Joshua Keller

Joshua Keller joined the University of North Texas as an Assistant Professor of Health Disparities in Fall 2024. He received his B.S. in Health Sciences from the University of Cincinnati. During his undergraduate studies, Dr. Keller passed Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist exam offered by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). He then earned his master's degree in Exercise Science from the University of Dayton. While completing this degree, he became a certified sports nutritionist through the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN). These experiences led him to complete his Ph.D. at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Joshua has since completed additional training, including the National Institute on Aging (NIA Butler - Williams Scholar Program and the fellow's program at the Institute of Methods and Protocols for Advancement of Clinical Trials in Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias (ADRDs).

Dr. Keller seeks students of all levels (undergraduate, master's and doctoral) to actively serve in roles in ongoing research projects. He promotes a mentor-mentee focused model with daily interactions and opportunities. His research interests include peripheral vascular health and skeletal muscle function, especially as they related to the preservation of cognition. Specifically, he aims to better understand gaps in the quality of health and function that are at least in part influenced by biological sex, racial and ethnic background, socioeconomic status and educational level.

• Batman GB, Cooper CB, Traylor MK, Ransom KV, Hill EC, Hill BD, Keller JL. Various modalities of resistance exercise promote similar acute cognitive improvements and hemodynamic increases in young, healthy adults. Cerebral Circulation – Cognition and Behavior. 2024 Aug. In production.

• Hill EC, Schmidt JT, Reedy KR, Lubiak SM, Proppe CE, Rivera PM, Gonzalez Rojas DH, Lawson JE, Prajapati AJ, Shah NM, Patel NN, Guirgis AM, Silverio AA, Choi H, Keller JL. Progression and perceptual responses to upper and lower body blood flow restriction training among people living with multiple sclerosis. European Journal of Applied Physiology. 2024 Aug. In production.

• Lubiak S, Lawson J, Gonzalez Rojas D, Proppe C, Rivera P, Hammer S, Trevino M, Dinyer-McNeely T, Montgomery T, Olmos A, Sears K, Bergstrom H, Succi P, Keller JL, Hill EC. A moderate blood flow restriction pressure does not affect maximal strength or neuromuscular responses. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2024 June. In production.

• Perlet MR, Herren JT, Traylor MK, Bailey MD, Keller JL. Near-infrared spectroscopy does not track forearm blood flow during venous occlusion plethysmography in men or women. Applied Sciences. 2024 Apr. 14(8):3205. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14083205.

• Hill EC, Rivera PM, Proppe CE, Gonzalez Rojas DH, Lawson JE, Lubiak S, Keller JL, Choi H, Mansy H. Blood flow restriction attenuates surface mechanomyography lateral and longitudinal, but not transverse oscillations during fatiguing exercise. Physiological Measurement. 2024 Apr 9;45(4). PMID: 38507792.

• Traylor MK, Batman G, Sears KN, Ransom K, Hammer SM, Keller JL. Sex specific microvascular and hemodynamic outcomes following passive limb heating in young adults. Microcirculation. 2024 May; 31:e12848. PMID: 38281244. 

• Davis J, Feldman RI, Traylor MK, Gray SM, Drake SM, Keller JL. Myofascial release induces declines in heart rate and changes to microvascular reactivity in young healthy adults. Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies. 2024 Apr. 38:254-262. PMID: 38763567.

• Ransom KV, Traylor MK, Batman GB, Mulekar MS, Hill BD, Nelson AR, Keller JL. Arterial stiffness mediates the relationship between age and cognition at low levels of microvascular function in humans across the adult lifespan. AJP – Heart and Circulatory Physiology. 2024 Feb. 326(2):H346-H356. PMID: 38038715. PMCID: PMC11219056