Research Interests
I joined the Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Environmental Physiology in August 2019 after retiring from the US Navy. While my educational background is nutrition and exercise physiology, navy directed training and mission requirements resulted in conducting research in the following areas: bone health in submariners and obesity, performance nutrition for high altitude, mitochondrial physiology in heat stress and obesity, and diving safety. From these topics, I have gained an appreciation for the biological limitations imposed by exposure to increased or decreased ambient pressure, and the metabolic stress caused by nutrient excess. My new role within the Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Environmental Physiology has afforded me the great opportunity to pursue more focused research questions with the overall goal of improving human health, performance and safety during exposure to hyper- and hypobaric environments.
Selected Grants
Remotely Monitored, Mobile health-supported High Intensity Interval Training after COVID-19 Critical Illness (REMM HIIT-Covid19)
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2021 - 2027Applied Physiology of CNS Oxygen Toxicity: Mechanisms in Humans
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by Office of Naval Research · 2023 - 2026The Role of GABA in Susceptibility to Oxygen Toxicity with Repeated HBO2 Exposure
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Office of Naval Research · 2022 - 2025Ketone Ester Supplement for CNSOT Mitigation
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by Naval Sea Systems Command · 2022 - 2025Repair Mechanisms of Oxidative Tissue Damage
EquipmentPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Office of Naval Research · 2024 - 2025AQP5 as a Target for Prophylactic Countermeasures for Pulmonary Hyperbaric Oxygen Toxicity
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Case Western Reserve University · 2023 - 2024Perfluoromethane to Reduce Decompression Sickness
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by Naval Sea Systems Command · 2021 - 2023Enhanced Assessment of Oxidative Tissue Damage
EquipmentPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Office of Naval Research · 2022 - 2023METABOLIC SYSTEM FOR IN VIVO RODENT TESTING
EquipmentPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Office of Naval Research · 2021 - 2022Characterizing Hyperoxia-Induced Alterations in Muscular Physiology
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Navy Experimental Diving Unit · 2021 - 2022Effects of HBO2 on skeletal muscle calcium regulation and mitochondrial function
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Office of Naval Research · 2021 - 2022Effects of Exercise on Skeletal Health in Iron Deficient Female Rats
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Henry M. Jackson Foundation · 2019 - 2021Fellowships, Gifts, and Supported Research
Ketone Ester Supplement for CNSOT Mitigation ·
2022
- 2024
Co-I ·
Awarded by: Naval Sea Systems Command
· $825,248.00
Perfluoromethane toxicity study ·
2021
- 2022
Co-I ·
Awarded by: Naval Sea Systems Command
· $71,725.00
REMM HITT-Covid19 ·
2021
- 2026
Co-I ·
Awarded by: National Institutes of Health (NHLBI)
· $4,174,449.00
Oxidative tissue damage after HBO2 exposure using selected FDA-approved anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) ·
2020
- 2022
PI ·
Awarded by: Office of Naval Research
· $287,000.00
Heme oxygenase-1 regulation of skeletal muscle inflammation and mitochondrial fitness in sarcopenic obesity ·
2020
- 2021
PI ·
Awarded by: Duke University
· $30,000.00
Decrements in skeletal muscle performance and mitochondrial function following hypobaric exposure and enhancing oxyhemoglobin affinity to attenuate these effects in a rodent model ·
2017
- 2019
Co-I ·
Awarded by: Office of Naval Research
· $319,988.00
The Effects of Vitamin D on Upper Respiratory Tract Infections and Immune Function in Marine Corps Recruits ·
2016
- 2018
PI ·
Awarded by: Defense Health Program
· $470,000.00
Application of low dose inhaled carbon monoxide to attenuate diet induced obesity in rats ·
2015
- 2018
PI ·
Awarded by: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
· $90,000.00
The importance of nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway in regulating systemic blood flow under hypobaric and the impact of nitrate supplementation on exercise performance at high altitude ·
2012
- 2013
Co-I ·
Awarded by: Office of Naval Research
· $198,179.00
Exhaled nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO) as noninvasive markers of hyperbaric oxidative stress in humans ·
2010
- 2013
Co-I ·
Awarded by: Office of Naval Research
· $435,000.00
The role of nitric oxide in hyperbaric hyperbaric stress ·
2010
- 2011
Co-I ·
Awarded by: Defense Health Medical Research and Development Program
· $247,000.00
Bone Health in US Submariners ·
2010
- 2013
PI ·
Awarded by: Office of Naval Research
· $828,000.00
The effects of immediate post-resistance exercise protein ingestion on protein synthesis using 2H2O ·
2006
- 2007
PI ·
Awarded by: Gatorade Sports Science Institute
· $1,500.00
The effects of a carbohydrate-protein drink on performance and mood in US pararescue trainees ·
2005
- 2006
PI ·
Awarded by: USAF, 59th Clinical Research Squadron
· $5,000.00