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Faculty Research

Chris Bell, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. 
Dr. Bell’s current research interests include the regulation of energy expenditure by the sympathetic nervous system, and how this is influenced by aging, habitual exercise, molecular and genetic properties of beta-adrenergic receptors, and oxidative stress. Contact

Brian Butki, Ph.D., Special Appointment, Assistant Professor.
Dr. Butki’s research interests include parental and social influences on children's health behaviors; epidemiological psychology; exercise motivation in youth; exercise therapy ("substitute addictions"); exercise and mental health; and applied sport psychology/performance enhancement. Contact

Adam Chicco, Ph.D., Assistant Professor.
Dr. Chicco's primary research interest is the integrative pathophysiology of heart failure and metabolic syndrome, and how the pathogenesis of these diseases may be favorably modulated by exercise, diet and metabolic interventions. Current projects focus specifically on elucidating the roles of the mitochondrial phospholipid cardiolipin and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonists on cardiac mitochondrial function in health and disease.

Loren Cordain, Ph.D., Professor.
Dr. Cordain's research is in Evolutionary Medicine and Nutrition. Specific interests include induction of autoimmune disease via molecular mimicry through dietary antigens, evolutionary basis for cardiovascular disease, role of dietary fatty acids in hominid encephalization, the promotion of oncogenesis via dietary sodium, evolutionary models of obesity via insulin metabolism. Contact

Frank Dinenno, Ph.D., Assistant Professor.
Dr. Dinenno’s research interests include:  1) the interactions between the sympathetic neural vasoconstrictor and the local metabolic vasodilator systems in the control of vascular tone in humans; (2) the effects of aging on vascular control during various stressors (e.g., exercise, hypoxia); and (3) the role of lifestyle and/or behavioral factors in attenuating (or possibly reversing) some of the detrimental changes that occur in the cardiovascular system as humans age. Contact

Robert Gotshall, Ph. D., Professor.
Dr. Gotshall’s interests include cardiopulmonary physiology and health throughout the lifespan. Current research being addressed: 1) interventions to reduce the severity of exercise-induced asthma; 2) rapid acclimatization strategies for altitude performance. Contact

Karyn Hamilton, Ph.D. Assistant Professor.
Dr. Hamilton ‘s current research interests include: 1) the mechanisms of exercise-related protection against ischemia reperfusion injury in the heart; 2) the mechanisms related to the cardioprotective effects of estrogen; 3) sex differences in the susceptibility of the myocardium to ischemia reperfusion injury; and 4) the effects of various bioactive food components on cardiomyocyte survival following ischemia and reperfusion. Contact

Matthew S. Hickey, Ph.D., Associate Professor.
Dr. Hickey’s research interests include the study of energy balance and nutrient metabolism in obesity and diabetes. Specific areas of study include: 1) the integrity of the insulin signaling pathway in skeletal muscle in insulin-resistant states, and how this pathway responds to alterations in diet and exercise; 2) The role of dietary fat type (increased omega-3, decreased omega 6, and/or decreased saturated fat) in regulating gene expression and insulin action in high risk individuals (abdominally obese, high risk ethnic populations), 3) The role of diet and/or exercise in contributing to the regulation of energy balance. Contact

Richard G. Israel, Ed.D., Professor and Department Head.
Dr. Israel’s interests include heart disease and obesity prevention; influence of exercise on lipid transport and metabolism; assessment of body composition; etiology, pathology, epidemiology, and assessment of regional fat distribution and influence of exercise on central control of body weight.  Contact

Cathy Kennedy, Ph. D., Associate Professor.
Dr. Kennedy’s research interests focus on minority - Hispanic health issues, theoretical applications of physical activity maintenance and adoption, college student health attitudes and behaviors, exercise treatment modalities for rheumatoid arthritis, and strategies to improve compliance with health behavior interventions. Contact

Ben Miller, Ph.D., Assistant Professor.
Dr. Miller’s research encompasses the use of exercise as a preventative and therapeutic intervention for disorders of metabolic origin with the effect of age, sex, and nutrition of primary interest.  Dr. Miller uses the in vivo application of stable isotope tracers to explore both structural (protein) and energy (carbohydrate and fat) metabolism in skeletal muscle.  His current research focuses on the effect of energy status on protein metabolism and the role of connective tissue turnover in muscle quality. Contact

Tracy Nelson, M.P.H., Ph.D., Associate Professor.
Dr. Nelson's interests are in public health issues. She is an epidemiologist interested in uncovering risk factors for chronic disease. Specifically she is interested in genetic and dietary factors that are associated with obesity/cardiovascular disease/diabetes, as well as the underlying neuroendocrine and inflammatory mechanisms accounting for these associations. Contact

Raoul Reiser, Ph.D., Assistant Professor.
Dr. Reiser’s research interest is injury prevention and improved rehabilitation through investigation into the biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system.  In particular, interests include lower-extremity musculoskeletal biomechanics and the design of novel research equipment.  Presently, he has ongoing projects to understand how we use one side of the body slightly different from the other with the theory that bilateral asymmetries may lead to low-back pain and injury. Contact

Brian Tracy, Ph.D., Assistant Professor.
Dr. Tracy’s research interests focus on the effects of training interventions on the neuromuscular system of elderly adults, neural mechanisms that underlie changes in the strength and steadiness of muscle contractions with aging, and sarcopenia and frailty in older adults.  His work, funded by the National Institute on Aging, is performed on young and elderly humans in both cross-sectional comparisons and longitudinal interventions.  Contact

Matt Malcolm, Ph.D., OTR, Assistant Professor Occupational Therapy (Joint Appointment, Health and Exercise Science).
Dr. Malcolm's research program investigates: 1) neurophysiological measurement of central nervous system function and reorganization following neurological damage; 2) neurophysiological markers of recovery following stroke; and 3) motor learning and motor control in individuals with and without nervous system damage.   Contact