Faculty Experts on Health and Physiology

Dr. Allen J. Taylor is a professor of medicine at GUMC and chief of cardiology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. Taylor has an interest in fitness and cardiac performance, including adaptations to various forms of exercise. He reminds us that you don’t have to be an Olympian to gain the benefits of exercise, but the Olympics provide a great opportunity to extol the virtues of exercise and fitness.

J.P. Hyatt, an associate professor in the department of human science in the School of Nursing & Health Studies at GUMC, specializes in exercise physiology with a specific emphasis on skeletal muscle and how it adapts to exercise. He studies how a muscle gains bulk and strength from exercise. Hyatt says that genetics plays a big part in dictating how muscle performs during, or adapts after, exercise.

Dr. Joseph Verbalis, chief of endocrinology and metabolism at GUMC, is an expert on exercise-associated hyponatremia (EAH), or water intoxication, which can cause neurological dysfunction and death during endurance events. Verbalis is a member of a group of experts who study the biological basis of EAH in order to reduce the risk of brain injury and death among future athletes.

Dr. Judith R.F. Kupersmith, a professor of clinical psychiatry at GUMC, has devoted her 40-year career in psychiatry to helping performers and athletes triumph over stresses, trials and tribulations that can accompany performances and competitions. Kupersmith says barriers that may seem trivial to non-performers can tremendously interfere with a performance or competition. Other performance-related challenges present as more obvious obstacles, including paralyzing performance anxiety, eating disorders or career-ending injuries.