Thomas Lowder, PhD, CSCS

HomeFaculty ResearchHuman Performance LabBiomechanics LabSport-Related Concussion Lab

Adam Bruenger, PhD, CSCSMike Gallagher, PhDHan Soo Kim, PhDRock Lee, PhD, ATC Thomas Lowder, PhD, CSCS

My research investigates how exercise and other interventions might help to improve the health and quality of life in patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS). EDS encompasses at least fourteen subtypes, the most prominent by far being hypermobile EDS (hEDS). While primarily thought to be a disease that affects muscles and joints, hEDS impacts virtually every organ in the body, and no two patients are identical.

hEDS is considered to be a female disease (85-95% of patients are female) and the disease can be devastating (menstrual cycle dysregulation; chronic, systemic pain; dislocations and subluxations of joints; neurological manifestations; gastrointestinal issues; pelvic floor dysfunction and pain; extreme fatigue; postural and balance issues). At present, there is no cure and treatment options are limited. We are working with a number of collaborators to try to help the patients who we see. We are actively working to establish a center where individuals with EDS can get help and participate in research studies.

My lab is also beginning a partnership to improve pre- and post-natal care in African-American women in our community. Arkansas has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country, and nearly three times as many African-American women in Arkansas die from maternal mortality when compared to non-Hispanic white women.

My previous research has been primarily pulmonary based, having spent a number of years investigating mouse models of influenza virus infection; the role of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in asthma; and non-small cell lung cancer using a transgenic mouse model. Since 2012 I’ve been working with rare diseases in people, including a very rare lung disease that affects women almost exclusively, lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM).