Rate My Professor Matthew Brothers

R. Matthew Brothers is a Professor of Kinesiology at The University of Texas at Arlington in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation. He serves as Associate Chair for Graduate Programs in Exercise Science, Program Director for the PhD in Kinesiology, and Director of the Integrative Vascular Physiology Laboratory and the PAWS Lab focused on physical activity, women’s health, and sleep. Brothers leads research on neural and vascular mechanisms of blood pressure regulation and cardiovascular disease risk factors, with a particular emphasis on African American women who exhibit high rates of hypertension. His laboratory investigates impaired autonomic and vascular function in at-risk populations, exploring implications for thermoregulatory capacity, orthostatic tolerance, and risks for cardiovascular, neurological, and metabolic diseases. As principal investigator, he secured a National Institutes of Health grant to study the effects of antioxidants and interventions on blood vessel dilation and blood pressure control, incorporating social determinants, environmental, and socioeconomic factors.

In 2019, Brothers was elected president-elect of the Texas Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine, assuming the presidency in 2020 and coordinating the annual regional conference, including the 2021 event hosted on the UTA campus. Under his mentorship, UTA kinesiology students have achieved notable success, winning awards such as the President’s Cup for top poster submission and first, second, and third places in manuscript submissions at TACSM conferences. He also received $100,000 in interdisciplinary research funding for a project on food insecurity and metabolic health. Key publications include “The effect of changes in cardiac output on middle cerebral artery mean blood velocity at rest and during exercise” (The Journal of Physiology, 2005), “Autonomic neural control of the cerebral vasculature: acute hypotension” (Stroke, 2008), “The effects of reduced end-tidal carbon dioxide tension on cerebral blood flow during heat stress” (The Journal of Physiology, 2009), and “Contributions of endothelin-1 and L-arginine to blunted vasodilator responses” (American Journal of Physiology, 2021). His work advances understanding of vascular reactivity and health disparities in exercise physiology.