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Steven J. Prior, Ph.D.

Steven Prior

Associate Professor & Associate Chair for Research, Kinesiology

The research in Dr. Prior's laboratory is focused on conducting translational exercise intervention studies to determine mechanisms by which the risk for aging-associated vascular and functional impairments may be reduced in older adults. He has extensive experience in implementing exercise training interventions in older and elderly adults with a variety of cardiometabolic disorders, as well as studying molecular, cellular, tissue and whole-body contributors to these disorders.

Contact

sprior@umd.edu

SPH | Room: 2134D

(301) 405-2483

Departments/Units

Areas of Interest

Core Faculty

Skeletal Muscle Capillarization; Circulating Angiogenic Cells; Sarcopenia; Type 2 Diabetes

Aging and a sedentary lifestyle lead to changes in skeletal muscle and the vasculature that contribute to aging-associated diseases and disorders such as cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, sarcopenia and declines in physical function.

Steven Prior's research is focused on conducting exercise intervention studies to determine mechanisms by which the risk for these aging-associated diseases may be reduced in older adults. His laboratory uses state of the art techniques to assess angiogenesis and skeletal muscle capillarization, as well as in vivo vascular function and glucose metabolism. The lab has also developed basic science and cell culture techniques to study the number and function of circulating factors that may contribute to improvements in angiogenesis and vascular function in older adults.

Prior is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health and Department of Veterans Affairs for his research examining mechanisms underlying abnormal angiogenesis and vascular dysfunction in the context of peripheral arterial disease and sarcopenia, as well as how exercise training may restore normal angiogenesis, metabolism and physical function in these individuals.
 

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Gerontology and Metabolism, 2008

University of Maryland School of Medicine

PhD, Kinesiology, 2005

University of Maryland College Park

MA, Sport and Exercise Science, 2001

Ohio State University

BS, Sports Medicine, 1999

University of Pittsburgh

KNES 320 Physiological Basis of Physical Activity and Human Health

KNES 360 Physiology of Exercise

KNES 460 Physiology of Aging: Impact of Physical Activity

KNES 694 Metabolic Aspects of Exercise Physiology
 

New Investigator Research Award, The Obesity Society, 2007

Paul B. Beeson Scholar, NIH-NIA and the American Federation for Aging Research, 2012

Maryland Research Excellence Honoree, University of Maryland, 2019

Winston Family Honors Award, Faculty Mentor - Honors Thesis, University of Maryland, 2019 & 2022

Click here to view the list of publications.