Brandi Row Lazzarini, an Associate Professor of Exercise and Health Science at Willamette, is a Faculty Athletics Representative with Bearcat Athletics. She has served on the faculty at Willamette since August of 2012. Lazzarini was an outstanding student-athlete at Willamette who played volleyball for four years and graduated with Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology and a minor in Spanish in 1996.

Prior to returning to Willamette, Row Lazzarini was on the faculty at Western Washington University from 2006-12. She previously completed a postdoctoral research fellowship from 2003-06 at the Center for Studies in Aging, as well as the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, and the Health Care, Technology, and Place Interdisciplinary Program at the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada.

Row Lazzarini played for the volleyball team at Willamette from 1992 through 1995, and was inducted into the Willamette University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013. She was named Third Team All-America in 1995 and was Honorable Mention All-America in 1994. She helped the 1994 team finish 30-5 and take first place in the Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges (NCIC) at 12-0. Her efforts helped the 1995 team win the NCIC title at 12-2, qualify for the NAIA National Tournament and finish 29-11 overall.

She was chosen All-Region in 1994 and 1995 after earning Second Team All-District recognition in 1993. She was selected Conference Player of the Year in 1994 and 1995. She was named First Team All-Conference in 1994 and 1995, and received Second Team All-Conference honors in 1992.

Row Lazzarini holds many of Willamette’s volleyball records. Her career records include 1,986 kills, 3,738 total attacks, 231 service aces, 1,889 digs and 485 games/sets played.

As an associate professor, Row Lazzarini's specialties are biomechanics, aging and functional anatomy. Her main research interests intersect with those areas of expertise:  the biomechanics of aging and exercise interventions for older adults. Her research has pursued the development of clinically-feasible functional assessments of rapid stepping performance, weight-shifting ability, and rhythmicity for older adults; the study of gait smoothness, calculated as the harmonic ratio from trunk accelerations, and walking rhythmicity (variability of stride time) of older adults; and high-velocity resistance training interventions for the improvement of muscle power and strength in seniors, including methods to make this style of training more accessible without the need for strength testing.

After earning her B.A. degree at Willamette, Row Lazzarini earned a Master of Science degree in Exercise and Movement Science from the University of Oregon in 1999. She added a Ph.D. in Biomechanics with a minor in Gerontology from Pennsylvania State University in 2003. Row Lazzarini is a member of the American Society of Biomechanics and the American College of Sports Medicine.