Our laboratory’s research focus entails the investigation of neural cardiovascular control in human health and disease with a specific emphasis on the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. We have multiple ongoing projects in healthy subjects with a particular focus on racial disparities and the prevalence of hypertension.
We also perform studies in patients with various pathophysiological conditions such as type 2 diabetes. These studies are designed to better understand the role of insulin-mediated vasodilation in glucose uptake within skeletal muscle and how impairments may contribute to hyperglycemia with the goal of identifying new therapeutic targets in the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes.
CURRENT STUDIES
Lab Members of Fall ’23
Lab Members (from left to right Taha Alhalimi, Rie Conley, Prema Velusamy, Ziba Taherzadeh, Nicole Garza, Claire Trotter, Theresa Biju, Dr. Paul J Fadel)
Director
Contact Dr. Paul J. Fadel
Paul J Fadel, PhD, Director, Human Neural Cardiovascular Control Lab Professor, Department of Kinesiology Associate Dean for Research, CONHI
Center for Research and Scholarship
Postdoctoral Fellows
Taha Alhalimi hails from Dammam, a coastal city in Saudi Arabia. He joined the Human Neural Cardiovascular Control laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow in the summer of 2023. His academic foundation, rooted in healthcare, includes a bachelor’s in physical therapy and a master’s in clinical exercise physiology. As a physical therapist, he dealt with various medical conditions, from short-term rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries to prolonged rehabilitation of patients with neurological and cardiac disorders. He received his doctoral degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of Texas at Austin. His dissertation focused on validating arterial stiffness measurements under various conditions, a relatively new measure to predicate cardiovascular disease risk, aiming to prepare it for clinical practice. Beyond the laboratory, you will find Taha playing on a racquetball court, cruising the roads on his motorbike, or hiking and exploring the wonders of natural landscapes.
Claire Trotter grew up in Vermont before moving to Dallas, Texas to attend Southern Methodist University (SMU) for her undergrad degree in Applied Physiology. She started as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Human Neural Cardiovascular Control Lab in August 2023. Prior to arriving at UT Arlington, she received a master’s in biology from University of Colorado – Colorado Springs in 2018 and a PhD in Applied Physiology in 2023 from SMU. Her dissertation work investigated alterations to cardiovascular control in females with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis at rest and during stress. Claire’s research interests include cardiovascular autonomic regulation in clinical populations and non-pharmacological interventions to successfully treat chronic disease. Outside of the lab, Claire enjoys running and spending time with her family and two dogs, Archer and Ellie.
Prema Velusamy, PhD, Post-Doctoral Fellow
Prema Velusamy originally from India and joined the Fadel lab in August 2022 as a postdoctoral fellow. She completed her bachelor’s and master’s degree in Biochemistry from Bharathiar University, India and her PhD in Medical Biochemistry from University of Madras, India. She received the University Grants Commission research fellowship and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Research Associate fellowship for her dissertation work exploring the pathways involved in ROS-induced cardiac hypertrophy. She did her first postdoctoral fellowship at Penn State University focusing on mitochondrial ion homeostasis in cardiovascular disease. Prema’s research focuses on the interaction between the immune system and sympathetic nervous system. She is currently working on a collaborative project with the Integrative Immunology lab at UT Arlington to study the role of T cells and sympathetic nervous system in the development of age-related vascular dysfunction. Outside of the lab, Prema enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, cooking, and traveling to new places.
Graduate Students
Ziba Taherzadeh graduated as a top student with her Bachelor of Science in Occupational Health from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences 2021. She joined the Human Neural Cardiovascular Control Lab in Fall 2022 as a PhD student in Kinesiology and a research assistant. Ziba’s research interest and goals revolve around using translational and applied methods to further understand neural cardiovascular control in health and diseases. She attended American Physiology Summit 2023 and Texas American College of Sports Medicine 2023 Conference and presented her research on racial differences in cardiac baroreflex sensitivity. Currently, she is leading studies investigating racial differences in autonomic and cardiovascular control and cerebral blood flow regulation during rest and exercise. Outside of academia, Ziba enjoys listening to audiobooks, watching movies, exercising, and reading non-fiction and Persian poetry books.
Zachary Oldham, Graduate Research Assistant
Zach Oldham is originally from Katy, Texas, just outside of Houston. He graduated with his Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Physiology and Health Management from Southern Methodist University in May of 2024. While in Dallas, he was also a member of the Thermal and Vascular Physiology Lab at the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine. He joined the Human Neural Cardiovascular Control Lab in the Fall of 2024 as a Master’s student in the Exercise Science program. Zach’s overall research interests are to better understand autonomic function in the context of diseases and in response to different stimuli. His current research revolves around blood pressure variability in type II diabetics. In his free time, he enjoys exercising and reading fiction, particularly science-fiction.
Research Nurse
Carrie Arena-Marshall MSN, RN, CCRN, CNE
Carrie Arena-Marshall is a Registered Nurse with over 30 years of experience. Her background includes many years of direct patient care and unit level management in an Intensive Care Unit within a Level I Trauma Center. She joined UTA as an Undergraduate Nursing clinical faculty member in 2010 and practiced in this role until the spring of 2024. In addition to this role, in 2018 she began working with various research labs within the Kinesiology department, providing nursing oversight, intravenous catheter placement, medication administration and blood specimen collection. In the fall of 2024 she transitioned into this role on a full time basis as a Research Nurse supporting the Kinesiology Research Labs and the Clinical Imaging Research Center.