Todd Miller, PhD

Todd A. Miller is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Exercise Science.

• Phone: (202) 994-2572
• Fax: (202) 994-1420
• Email: tamiller@gwu.edu

As a certified strength and conditioning specialist and a USA Level 1 weightlifting coach, Professor Miller brings a tremendous amount of field experience to his research into muscle physiology. His early focus on the influence of strength training on athletic performance evolved into an interest in how human beings respond to long-term space travel. To learn more, Dr. Miller has used animal models to investigate the deleterious effects of microgravity on physiology, and how those effects can be countered, and participated in an ongoing NASA project that included flying an experiment on the ill-fated Columbia shuttle in 2003.

Dr. Miller's teaching has been very much shaped by his own curiosity and enthusiasm for new avenues of inquiry. "I try to point out the most interesting and unique areas of our field to students, in the hope that they too will discover a lifelong passion they want to pursue," he says. Dr. Miller has developed several courses in his areas of expertise, and received a reward for meritorious research from the American Physiological Society.

Education

Bachelor of Science (Exercise and Sport Science), Pennsylvania State University, 1995
PhD (Exercise Physiology), Texas A&M University, 2000
Postdoctoral training (Dept. of Microbiology), University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 2000-1.

Teaching

ExSc 260-Exercise for the Older Adult and Other Special Populations, Department of Exercise Science
ExSc 252-Advanced Topics in Exercise Physiology, Department of Exercise Science
ExSc 109-Aerobic Exercise Testing and Prescription, Department of Exercise Science
ExSc 110-Anaerobic Exercise Testing and Prescription, Department of Exercise Science

Research

Dr. Miller's research centers on the physiological adaptation of skeletal muscle in response to exercise and disuse. His particular focus is on changes in muscle physiology after exposure to simulated and actual microgravity.

Community Service

Professor Miller is a member of the American Physiological Society, the American College of Sports Medicine and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Coast Guard in 1990.

Departments

• Exercise Science

Institutes & Centers

• WellFit

Community Activities

• Perceptions of Commercial Health Club Membership

Research Activities

• Perceptions of Commercial Health Club Membership

Publications

• Preparing for cold weather exercise: NSCA's Performance Training
  Miller TA, Preparing for cold weather exercise: NSCA's Performance Training J 2004;3(1):19-21.
• Mechanisms of force loss in diabetic mouse skeletal muscle.
  Lesniewski LA, Miller TA, Armstrong RB. Mechanisms of force loss in diabetic mouse skeletal muscle. Muscle Nerve 2003;28(4):493-500.
• Immunohistochemical fiber typing of harbor seal skeletal muscle.
  Watson RR, Miller TA, Davis RW. Immunohistochemical fiber typing of harbor seal skeletal muscle. J Exp Biol 2003;206(Pt 22):4105-11.
• Control of intracellular signaling by modulation of fibronectin conformation at the cell-materials interface.
  Miller TA and Boettiger D. Control of intracellular signaling by modulation of fibronectin conformation at the cell-materials interface. Langmuir 2003;19(5); 1723-29.
• The effects of training history, player position, and body composition on exercise performance in collegiate football players.
  Miller TA, White ED, Kinley KA, Congleton JJ, Clark MJ. The effects of training history, player position, and body composition on exercise performance in collegiate football players. J Strength Cond Res 2002;16(1):44-9.
• Fiber composition and oxidative capacity of hamster skeletal muscle.
  Mattson JP, Miller TA, Poole DC, Delp MD. Fiber composition and oxidative capacity of hamster skeletal muscle. J Histochem Cytochem 2002;50(12):1685-92.
• Effect of short-term microgravity and long-term hindlimb unloading on rat cardiac mass and function.
  Ray CA, Vasques M, Miller TA, Wilkerson MK, Delp MD. Effect of short-term microgravity and long-term hindlimb unloading on rat cardiac mass and function. J Appl Physiol 2001;91(3):1207-13.
• Hindlimb unloading induces a collagen isoform shift in the soleus muscle of the rat.
  Miller TA, Lesniewski LA, Muller-Delp JM, Majors AK, Scalise D, Delp MD. Hindlimb unloading induces a collagen isoform shift in the soleus muscle of the rat. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2001;281(5):R1710-7.
• The effects of aging on morphology and collagen composition of rat skeletal muscle arterioles.
  Ramsey MW, Delp M, Spier S, Miller T, Muller-Delp J. The effects of aging on morphology and collagen composition of rat skeletal muscle arterioles. Abstract. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2001;33 (5):S20.
• Effects of actual and simulated microgravity on cardiac mass and function in the rat.
  Miller TA, Vasques M, Wilkerson M, Ray CA, Grindeland R. Effects of actual and simulated microgravity on cardiac mass and function in the rat. Abstract. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2001;33 (5):S298.
• Age-related alterations in the extracellular matrix of rat skeletal muscle.
  Miller T, Duan C, Majors A, Delp M. Age-related alterations in the extracellular matrix of rat skeletal muscle. Abstract. J Aging Phys Act 2000;8:289.
• Simulated microgravity induces alterations in skeletal muscle collagen.
  Miller TA, Lesniewski L, Majors A, Scalise D, Delp M. Simulated microgravity induces alterations in skeletal muscle collagen. Abstract. Physiologist 2000;43:366.