KINGSTON, R.I. –April 4, 2012 –Miriam Nelson, acclaimed advocate for women’s health and author of the best-selling “Strong Women” book series will deliver the annual Schweers Lecture on Women and Health at the University of Rhode Island Wednesday, April 18.

Nelson’s talk, Strong Women: Exercise, Nutrition, and Optimal Health, begins at 7 p.m. in the Agnes G. Doody Auditorium of Swan Hall, 60 Upper College Road, Kingston. It is free and open to the public.

Nelson, the director of the John Hancock Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, is a visionary researcher with an infectious enthusiasm for women’s strength and its relationship to overall health.

For the past 15 years, she has been the principal investigator for a range of important studies on exercise and nutrition. A professor of nutrition science and health policy and a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, Nelson is masterful at communicating to audiences and is popular with the mainstream media.

She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, NPR’s Fresh Air and The Discovery Channel. She has appeared in her own PBS special, Strong Women Live Well, which focuses on the benefits of exercise and nutrition for women’s health. She is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to bring safe strength training classes to women across the country.

Her bestselling books include Strong Women Stay Young, Strong Women Stay Slim, Strong Women Eat Well, Strong Women Strong Hearts and Strong Women and Men Beat Arthritis.

Her book Strong Women, Strong Bones received the “Books for a Better Life Award” from the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Her writing has appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Journal of Gerontology, and many other scientific publications, and she has been profiled in such mainstream magazines as Time, Biography and Eating Well.

Her visit is sponsored by URI’s President’s Office, College of the Environment and Life Sciences, College of Human Science and Service, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Gender and Women’s Studies, College of Nursing, women’s athletics, Women’s Center, University Health Services, student activities, and physical therapy.