Vascular Aging Laboratory

Director:     Joaquin U. Gonzales, Ph.D.

Location:     Kinesiology & Sport Management Building, room 119

Laboratory Focus

Nearly half of U.S. adults have some form of cardiovascular disease.  Many modifiable lifestyle factors have a strong impact on cardiovascular health.  Our laboratory focuses on the multidirectional relation between sleep, physical activity, and vascular function in order to determine optimal behaviors to lower the risk for developing cardiovascular disease and promote healthy aging.  

Funding

The Vascular Aging Laboratory at Texas Tech University has been active in human research since 2011.  During this time, the laboratory has been funded by various funding sources.

Source: Office of Research and Innovation, Scholarship Catalyst Award, Texas Tech University
Title: Effect of stable sleep patterns on peripheral vascular function following sleep deprivation 
Role: Principal Investigator
Dates: 2024
Amount: $7,000

Source: American Heart Association, Innovative Project Award
Title: Effect of Pulsatile Pressure & Long Sleep Duration on Cerebral Vascular Function
Role: Principal Investigator
Dates: 2019-2021
Amount: $197,451

Source: American Heart Association, Southwest Affiliate, Beginning Grant-in-Aid
Title: Impact of Reduced Arterial Stiffness on Peripheral Vascular Function 
Role: Principal Investigator
Dates: 2015-2017
Amount: $136,076

Source: Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health, Seed Grant
Title: Age and the Effect of Preclinical Cognitive Decline on Mobility
Role: Co-Principal Investigator (50%)
Dates:  2015-2016
Amount: $10,300         

Student Research

Students that are actively conducting reserach or have successfully completed a graduate thesis project in this laboratory include:

• Gabriel Narvaez, 2024-Present.  Current student in the Ph.D. program in Exercise Physiology;

• Jacob Dellinger, 2021-2023, title of thesis “Impact of sleep regularity on skeletal muscle oxygenation changes during cycling exercise”;

   _{Graduated in 2023.}

• Cayla Clark, 2019-2021, title of thesis "Effect of fractionized exercise on nighttime central blood pressure, cognitive function, and cerebral tissue oxygenation under conditions of normal and long sleep durations";

   _{Graduated in 2021. Currently a PhD student at Texas Women's University.}

• John Ashley, 2016-2017, title of thesis "Effects of L-citrulline supplementation on the energetic cost of walking";

 _{Graduated in 2017. Currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas.}

• Andrea Raymond, 2015-2017, title of thesis "Effect of L-citrulline on gait performance in older adults";

 _{Graduated in 2017. Works as a registered nurse at Texas Health Resources in the Dallas-FortWorth metroplex.}

• Melissa Inigo-Vollmer, 2010-2012, title of thesis "Influence of menstrual cycle phases on exercise-induced bronchospasm and its effect on endurance performance".

 _{Graduated in 2012. Currently a Research Scientist at UT Southwestern Medical Center.}

 

Recent Research Findings

Limit the time awake while trying to sleep for better vascular health.  This is the take-home message from a recent research study conducted in our laboratory.  We asked young adults to extend their sleep for one night.  On average, participants extended their sleep from 6.5 to 9 hours.  The morning after the night of extended sleep, blood pressure was recorded in the laboratory.  We found that increasing sleep time reduced blood pressure only in adults that had no change in how much time they were awake during the night.  For those that spent more time awake during the night when they extended their sleep, blood pressure was found to be unchanged.  These results highlight the importance of the quality of sleep when trying to increase the amount of sleep one gets each night.  You can read more about this research study in the scientific journal Clocks & Sleep at https://doi.org/10.3390/clockssleep6040036 .

Other research publications from this laboratory can be viewed on Dr. Gonzales' Faculty Research page.

 

Interested in Getting Involved?

Students interested in getting involved with research in this laboratory should contact Joaquin U. Gonzales, Ph.D.