Overview
Dr. Ross's research focuses on understanding the mechanisms by which exercise interventions elicit short- and long-term cardiometabolic health benefits. As cardiometabolic disease remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States, the goal of her translational research is to enhance the development of evidence-based, precision exercise interventions that optimally prevent and treat disease.
Areas of Research Interest
Exercise dose-response and cardiometabolic health
Insulin action and glucose homeostasis
Legacy health benefits of exercise
Heterogeneity of response to exercise intervention
Precision lifestyle medicine
Epidemiology of physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness
Current Duke Appointments & Affiliations
Assistant Professor in Medicine
·
2024 - Present
Medicine, Cardiology,
Medicine
Member of Duke Molecular Physiology Institute
·
2022 - Present
Duke Molecular Physiology Institute,
Institutes and Centers
Recent Scholarly Works
A Lasting Legacy: Long-Term Effects of Exercise Training on Cardiometabolic Health in the STRRIDE-Prediabetes Reunion Study.
Preprint · May 28, 2026 BACKGROUND: Regular exercise is a highly effective yet underutilized strategy to reduce cardiometabolic disease burden. Whether brief structured exercise programs confer lasting cardiometabolic benefits remains unclear. The STRRIDE-Prediabetes Reunion stud ... Full text Link to item CiteA Reproducible Pipeline for Processing Commercial Wearable Step-Count Data in Aging Cohorts: Application and Evaluation in the STRRIDE-PD Reunion Study.
Preprint · May 19, 2026 Wearable devices offer the ability to objectively characterize free-living physical activity; however, raw step-count data generated by commercial devices require systematic processing before they can support rigorous inference. We describe a transparent, ... Full text Link to item CiteRegulation of Small RNAs by Exercise and Their Role in Insulin Sensitivity.
Preprint · May 17, 2026 We investigated effects of three aerobic exercise interventions, varying in amount and intensity with durations of 8-9-months on small RNA (smRNA) expression and regulatory pathways in skeletal muscle and plasma from 120 participants. Using untargeted smRN ... Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
Endocrinology and Metabolism Training Program
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases · 2024 - 2029Genetic Predictors of Exercise and Physical Activity Dropout and Adherence
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2026 - 2028A precision health approach to target exercise interventions for short- and long-term cardiometabolic health benefits
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by American Heart Association · 2023 - 2026View All Grants
Education
University of South Carolina, Columbia ·
2017
Ph.D.