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EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
Greenville, North Carolina
Bachelor of Science, Nutrition 2000
EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
Greenville, North Carolina
Master of Science, Nutrition 2003
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA GREENSBORO
Greensboro, North Carolina
Doctor of Philosophy, Nutrition Science- exercise physiology minor 2009
UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Lawrence, Kansas
POST DOCTORAL SCHOLAR 2010
Dr. Thomas earned his B.S. and M.S in Nutrition, with an emphasis on Clinical Nutrition and Wellness from East Carolina University. After becoming a Registered Dietitian in 2001, he worked as a Clinical Dietitian in Greensboro, NC. His primary responsibilities as a clinician included managing medical nutrition therapy for patients in general medicine, cardiac, rehabilitation, and intensive care units.
Dr. Thomas completed his Ph.D in Nutrition at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Kansas. Throughout his doctoral and postdoctoral studies, Dr. Thomas expanded his clinical knowledge base to include aspects of exercise physiology, sports nutrition, body composition, and hormone physiology. Dr. Thomas is a Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD). He is currently an Associate Professor of Clinical & Sports Nutrition in the Department of Athletic Training and Clinical Nutrition at the University of Kentucky.
Dr. Thomas studies the impact of combining vitamin D repletion and aerobic training on skeletal muscle lipid packaging, partitioning and oxidative metabolism. In more recent studies, his lab has studied how active vitamin D enhances insulin sensitivity, alters myocellular lipid partitioning, and perilipin 2-dependent increases in mitochondrial function. Furthermore, recent translational work from his lab indicated that vitamin D combined with aerobic training enhances muscle lipid utilization and tissue-level oxygen consumption in healthy aging compared to providing vitamin D or exercise alone. During the past 10 years Dr. Thomas has served on the Dissertation Committees of 10 PhD students, 4 as major advisor.
Teaching Focus:
Medical Nutrition Therapy
Sports/Performance Nutrition
Role of vitamin D in promoting muscle metabolic health and function
Weight maintenance
Nutrition strategies for promoting accretion and preservation of lean body mass
Current Projects:
Igniting Research Collaborations (IRC), UK Pilot Grant competition. A Partnership between Vitamin D and Bilirubin to Support Metabolic Health. Thomas DT and Hinds TD (CO-PIs).
Completed Research Support:
1P20GM121327-01. St Clair (PI) University of Kentucky Center for Cancer and Metabolism. Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE). $11.2 million. Project 1: The Contribution of Vitamin D to Muscle Metabolic Function in Cancer Cachexia Thomas DT (PI) $1.68 million; 03/01/17-12/31/19 (50% sponsored effort)
8/15/2014-05/31/2018: NIH R21AG046762. Vitamin D Contribution to Muscle Metabolic Function in the Elderly Thomas DT (PI) $400,000
3/1/17 University of Kentucky Center for Muscle Biology Pilot Grant. Thomas DT (PI). The impact of vitamin D treatment on lipid storage and metabolism in skeletal muscle in vitro. $5,000
08/01/2015-09/30/2017. United States Department of Defense. Abt (PI) Marine Special Operators: Performance Optimization and Injury Prevention (MARSOC) Thomas DT (CO-I)
12/5/12 Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Clinical and Translational Research Award. Pilot trial investigating therapeutic outcome improvement, compliance with therapy, and changes in muscle and fat composition using Beet Root Juice supplement for enterally fed patients undergoing chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancers. Thomas DT (PI), $40,000
5/2/11-2016 NIH R01. Lennie (PI) Nutrition Intervention to Reduce Symptoms in Patients with Advanced Heart Failure. Thomas DT (CO-I) $300,000 per year; 09/2011-09/2016
2020 Recipient of the SCAN Sports Nutrition National Achievement Award
2020 Nutrition Human Health Sciences Pacesetter Alumni Award-University of North Carolina Greensboro
Basaqr R, Skleres M, Jayswal R, Thomas DT. The Effect of Dietary Nitrate and Vitamin C on Endothelial Function, Oxidative Stress, and Blood Lipids in Untreated Hypercholesterolemic Subjects: A Randomized Double-blind Crossover Study. 2020 Article in Press. Clinical Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2020.10.012
Ross J, Thomas DT., Winters JD, Royer SD, Halagarda CJ, Sheppard R, Abt J, Heebner NR. Military Protein Intake Related to Strength and Fat Mass Independent of Energy Intake. Mil Med. 2020 Sep 18;185(9-10):e1671-e1678. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usaa151. PMID: 32633753.
Kostelnik S, Davy K, Hedrick V, Thomas DT, Davy B. The Validity of Urine Color as a Hydration Biomarker in the General Adult Population and Athletes: A Systematic Review. 2020. JACN. DOI: 10.1080/07315724.2020.1750073.
Thomas DT, Schnell DM, Redzic M, Zhao M, Abraha H, Jones, Brim, Yu G. Local In Vivo Measures of Muscle Lipid and Oxygen Consumption Change in Response to Combined Vitamin D Repletion and Aerobic Training in Older Adults. 2019. Nutrients. 2019 Apr 25;11(4). PMID:31027191
Schnell D, Walton RG, Vekaria H, Sullivan PG, Peterson CA, Thomas DT. 2019. Vitamin D produces a perilipin 2-dependent increase in mitochondrial function in C2C12 myotubes. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry 65: 83-92.
