Christopher Hearon, Ph.D. Titles and Appointments Associate Professor Schools School of Health Professions Departments 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 Regional changes in cerebral blood flow between the upright and supine posture and over 3 days of bed rest Possnig C, Marume K, Babu G, Janssen SL, Hearon CM, Dias KA, Sarma S, Lawley JS, Levine BD Experimental Physiology 2026 Sep 111 4223-4234 Sex-specific association between obesity and sympathetic nerve activity in HFpEF Washio T, Hissen SL, Akins JD, Takeda R, D’Souza AW, MacNamara JP, Sarma S, Trott DW, Lutz K, Hearon CM, Babb TG, Levine BD, Fadel PJ, Fu Q American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology 2026 Sep 331 H796-H805 The Physiological and Altitude Lowering Effects of Different Supplemental Oxygen Flow Rates at Extreme Simulated Altitude: A Pilot Study Wakeham DJ, Tomlinson AR, Manferdelli G, Howrey MM, Geib AK, Ramanathan M, Payne M, Guilliod R, Berry J, Babb TG, Hackett P, Levine BD, Hearon CM High Altitude Medicine and Biology 2026 Sep 27 143-151 Sex differences in the peripheral determinants of oxygen transport and utilization in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction Hearon CM, Skow RJ, Wakeham DJ, Kissell C, Brazile TL, Nelson MD, Bartlett MF, Ren J, Samels M, Macnamara JP, Taherzadeh Z, Lutz K, Levine BD, Fadel PJ, Haykowsky MJ, Sarma S American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology 2026 Jul 331 H11-H22 Microvascular Function and Ambulatory Capacity in Peripheral Artery Disease Sullivan AE, Behroozian A, Coolbaugh C, Shardelow E, Smith EK, Wells QS, Clair DG, Aday AW, Garrard CL, Curci JA, Holder TA, Barnett JV, Freiberg MS, Crescenzi RL, Wakeham DJ, Hearon CM, Donahue MJ, Beckman JA Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions 2026 Apr Circumferential strain and strain rates of the descending aorta as novel measures of aortic stiffness and wall mechanics from standard cardiac MRI Wakeham DJ, Zamani SK, Oneglia AP, Howrey MM, Majeed S, Brazile TL, Beckman JA, MacNamara JP, Haykowsky MJ, Zaha VG, Levine BD, Hearon CM, Sarma S, Nelson MD Experimental Physiology 2026 Jan 111 36-42 Exercise in acute and subacute hypoxic conditions: physiological responses affecting oxygen delivery and their applications to human health Forbes LM, Hearon CM, Cillay J, Lawley JS, Stembridge M, Subudhi AW, Levine BD, Cornwell WK Journal of Physiology 2026 Effects of Left Atrial Filling Pressure on Exercise Pulmonary Gas Exchange in HFpEF: Does the V-Wave Matter? Huang L, Balmain BN, MacNamara JP, Brazile T, Leahy MG, Hearon CM, Wakeham DJ, Tomlinson AR, Babb TG, Levine BD, Sarma S Circulation: Heart Failure 2026 Distinct blood volume and left ventricular adaptation to severe obesity in middle-aged adults at risk for heart failure Campain J, Wakeham DJ, Dias K, MacNamara JP, Samels M, Howden EJ, Carrick-Ranson G, Hieda M, Levine BD, Sarma S, Hearon CM European Journal of Heart Failure 2025 Nov 27 2480-2489 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 Results 1-10 of 78 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
