Lab Members
Director
Dr. Jeff Woods, Ph.D.
Mottier Family Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Community Health
Director, Center on Health, Aging, and Disability
Associate Dean for Research, College of Applied Health Sciences
Ph.D. Exercise Science, University of South Carolina @ Columbia
Professor Wood's area of interest is exercise physiology with a focus on how exercise affects the immune system, the gut microbiota, and the bi-directional communication between these systems and the brain. The broad goal of our research program is to generate a public health message regarding the effects of exercise and diet on health and disease. Our experiments are designed to (1) describe the effects of different doses and types of exercise and targeted dietary factors the immune system and gut microbiota, (2) determine the mechanisms responsible for exercise- and diet-induced changes, (3) define the physiological significance of exercise- and diet-induced changes, and (4) explore the use of appropriate forms of exercise or dietary strategies as adjunct therapy in aging, obesity, or inflammatory bowel disease. We use both humans and animal models in our research. We have found that exercise can protect mice from death due to influenza, speed wound healing, reduce inflammation and blood vessel density in growing tumors and attenuate colitis. We have shown that regular exercise can improve immune responses to vaccination in older adults. We hypothesize that exercise improves health by reducing acute and chronic inflammation. We also explore the additive and synergistic effects of exercise and targeted dietary supplementation on inflammation and cognitive dysfunction in aging. A recent focus has been on the effects of exercise on the gut microbiome and its role in mediating the beneficial effects of exercise where we have found that exercise exerts influence, independent of diet. Our laboratory is fully equipped with tissue culture facilities, equipment for biochemical measurements, animal telemetry and behavioral monitoring, molecular biology, and clinical exercise and body composition testing. We enjoy collaborations with investigators in diverse fields such as veterinary medicine, psychology, microbial ecology, immunology, animal sciences, as well as kinesiology.
We are always looking for bright, inquisitive, and motivated students to contribute to our goals. Please contact Dr. Woods at woods1@illinois.edu.
PhD students
Noah Hutchinson
Undergraduate Students
Selena Wang
List of former lab members:
Post-Doctoral:
Tracy Baynard, Post-doctoral Fellow (2007-2008)
Status: Associate Professor, University of Illinois Chicago, IL
Brandt Pence, Post-doctoral Fellow Kinesiology (2012-2016)
Status: Assistant Professor, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
Doctoral:
Mike Ceddia, PhD Kinesiology (1994-99)
Dissertation: “Exercise and macrophage antigen presentation: Intracellular mechanisms”
Status: Post-doctoral fellow at UC-Irvine; Vice-president of Research, Mead-Johnson; Vice president Research & Development, Scotts Miracle-Gro Company
Tom Lowder, MS/PhD Kinesiology (1999-2006)
Thesis/Dissertation: “Exercise oxygen uptake in mice of different ages”/”Effects of exercise on susceptibility and response to influenza”
Status: Post-doctoral fellow University of Alabama-Birmingham; Assistant Professor University of Houston; Assistant Professor, University of Central Arkansas
Todd Keylock, PhD Kinesiology (2000-2007)
Thesis: “Effects of exercise on wound healing in mice of different ages”
Status: Associate Professor, Bowling Green State University, OH
Victoria (Vieira)-Potter, PhD Kinesiology (2004-2009)
Dissertation: “Effects of exercise on heightened inflammation in adipose tissue of obese mice”
Status: Post-doctoral fellow, Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center, Tufts University, Boston, MA; Associate Professor, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
Brandt Pence, PhD Kinesiology (2007-2012)
Dissertation: “Effects of exercise on wound healing in diabetic mice”
Status: Post-doctoral fellow at UIUC with Jeff Woods; Assistant Professor, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
Stephen Martin, PhD Kinesiology (2008-2013)
Dissertation: “Effects of voluntary wheel running and forced treadmill running on inflammation-induced behavioral abnormalities in young and old mice”
Status: Post-doctoral fellow University of Wisconsin Madison, WI
Marc Cook, PhD Kinesiology (2009-2013)
Thesis: “Effects of exercise training on DSS-induced colitis in mice”
