Beth Taylor

Associate Professor

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Research Overview

Dr. Taylor is an Associate Professor of Kinesiology at University of Connecticut as well as the Director of Exercise Physiology Research at Hartford Hospital. She has previously held research support to investigate the effects of factors such as smoking, testicular cancer, exercise and aging on vascular function. She also has been a principal or co-investigator on several NIH-funded projects involving the pleiotropic effects of statin therapy (cholesterol-lowering drugs) in humans. These projects include investigation of the direct effects of statins on skeletal muscle strength and aerobic performance, the effects of Coenzyme Q10 supplementation on skeletal muscle side effects, and cognitive side effects of statins assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging. She has also recently been studying the effect of aerobic exercise training on brain volumes and memory function in individuals at risk of Alzheimers Disease. An avid runner herself, Taylor has conducted recent studies at the Boston and Hartford Marathons to determine the effects of sustained endurance exercise on blood clot risk, markers of cardiovascular injury and stress, and the effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs on these biomarkers.

Dr. Taylor is also Affiliated Faculty at the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity as well UConn Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention and Policy.

View a complete list of Dr. Taylor’s publications from Google Scholar.

Take a look at recent interviews with Dr. Taylor on Alzheimers Disease prevention research and avoiding common running-related injuries.

Read two recent articles on Dr. Taylor’s research in the New York Times and Runner’s World.

 

EDUCATION

1996-2000       B.S. (Nutrition), Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

2003-2008       Ph.D. (Kinesiology), The Pennsylvania State University; State College, PA

Fellowships

2003-2004       University Fellow, Pennsylvania State University

2005-2008       National Institute on Aging (NIA) Gerontology Fellow

Awards

2005-2006       American College of Sports Medicine Foundation Doctoral Grant

2006-2007       Kinesiology Dissertation Award

2008                Charles M. Tipton National Student Research Award

2014                New England American College of Sports Medicine Young Investigator Award

 

Featured Publications

Parker, BA, Smithmyer, SL, Jarvis, SS, Ridout, SJ, Pawelczyk, JA, and Proctor, DN (2007).   Evidence for Reduced Sympatholysis in the Leg Resistance Vasculature of Healthy Older Women. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. Feb; 292(2): H1148-56.

Parker BA, Smithmyer SL, Pelberg JA, Mishkin AD, and Proctor DN (2008).  Sex-specific Influence of Aging on Exercising Leg Blood Flow. J Appl Physiol. Mar; 104(3):655-64.

Parker BA, Polk DM, Rabdiya V, Meda SM, Anderson K, Hawkins KA, Pearlson GD, Thompson PD (2009). Changes in memory function and neuronal activation associated with atorvastatin therapy. Pharmacotherapy; 30(6): 625.

Parker BA, Kalasky, MJ and Proctor DN (2010). Evidence for Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Aging and Adaptive Responses to Physical Activity. European Journal of Applied Physiology; 110(2):235-46.

Parker BA, Thompson, PD, Kriz, P, and D’Hemecourt, P (2010). Deep Vein Thrombosis in Athletes: Risks of Racing and Resting. American Medical Athletic Association Journal. 23(1): 7-9.

Parker, BA, Thompson, PD, Jordan, KC, Grimaldi, AS , Assaf, M, Jagannathan, K and Pearlson, GD. (2011). Effect of Exercise Training on Hippocampal Volume in Humans: A Pilot Study. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport: 82(3): 585-91.

Parker, B, Augeri, A, Capizzi, J, Troyanos, C, Kriz, P, D’Hemecourt, P, Thompson, P (2011). Effect of Air Travel on Exercise-Induced Coagulatory and Fibrinolytic Activation in Marathon Runners.  Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine. 21(2):126-3.

Parker BA, Tschakovsky ME, Augeri AL, Polk DM, Thompson PD, Kiernan FJ (2011).  Heterogenous vasodilator pathways underlie flow-mediated dilation in men and women. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 301(3):H1118-26.

Parker BA, Augeri AL, Capizzi JA, Ballard KD, Troyanos C, Baggish AL, D’Hemecourt PA, Thompson PD (2011). Effect of Statins on Creatine Kinase Levels Before and After a Marathon Run. Am J Cardiol. 109(2):282-7.

Parker BA, Augeri AL, Capizzi JA, Ballard KD, Kupchak BR, Volek JS, Troyanos C, Kriz P, D’Hemecourt P, Thompson PD (2012). Effect of Marathon Run and Air Travel on Pre- and Post-Run Soluble D-Dimer, Microparticle Procoagulant Activity, and P-Selectin Levels. Am J Cardiol. 109(10):1521-5.

