Dr. Sandra Hunter's Research
SANDRA HUNTER, PH.D., FACSM
Dr. Hunter is a professor in the Exercise Science Program, in the Department of Physical Therapy and the Director of the Athletic and Human Performance Research Center (AHPRC) at Marquette University. As director of the AHPRC, Dr. Hunter oversees and facilitates innovative research programs on human performance of people of all ages and abilities that is conducted by Marquette researchers, athletics, and external partners.
Dr. Hunter is Director of her own laboratory (Neuromuscular Physiology of Human Movement laboratory). Under her leadership, Dr Hunter’s research team conducts studies to understand the mechanisms for 1) neuromuscular fatigue and muscle function with aging, and in clinical populations such as diabetes and COVID-19 survivors, 2) the protective effects of exercise training in healthy and clinical populations, and 3) the sex differences in athletic performance. She is first author on the 2023 American College of Sports Medicine Consensus Statement tilted The Biological Basis of the Sex Differences in Athletic Performance that is published in the journals, TJACSM and Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise. Dr Hunter’s laboratory has been funded by the National Institutes of Health since 2004 along with other granting bodies to conduct studies on aging, exercise fatigue, sex differences, women’s health, diabetes and COVID-19 (>$15 million). As a principal investigator, her most recent R01 grants from the National Institutes of Health examines fatigability of limb muscle and the protective effects of exercise with aging (R01 AG048262: 2015-2025) and in people with diabetes (R01 AG077688: 2022-2027).
Dr. Hunter has over 145 peer review papers in impactful journals and she serves as Editor-in-Chief for the highly-ranked journal, Exercise and Sport Science Reviews, and as an associate editor for Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise. She regularly speaks at national and international conferences and receives regular media attention for her research and expertise. Dr. Hunter has been honored with the several Marquette University awards for high quality teaching and research. She actively mentors undergraduate and graduate students, along with postdoctoral research associates to become the next generation of scientists to conduct cutting-edge and innovative research. Find links to Dr. Hunter’s CV and publications (pubmed.org), and her faculty web page.
Research Interests
- Aging: Athletic Performance, Fatigability, and the Protective Effects of Exercise Training
- Sex Differences in Fatigability and Athletic Performance
- Diabetes: Muscle Functions and Limb Fatigability
- Exercise Training: Neuromuscular Fatigability and Strength Training
- COVID-19: Persistent Effects of Long COVID on Physical Function