Status: Assistant Professor, North Carolina A & T, Greensboro, NC
Jacob Allen, PhD Kinesiology (2013-2017)
Dissertation: “Effects of exercise training on the gut microbiota, microbial metabolites and microbial-host interactions in mice and humans”
Status: Post-doctoral fellow, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus OH
Yi Sun, PhD Kinesiology (2013-2018)
Dissertation: “Effects of exercise on vaccine responses in an animal model”
Status: Post-doctoral fellow, University of Alabama-Birmingham, AL
Lucy Mailing, PhD/MD Kinesiology (2015-2019)
Dissertation: “Diet and exercise modulate the gut microbiome with implications for health and disease”
Status: Medical student at University of Illinois at Chicago, IL
Noah Hutchinson, PhD Nutritional Sciences (2019-current)
Dissertation: TBD
Status: enrolled
Master’s (19):
Brett Wolters, MS Kinesiology (1995-97)
Thesis: “Effects of exercise on the generation of anti-EL-4 cytolytic T cells”
Status: orthopedic surgeon at Memorial Medical in Springfield Illinois
Joella (Evans) Galetti, MS Kinesiology (1995-98)
Thesis: “Effects of acute exercise on natural killer cells in young and old subjects”
Status: Heart Disease Prevention Clinic, Carle Hospital, Urbana IL
Mike Chludzinski, MS Kinesiology (1995-98)
Thesis: “Effects of firefighting stress on immunocompetence”
Qin Lu, MS Nutritional Sciences (1997-1998)
Thesis: “Exercise training effects on macrophage function in mice of different ages”
Status: Software engineer, Seibel Systems, San Francisco CA
Mark Zack, MS Kinesiology (1999-2000)
Thesis: “Exercise and immune response to allogeneic tumor”
Status: Research Associate, Monsanto Inc., St. Louis MO
Mark Zielinski, MS Kinesiology (2001-2003)
Thesis: “Exercise delays allogeneic tumor growth and reduces intra-tumoral inflammation and vascularization”
Status: PhD University of South Carolina; Postdoctoral Fellow Northwestern University; Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Peter Zappola, MS Kinesiology (2000-2002)
Thesis: “Effects of glucocorticoid antagonism on the exercise-induced suppression of macrophage antigen presentation”
Status: Officer in the US Army
Patrick Yoon, MS Kinesiology (2000-2003)
Thesis: “Macrophage hypo-responsiveness to IFN- in aged mice is associated with impaired signaling through Jak-STAT”
Status: PhD Northwestern University
Kurt Leifheit, MS Kinesiology (2002-2004)
Thesis: “Relationship between cardiovascular fitness and in vitro response to influenza vaccine in older adults”
Status: Vice-President, Corporate Counsel, Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana, I
Marc Cook, MS Kinesiology (2001-2004)
Thesis: “Relationship between cardiovascular fitness and in vitro response to tetanus vaccine in older adults”
Status: Assistant Professor, North Carolina A & T, Greensboro, NC
Kristine (Ross) Carpenter, MS Kinesiology (2002-2004)
Thesis: “Relationship between cardiovascular fitness and natural killer cell activity in older adults”
Status: MD, Family Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana, IL
Kristin (Lyons) Potter, MS Kinesiology (2003-2005)
Thesis: “Effects of moderate exercise on the growth and histology of an allogeneic tumor in mice”
Status: Research Technician, Harlan Inc., IN
Kim Colantuano, MS Kinesiology (2004-2006)
Thesis: “Effects of glucocorticoid blockade on exercise-induced changes in response to an allogeneic tumor”
Rachel Mariani, MS Kinesiology (2003-2005)
Thesis: “Effects of exercise training on the primary immune response to KLH in previously sedentary older adult”
Status: MD, Pathology, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH
William Zelkovich, MS Kinesiology (2004-2008)
Thesis: “Effects of exercise training on the naïve to memory T lymphocyte ratio in older adults”
Status: MD, Radiology, Advocate Christ Medical Center, Oak Lawn, IL
Sara Dumich, MS Kinesiology (2004-2005)
Thesis: “Effects of exercise on LPS-induced sickness behavior”
Status: MD, Sports Medicine, Metro Health, Wyoming, MI
Matt Cady, MS Kinesiology (2007-2010)
Dissertation: “Effects of exercise and diet on adipose tissue hypoxia in obese mice”
Status: PhD Nutritional Sciences, Penn State University, PA
Ryan Greene, MS Kinesiology (2009-2011)
Thesis: “Mild traumatic brain injury: Effects on behavior and neuroinflammation”
Status: Physician, Sportsfit Physical Therapy Corporation
Lisa Erickson, MS Kinesiology (2011-2013)
Thesis: “Can Oral Contraceptives Prevent Stress Fractures? A look at female distance runners and bone health”
Status: Athletic trainer, Adams State University