Thad Wilson, PhD

Connect

(859) 562-3290
tewi230@uky.edu

741 South Limestone, BBSRB, Rm: 259, Lexington, KY 40536-0298

Positions

Professor, Department of Physiology
Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Environmental Health
Director of Grauate Certificate | Physiology Teaching

College Unit(s)

Other Affiliation(s)

CVRC - Affiliated Faculty

Pronouns

he, him, his

Biography and Education

Education

B.S. University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY

M.S. University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY

Ph.D. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas & University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX

Research

The goals of our laboratory/clinical-focused research are to: 1) identify the mechanisms of eccrine sweat gland and skin blood flow disorders to develop meaningful treatments; 2) quantify and model regional skin barriers and transdermal molecule movement during environmental exposures; and 3) determine the interactions of the thermal environment on medical conditions and worker health/safety.

The goals of our physiological education-focused research are to: 1) determine if function diagrams improve remembering and classifying factual knowledge; 2) identify the role of physiological simulations in developing conceptual and procedural knowledge; and 3) determine if incorporating lifespan and sex-specific differences impacts physiology knowledge retention in medical education.

Selected Publications

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4345-1616

2025 Google Scholar h-index: 43

2025 Google Scholar i10-index: 79

2025 Total Citations: >6150

Representative Original Research Publications:

Metzler-Wilson, K., Fang, M. M., Alibegovic, K., Daggett, J., Narra, S., Dazé, R. P., Miller, O. G., & Wilson, T. E. Effect of reflex and mechanical decreases in skin perfusion on thermal- and agonist-induced eccrine sweating in humans. American Journal of Physiology (Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology), 324: R271-R280, 2023.

Metzler-Wilson, K., Toma, K., Sammons, D.L., Mann, S., Jurovcik, A. J., Demidova, O., & Wilson, T. E. Augmented supraorbital skin sympathetic nerve activity responses to symptom trigger events in rosacea patients. Journal of Neurophysiology, 114: 1530-1537, 2015.

Wilson, T. E., Brothers, R. M., Tollund, C., Dawson, E. A., Nissen, P., Yoshiga, C. C., Jons, C., Secher, N. H., Crandall, C. G. Effect of thermal stress on Frank-Starling relations in humans. Journal of Physiology (London), 587:3383-3392, 2009.

Representative Research Synthesis & Integration Publications:

Wilson, T. E. Cardiovascular and metabolic responses to thermal insults. Theory and Applications of Heat Transfer in Cells and Organs (edited by D. Shrivastava), John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 2018; ISBN-13: 978-1119127307.

Wilson, T. E. Renal sympathetic nerve, blood flow, and epithelial transport responses to thermal stress. Autonomic Neuroscience: Basic and Clinical, 204: 25-34, 2017.

Wilson, T. E., Klabunde, R. E. & Monahan, K. D. Using thermal stress to model aspects of disease states. Journal of Thermal Biology, 43: 24-32, 2014.

Representative Educational Scholarship:

Preston, R. R. & Wilson, T.E., Lippincott Illustrated Reviews: Physiology. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (Wolters Kluwer Co.), Baltimore, MD, 2024; ISBN-13: 978-1975196332.

Wilson, T. E. & Barrett, K. E. Gastrointestinal jabberwocky to bioengineering design: Using function diagrams to teach physiology. Advances in Physiological Education, 45: 264–268, 2021.

Wilson, T. E., M. Minal, S. Akbar. Opportunistic physiology: Inserting physiology and pathophysiology content into virtually delivered clinical rotations. Advances in Physiological Education, 44: 545-549, 2020.

Representative Broader Impact Works:

Wilson, T. E. & Campbell K. S. Expanding “normal” in physiology education. Physiology Educators Community of Practice (PECOP) blog, December 15^th, 2021. https://blog.lifescitrc.org/pecop/.

Wilson, T. E. & Metzler-Wilson, K. Autonomic thermoregulation. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. Web edition: Oxford University Press, 2018; DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190264086.013.15. Print edition: Oxford University Press, 2022; ISBN-13: 978-0190464912.

Wilson, T. E., Lecturio USMLE: Physiology. Medicine Division of Lecturio GmbH, 2016-2025