Douglas R. Seals

Research Interests

• Cardiovascular aging, particularly the changes in systolic blood pressure, large artery stiffness and vascular endothelial function that occur with physiological and pathophysiological aging.
• Biological and lifestyle factors that influence cardiovascular aging.
• The integrative (molecular to systemic) mechanisms that mediate cardiovascular aging and its modulation by biological and lifestyle factors.
• Interventions to improve adverse physiological changes with aging, including cardiovascular dysfunction, reductions in motor performance and impairments in cognitive function.
• Integrative Physiology of Aging Laboratory.

Education

• 1972-76, B.S./B.S., Education/Business Administration, William Jewell College, Liberty, MO.
• 1977-79, M.S., Applied/Exercise Physiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.
• 1979-81, Ph.D., Applied/Exercise Physiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.

Professional Experience

• 1981-1984, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Medicine, Section of Applied Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO.
• 1984-1985, Assistant Professor, Department of Exercise Science, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA.
• 1985-1988, Assistant Professor, Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
• 1987-1989, Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Tucson, AZ.
• 1989-1992, Associate Professor, Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
• 1990-1992, Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Tucson, AZ.
• 1992-1995, Associate Professor, Department of Kinesiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
• 1993-1995, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO.
• 1995-1998, Professor, Department of Kinesiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
• 1996-Present, Professor, Department of Medicine, Divisions of Cardiology and Geriatric Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO.
• 1998-2002, Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
• 2000-2004, Assistant Program Director, UC-Boulder General Clinical Research Center.
• 2003-Present, Professor, Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
• 2008-Present, Arts and Sciences College Professor of Distinction, Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
• 2011, Director, Responsible Conduct of Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
• 2017, Distinguished Professor, University of Colorado.

Honors and Awards

• 1988-1993, Research Career Development Award, National Institute on Aging.
• Fellow, American Heart Association Councils on Basic Cardiovascular Sciences, High Blood Pressure Research, and Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism.
• 1999-2005, Editor-in-Chief, Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews.
• 1999-2008, Associate Editor, Journal of Applied Physiology.
• 1999-2003, NIH IRG Member, Clinical Aging Review Committee, National Institute on Aging.
• 2003, Citation Award, American College of Sports Medicine.
• 2005, Herbert H. deVries Award for Distinguished Research in the Field of Aging.
• 2004-present, NIH, National Institute on Aging MERIT Award (R37 AG013038).
• 2006, UC-Boulder Faculty Assembly Award for Research, Scholarly, and Creative Work.
• 2007-2012, regular member of NIH IRG Aging Systems and Geriatrics Study Section.
• 2008, College of Arts and Sciences Professor of Distinction.
• 2011, Director, Responsible Conduct of Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
• 2013, Edward F. Adolph Distinguished Lecturer, American Physiological Society.
• 2015, University of Colorado Distinguished Research Lecture, Boulder, CO.
• 2017, Distinguished Professor, University of Colorado.

Highlighted Articles

• Santos-Parker JR, LaRocca TJ, Seals DR. Aerobic exercise and other healthy lifestyle factors that influence vascular aging. Advances in Physiology Education 38:296-307, 2014.
• Seals D, Melov S. Preclinical Studies: Track function in ageing animals. Nature 511: 406-407, 2014.
• Seals DR, Melov S. Translational Geroscience: Emphasizing function to achieve optimal longevity. Aging 6(9): 718-730, 2014.
• Seals DR. Edward F. Adolph Distinguished Lecture: The remarkable anti-aging effects of aerobic exercise on systemic arteries. Journal of Applied Physiology 117: 425-439, 2014.
• Seals D, Santos-Parker J, LaRocca T. Translational physiology in practice. Physiology News 2014(96): 38-42, 2014.
• Seals DR. Translational physiology: from molecules to public health. Journal of Physiology 591(14): 3457-3469, 2013.

Recent Publications

For a complete list of publications click here.

• Seals DR, Brunt VE, Rossman MJ. Keynote lecture: strategies for optimal cardiovascular aging. American Journal of Physiology Heart and Circulatory Physiology 315: H183–H188, 2018.
• Rossman, M, Santos-Parker J, Steward C, Bispham N, Cuevas L, Rosenberg H, Woodward K, Chonchol M, Gioscia-Ryan R, Murphy M, Seals D. Chronic supplementation with a mitochondrial antioxidant (MitoQ) improves vascular function in healthy older adults. Hypertension 71:1056-1063, 2018. Pubmed PMID:29661838
• Johnson LC, Martens CR, Santos-Parker JR, Bassett CJ, Strahler TR, Cruickshank-Quinn C, Reisdorph N, McQueen MB, Seals DR. Amino acid and lipid associated plasma metabolomic patterns are related to healthspan indicators with aging in humans. Clinical Science 2018 Jun18:CS20180409.
• Martens, CR, Denman BA, Mazzo MR, Armstrong M, Reisdorph N, McQueen MB, Chonchol M, Seals DR. Chronic nicotinamide riboside is well-tolerated and effectively elevates NAD+ in healthy middle-aged/older adults. Nature Communications 2018 Mar 29;9(1):1286. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-03421-7. Pubmed PMID: 29599478.
• Gioscia-Ryan, RA, Battson ML, Cuevas LM, Eng JS, Murphy MP, Seals DR.  Mitochondrial-targeted antioxidant therapy with MitoQ ameliorates aortic stiffening in old mice. Journal of Applied Physiology 124:1194-1202, 2018.