Academic Areas:
- Exercise Science
- Kinesiology
Teaching Interests:
- Cardiovascular exercise physiology
- Health disparities in cardiovascular disease
- Effects of exercise on cardiovascular disease risk factors
- Exercise and aging
Research Interests:
- Effects of exercise on hypertension in African Americans
- Racial differences in systemic and vascular inflammation and responses to exercise
- Modalities to improve vascular health in African Americans
- Effects of combined exercise and probiotics on blood pressure, vascular function and the gut microbiota in African Americans
- Effects of shear stress on endothelial cells
Our research program focuses on hypertension, vascular health, and exercise in African Americans.
Specifically, we focus on elucidating the mechanisms by which changes in lifestyle factors lead to beneficial changes in both conventional and non-conventional cardiovascular disease risk factors.
We focus primarily, but not exclusively, on African Americans as their morbidity and mortality rates from cardiovascular disease, particularly hypertension, exceed other U.S. populations.
