Email: wsexton@atsu.edu Tel: 660-626-2321 Fax: 660-626-2965

A.T. Still University of Health Sciences Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine 800 W. Jefferson St. Kirksville, MO  63501

Education:

Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Missouri, 1988 Ph.D., Kansas State University, 1985 M.S., University of California-Davis, 1979 B.S., University of California-Davis, 1977

Research Interests: Dr. Sexton's research concerns the factors controlling oxygen delivery to skeletal muscle, heart and diaphragm. Specifically, how oxygen delivery is matched to oxygen utilization, and how these processes are altered with exercise training and in disease states. Recent studies have focused on diabetes-induced changes in the capillary bed of the skeletal muscle, heart and diaphragm that profoundly impact the ability of the cardiovascular system to supply the tissues with oxygen and nutrients, and the role of exercise in reducing the severity of these diabetes-induced changes. Microvascular oxygen tension is measured in resting and contracting muscle using the phosphorescence quenching method to determine the net balance between oxygen delivery and uptake. Studies are also being conducted to determine the role of vasoactive endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the decrease in muscle capillarity in diabetes, and how these changes are ameliorated with regular exercise.

Research and Scholarly Activity
Publications, Grants, Abstracts, Presentations, Honors, and Service to the Research Community are maintained in a separate section for Research and Scholarship.