Dr. Dr. Tyler Singer
Assistant Professor
Health Professions
Beeghly Center 307D
phone: (724) 316-8495
Bio
My name is Dr. Tyler Singer and I am from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. I am currently Assistant Professor of Exercise Science here at YSU. I live with my Fiancé (Kathryn) and two sons (AJ, and Will). In my free time I enjoy running, snowboarding, and reading. My educational journey began at Indiana University of Pennsylvania receiving first a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science in 2015 then a Masters of Kinesiology in 2016. I moved on to Kent State University to receive my Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology (2020).
Research Interests
My research has broadly focused on the application and mechanisms of autonomic control, vascular function, and oxygen transport in healthy and diseased human subjects. I have collected and analyzed data from many different research tools such as a Doppler Ultrasound, Near Infrared Spectroscopy via Oxymon, Nexfin, Hokanson, Parvo Metabolic System, K5 Metabolic System, Environmental Chamber, AD instruments, ReWalk Exoskeleton, among others. Some of my early work examined the ability of popular cuff pressures to appropriately occlude or restrict blood flow during blood flow restriction (BFR) exercise. Published in 2018, this study highlighted the ability for different levels of cuff pressures to maintain the hypoxic environment in the forearm during isometric BFR handgrip exercise. A follow up study utilized a larger muscle mass with the cuff over the working muscle during knee extension exercise. (Accepted November 2019) Our knee extension study showed that blood flow persisted through the cuff even at 100% aortic occlusion pressure during dynamic knee extension exercise.
I also have an interest in the spinal cord injury (SCI) population as well. For example, I collaborated on a project at the Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center in which we tested the feasibility of blood flow restriction exercise in incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) patients, which is known to augment the muscular adaptations to light intensity resistance exercise in healthy subjects. This study, published in 2018, reported that a single bout of continuous blood flow restriction exercise was safe and feasible in this population. I am currently collaborating again at the Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center on three different studies in the SCI population. We have an ongoing functional electrical stimulation training study that is looking at chronic cycling and rowing for both SCI and ISCI. We are collecting simple cardiovascular, metabolic and overall work capacity of these individuals over 30 sessions. Another ongoing study is utilizing a ReWalk exoskeleton with the goal of helping individuals with complete and incomplete spinal cord injury exercise and lead a more independent life. Finally, we have just started a project collecting basal metabolic rates in this population to help better prescribe caloric requirements as well as quantify how many more calories an individual may utilize with a skin wound with the goal of weight maintenance during their hospital stay.
I am also interested in the stroke population. For example, my ongoing dissertation aims to determine if single leg cycling is feasible and conducive for this population. We believe that utilizing single leg cycling will increase their ability to perform cardiovascular exercise by taking the affected, uncoordinated leg out of the equation. We also have a few functional aims to observe if an acute bout of single leg cycling will improve gait and cognition after the exercise bout.
As I advance my research career, I intend to continue studying autonomic control, vascular function, and oxygen transport in healthy and diseased populations. While at Kent I utilized collaborating efforts with the Cleveland Veterans Medical Hospital. If at all possible, I would like to continue working with clinical populations in a hospital setting.
In the future, I would also like to follow-up our current functional electrical stimulation project to include some strength training utilizing blood flow restriction exercise with electrical stimulation to try and achieve a higher power output. Also, after the conclusion of my dissertation I would like to take these individuals with stroke and conduct a chronic study where they would single leg cycle a few times a week for a 6 to 8-week period in an attempt to increase cardiovascular fitness in this population.
Furthermore, I would be interested in conducting smaller, mechanistic studies in healthy subjects observing blood flow during and after exercise away from the exercising tissue as a measure of sympathetic activity with the goal of learning new techniques such as Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity in the future. In addition, I would also like to continue conducting blood flow mechanistic research in an attempt to create some guidelines for that type of research. For example, what is the optimal cuff width and cuff pressure during dynamic exercise. This smaller type of research could also be brought to the classroom as a teaching tool to help students understand mechanistically about blood flow distribution during different stressors.
Teaching Interests
I have a wide array of teaching interests starting with more clinical applications of exercise science and clinical exercise physiology, to biomechanics, strength and conditioning, and kinesiology.
I have also enjoyed teaching Introduction to Exercise Science, Fitness Assessment, and Anatomy and Physiology.
Lastly, I have enjoyed teaching masters students in the past classes like Cardiovascular / Pulmonary Physiology, Neuromuscular Physiology and Lab Techniques.