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Dr. McFarlin's Heat Study Research Making Waves

HHP faculty Dr. Brian McFarlin's research using the Environmental Chamber in the Laboratory of Integrated Physiology at HHP has been receiving wide coverage in the media.

The study simulates summer conditions with the Environmental Chamber, which resembles a large cooler, where heat and humidity are adjusted. A battery of tests is then taken on bike riding patients.

Houston's KHOU Ch 11 news featured the study on June 18th.

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Below is an excerpt from the article accompanying the video on the KHOU website:

While most people go inside to escape the heat, that’s where University of Houston professor Brian McFarlin and graduate student Kelley Strohacker go to find it.

Using an environmental chamber at U of H, one of only three in the state’s university system, study subjects are monitored as they ride stationary bikes in sweltering heat. The thermostat in the chamber can be set at 115 degrees Fahrenheit with 100-percent humidity. McFarlin is heading the study in the hopes of one day preventing deaths from heat-related illnesses.

Dr. McFarlin's Research Featured on WB39 News.

Dr. McFarlin's research using the Environmental Chamber was also featured in a prime time segment on Houston's WB39 news.

Click on the image below to see the clip:

Not avaialable

Watch the clip on the WB39 website, below is an excerpt from the article accompanying the video on the WB website:

"Currently there is really no way to predict whether or not someone would have an adverse effect to exercising in the heat. We are just trying to figure out if there are other things that can be measured in a pre-season physical to essentially gauge risk," says McFarlin.

The study simulates the summers with a large chamber, which resembles a large cooler, where heat and humidity are adjusted. A battery of tests is then taken on bike riding patients. A company called Biothera backed the study.

"They have a supplement which is believed to boost immune system response and they have some testing to show that they have been effective to those who work in stressful environments," says McFarlin.

"Just from the initial look of the data, it appears that we have had some beneficial effects from the supplement. The thing that is a little bit unique about the Biothera Company itself, is that the supplement has cleared FDA testing," says McFarlin.

Dr. McFarlin's research with the Environmental Chamber was also featured on Houston Public Radio.