Royer SD, Thomas DT, Winters JD, Abt JP, Best S, Poploski KM, Zalaiskalns AA, Lephart SM. Physical, Physiological and Dietary Comparisons between Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command Critical Skills Operators and Enablers. Mil Med. 2018; https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usy049.
Jefferson G, Schnell DM, Thomas DT, Bollinger L. Calcitriol concomitantly enhances insulin sensitivity and alters myocellular lipid partitioning in high-fat treated skeletal muscle cells. Journal of Physiology and Biochemestry. 2017; 73(4), 613-621.
Stewart-Lottes M, Thomas DT, Biddle M. Evaluation of Current Feeding Practices in the Critically Ill. Intensive and Critical Care Nursing. 2016; S0964-3397(16)30023-4. doi: 10.1016/j.iccn.
Al-Attar A, Presnell S, Peterson CA, Thomas DT, Lutz C. Data Correlations between Gender, Cytomegalovirus Infection and T cells, NK cells, and Soluble Immune Mediators in Elderly Humans. Data in Brief. 2016; 536-544.
Al-Attar A, Presnell S, Peterson CA, Thomas DT, Lutz C. The Effect of Sex on Immune Cells in Healthy Aging: Elderly Women Have More Robust Natural Killer Lymphocytes than Do Elderly Men. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development. 2016; Jun;156:25-33.
Thomas, D.T. Burke L, Erdmann KA. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and athletic performance. Can J Diet Pract Res. 2016;77(1):54.
Thomas, D.T. Burke L, Erdmann KA. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and athletic performance. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2016; 116:501-528.
Thomas, D.T. Burke L, Erdmann KA. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and athletic performance. Med Sci Sports Exercise. 2016 Mar;48(3):543-68
Cassity E, Redzic M, Teager C, Thomas DT. The effect of BMI on 25(OH)D changes in vitamin D supplemented collegiate swimmers and divers. European Journal of Sports Science. 2015 Dec 23:1-7.
Henry B, Zhao M, Shang Yu, Uhl T, Thomas DT, Xenos ES, Saha SP, Yu G. Hybrid Diffuse Optical Techniques for Continuous Hemodynamic Measurement in Gastrocnemius during Plantar Flexion Exercise. J. Biomed. Opt. 20(12), 125006 (2015). doi: 10.1117/1.JBO.20.12.125006
Thomas, D.T. Vitamin D, Exercise and Muscle Metabolic Function in Aging. 2015 Pulse 34(3), 6-8.
Thomas DT. Redzic M. Pearls of Practice Vitamin D and Athletes: Vitamin D Relationship to Injury & Clinical Pearls for Practice. 2014 Athletic Training and Sports Health Care 6(2), 53-54.
Redzic M., Powell, D.K., Thomas, D.T. Vitamin D status is related to intramyocellular lipid in older adults. 2014 Endocrine 47(3), 854-861.
Thomas DT. Redzic M. Pearls of Practice Vitamin D and Athletes: A Growing Interest. 2014 Athletic Training and Sports Health Care 6(1), 5-6.
Thomas DT. Could vitamin D and bicarbonate supplementation synergize to mitigate age-related loss of muscle? 2013 Endocrine 44(2), 280-282.
Lennie, T. A., Moser, D. K., Biddle, M. J., Welsh, D., Bruckner, G. G., Thomas, DT, Rayens, M. K. and Bailey, A. L. Nutrition intervention to decrease symptoms in patients with advanced heart failure. Research in Nursing & Health 2013; 36(2):120-45.
Lewis RM, Redzic M, Thomas DT. The Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation on 25(OH)D, Body Composition and Inflammation in Collegiate Swimmers and Divers. Int J of Sport Nut Exerc Metab 2013,23; 431-440.
Lambourne KL, Washburn RA, Lee J, Betts JL, Thomas DT, Smith BK, Gibson CG, Sullivan DK, Donnelly JE. A 6-month trial of resistance training with milk supplementation in adolescents: Effects on body composition. Int J Sport Nut Exerc Metab 2013; 23: 344-356.
Redzic M, Lewis RM, Thomas DT. Relationship between 25-hydroxyvitamin D, Muscle Strength, and Incidence of Injury in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review. Nutrition Reviews 2013; 33: 251-258.
Thomas DT, Lovelady CA, Wideman L. Effects of calcium and resistance exercise on body composition in overweight premenopausal women. J Amer Coll Nutr 2011; 29(6): 604-611.
Thomas DT, Lovelady CA, Wideman L. Effect of a dairy supplement and resistance training on lean mass and IGF in women. Int J Sport Nut Exerc Metab. 2011; 21: 181-188.
Books and Book Chapters at the University of Kentucky:
Thomas, DT, Schnell, DM. Dietary Fat in Exercise and Sport. Sports Nutrition: A Practice Manual for Professionals. 6th Edition (2017) SCAN
Spano M, Kruskall L, Thomas, DT. Nutrition for Fitness and Health. 2017 Human Kinetics