’s Student Award and the Outstanding Kinesiology Graduate Student Organization Award. In 2025, the Mid-West American College of Sports Medicine honored Klein with the Outstanding Master’s Student Oral Presentation Award. 

Klein is now pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, with a focus on neuropsychology, at the University of Rhode Island. 

Corinne Zimmerman Hobbs (National Doctoral Scholar Award, sole awardee) 

Zimmerman Hobbs graduated in May 2026 with a Ph.D. in Kinesiology and a graduate certificate in Teaching and Learning in Postsecondary Education. Her research focuses on pre-game speech. She has produced six peer-reviewed publications to date and is the first author on half of them, including a February 2026 publication in the International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching. 

In 2023, she co-led a series of workshops with the Lansing School District via the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, working with middle and high school athletes focused on social and emotional development. That same year, she formed a podcast listening group for the Kinesiology Graduate Student Organization (KGSO) to deepen understanding of various diversity, equity and inclusion topics and was also elected president. Subsequently, she received two awards in 2024 for the outreach and professional development efforts: 

• MSU Council of Graduate Students Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award
• MSU Outstanding KGSO Award 

Zimmerman joined Miami University (Ohio) in fall 2026 as an assistant professor of sport leadership and management. 

Marcelo Cabral (National Graduate Student Writing Award (sole awardee) 

Cabral earned a Ph.D. in Kinesiology in August 2026. To date, his work has been published 14 times in peer-reviewed journals such as the Psychology of Sport and Exercise, International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching and Frontiers in Psychology, among others. 

His article submitted for the AKA award was published in the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology in May 2025. The paper — “A meta-analysis of physical activity interventions targeting executive functions in children: Focus on cognitive and/or metabolic demands?” evaluated “the extent to which differences in the cognitive demands of physical activity interventions, per se or jointly with their metabolic demands, may explain differences in the observed effects on children’s core executive functions,” according to the abstract. The paper was led by Cabral and included expertise from current MSU faculty Matthew Pontifex, Caterina Pesce and Spyridoula Vazou. Additional research support was provided by Ioanna Pournara and Fotini Venetsanou. 

Cabral is currently a reviewer for several journals, including Frontiers in Psychology, International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Journal of Motor Learning and Development, and Mental Health and Physical Activity. 

About the awards 

For the master’s and doctoral awards, nominated students must meet cumulative GPA standards, graduate within a specific timeframe (for that year’s award), and be enrolled in a kinesiology degree program. The graduate student writing award is given to a student who is a first author on a published paper published in 2025 and was a current student at time of publication. Nominations, which must be made by the department chair or an authorized faculty member, must also provide documentation of student-led accomplishments, leadership efforts and service to the profession overall. Awardees are selected by an AKA-appointed committee; up to two master’s students are selected, one doctoral student and one writing winner.