Christopher Hearon, Ph.D. Titles and Appointments Assistant Professor School School of Health Professions Department Applied Clinical Research Biography Dr. Hearon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Clinical Research and the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He was the recipient of a National Research Service Award (NRSA) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH, 2017-2020), and in 2020 received a Pathway to Independence Award (NIH; K99/R00) to investigate the mechanisms of vascular and autonomic dysfunction in patients with obesity and hypertension. Other research interests include the regulation of oxygen transport and utilization in environmental extremes (high altitude, simulated space flight) and clinical conditions (heart failure). Education Graduate School Colorado State University (2024) Research Interest Autonomic physiology Cardiovascular ageing Cardiovascular physiology Environmental extremes (hypoxia, space flight) Heart failure Hypertension Publications Exercise blood pressure in adults with high-risk left ventricular hypertrophy: the importance of normalizing blood pressure to oxygen uptake Wakeham DJ, De Oliveira-Gomes D, Howrey MM, Bagga JS, Hughes SB, Brazile TL, Hieda M, Howden EJ, MacNamara JP, Levine BD, Hearon CM, Sarma S Journal of hypertension 2025 Oct 43 1650-1657 Insights Into the Role of Obesity in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction: Pathophysiology and Management Hathorn B, Haykowsky MJ, Almandoz J, Pandey A, Sarma S, Hearon CM, Babb TG, Balmain BN, Fu Q, Zaha VG, Levine BD, Nelson MD Canadian Journal of Cardiology 2025 Sep 41 1764-1776 Regional and systemic adipose mass and peripheral conduit artery function Wakeham DJ, Beckman BE, Mashayekhi M, Luther JM, Garner EM, Perkins B, Gottlieb J, Niswender K, Hearon CM, Brown NJ, Beckman JA Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice 2025 Sep 227 Impaired exercise hemodynamic responses in patients with HFpEF without a sympathetic vasoconstrictor reserve Kissell CE, Skow RJ, Wakeham DJ, Washio T, Manferdelli G, Samels M, Fu Q, Haykowsky MJ, Brazile TL, MacNamara JP, Sarma S, Levine BD, Fadel PJ, Hearon CM Autonomic Neuroscience: Basic and Clinical 2025 Aug 260 Heart-Lung Interactions in HFpEF: Dynamic Hyperinflation and Exercise PCWP Leahy MG, Wakeham DJ, MacNamara JP, Brazile T, Abulimiti A, Hearon CM, Samels M, Tomlinson AR, Balmain BN, Babb TG, Levine BD, Sarma S JACC: Heart Failure 2025 Aug 13 A change in tone on the change in tone during exercise: the growing story of functional sympatholysis in humans Kirby BS, Hearon CM American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology 2025 Jul 329 R180-R181 Effects of Year Long Aerobic Exercise on Left Atrial Size in Patients With Left Ventricular Hypertrophy Kyrouac D, Talbot N, MacNamara J, Howden E, Hieda M, Hearon C, Brazile T, Levine B, Sarma S American Journal of Cardiology 2025 Jun 244 3-8 Functional sympatholysis of neuropeptide Y-mediated vasoconstriction in humans Wakeham DJ, Hissen SL, MacNamara JP, Davis SL, Fadel PJ, Levine BD, Hearon CM Journal of Physiology 2025 Jun 603 3329-3340 Maintained sympathetic reactivity but blunted pressor response to static handgrip exercise in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction Washio T, Takeda R, Hissen SL, Akins JD, D’Souza AW, Wakeham DJ, Brazile T, Lutz K, Hearon CM, MacNamara JP, Sarma S, Levine BD, Fadel PJ, Fu Q Clinical Autonomic Research 2025 Jun 35 487-500 Endogenous muscarinic acetylcholine receptor signaling blunts a1-adrenergic vasoconstriction during higher-intensity handgrip exercise in humans Terwoord JD, Dinenno FA, Richards JC, Hearon CM American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology 2025 Jun 328 R619-R627 Results 1-10 of 69 1 2 3 4 5 Next Last Honors & Awards New Investigator Award, Neural Control & Autonomic Regulation Section of the American Physiological Society (2024) Research Recognition Award, UT Southwestern School of Health Professions (2024) Professional Associations/Affiliations American College of Sports Medicine American Heart Association American Physiological Society Wilderness Medical Society
