| Research Interests: During my PhD, my research was focused on hydration, thermoregulation, and the prevention of heat related injuries or illnesses. My dissertation expanded upon my previous experience and interest in female health and investigated the effects of oral contraceptive on thermoregulation and hydration post-exercise. During my postdoc, I worked with clinical populations in the heat and investigated ways to improve exercise tolerance in burn survivors. I plan to continue hydration and thermoregulation research as well as sex differences in those areas. As our climate continues to warm, it is important to research how our environment may risk the health of different populations. Therefore, I plan to research the implications of a warming environment on vulnerable populations. Selected Publications: Whitley C Atkins et al. (2025). Exercise and heat stress in well-healed burn survivors: Effects of cooling modalities on thermal and perceptual responses, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 57(2):365-375. Whitley C Atkins, Zachary J McKenna, Brendon P McDermott (2024). Sports drinks do not increase acute kidney injury risk in males during industrial work in the heat when euhydration is maintained, a randomized crossover trial. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 49(6):844-854. Whitley C Atkins et al. (2022). Acute kidney injury biomarkers and hydration outcomes at the Boston Marathon. Frontiers in Physiology. Jan 3;12:813554. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.813554 Special Interests: I am big into endurance sports so I am usually running or cycling in my free time. I still race occasionally enough to stay motivated to train hard. I have a really awesome dog, Ivy (see below), who is a great hiking partner and we hike as much as we can. I also have a super cute cat, Ziggy (see below), but in typical cat style, he is less into hobbies and more into relaxing.   |
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