Parker BA and Thompson, PD (2012). Effect of Statins on Skeletal Muscle: Exercise, Myopathy and Muscle Outcomes. Exercise and Sports Sciences Reviews. 40(4):188-194.

Parker, BA, Capizzi, JA, Grimaldi, AS, Clarkson, PM, Cole, SM, Keadle, J, Chipkin, S, Pescatello, LS, Simpson, K, White, CM and Thompson, PD (2012).  The Effect of Statins on Skeletal Muscle Function. Circulation. 127(1):96-103

Taylor BA, Zaleski AL, Capizzi JA, Ballard KD, Troyanos C, Baggish AL, D’Hemecourt PA, Dada MR, and Thompson PD (2014). Influence of chronic exercise on carotid atherosclerosis in marathon runners. BMJ Open 2014;4(2):e004498. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2013- 004498.

Rosenson RS, Baker SK, Jacobson TA, Kopecky SL, Parker BA (2014). An assessment by the Statin Muscle Safety Task Force: 2014 update. J Clin Lipidol. 2014;8(3 Suppl):S58-71.

Taylor, BA and Thompson, PD (2014). How To Train For a Marathon. Circulation; 130(11):e98-9.

Rojas-Fernandez CH, Goldstein LB, Levey AI, Taylor BA, Bittner V (2014). An assessment by the Statin Cognitive Safety Task Force: 2014 update. J Clin Lipidol;8(3 Suppl):S5-S16.

Taylor BA, Panza G, Pescatello LS, Chipkin S, Gipe D, Shao W, White CM, Thompson PD (2014). Serum PCSK9 levels distinguish individuals who do not respond to high-dose statin therapy with the expected reduction in LDL-C. Journal of Lipids;2014 (140723):1-3.

Taylor BA, Lorson L, White CM and Thompson PD (2014). A Randomized Trial of Coenzyme Q10 in Patients with Statin Myopathy; Atherosclerosis; 238(2):329-335.

Zaleski AL, Ballard KD, Panza GA, Dada MR, Thompson PD, Taylor BA (2015). The Effect of Compression Socks on Coagulatory Risk in Marathon Runners. Phys Sportsmed; Jul 25:1-6.

Arora P, Song Y, Dusek J, Plotnikoff G, Sabatine M, Cheng S, Valcour A, Swales H, Taylor B, Carney E, Guanaga D, Russel J, Karol K, Torre M, Azzahir A, Strachan S, O’Neill C, Wolf M, Harrel F, Newton-Cheh C, Wang T (2014). Vitamin D Therapy in Individuals with Pre-hypertension or Hypertension: The DAYLIGHT Trial. Circulation; 131(3):254-62.

Zaleski AL, Pescatello LS, Thompson PD, Taylor BA (2015). Protective Effect of Compression Socks in a Marathon Runner with a Genetic Predisposition to Thrombophilia due to Factor V Leiden. The Physician and Sportsmedicine; 43(3):324-7.

Taylor BA and Thompson PD (2015). Muscle related side effects of statins: from mechanisms to evidence based solutions. Invited review for Current Opinions in Lipidology, 26(3):221-7.

Panza GA, Taylor BA, Zaleski AL, Thompson PD. An Update on the Boston Marathon as a Research Laboratory. The Physician and Sportsmedicine; 43(3):312-6.

Panza GA, Taylor BA, Thompson PD, Erhard L, Capizzi JA, Grimaldi AS, Clarkson PM, Cole SM, Chipkin S, Keadle J, White CM, Pescatello LS. The Effect of Atorvastatin on Habitual Physical Activity among Healthy Adults. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 2015 Jul 20. [Epub ahead of print].

Zaleski A, Panza G, Swales H, Arora P, Newton-Cheh C, Wang T, Thompson PD, and Taylor BA (2015). High-Dose vs. Low-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation and Arterial Stiffness Among Individuals with Prehypertension and Vitamin D Deficiency. Disease Markers. 918968: 1-7. doi:10.1155/2015/918968

Taylor BA, Zaleski AL, Dornelas EA, and Thompson PD (2015). The Impact of Tetrahydrobiopterin Administration on Endothelial Function Before and After Smoking Cessation in Chronic Smokers. In Press; Hypertension Research. doi: 10.1038/hr.2015.130