HHPS Brochure 2025

D E PA R T M E N T O F

Health and Human Physiological Sciences

Why study Health and Human Physiological Sciences at Skidmore?

The mission of Skidmore’s Health and Human Physiological Sciences (HHPS) Department is to provide engaging pedagogies that allow undergraduate students to gain an understanding of physiology and how it impacts human health and performance.

Embedded within our teaching is a pursuit of new knowledge that uncovers previously unknown connections among physiology, health, and performance. The Department of Health and Human Physiological Sciences’ coursework and research emphasize an understanding of the interplay between environmental factors, nutrition, exercise, and disease on human function, as well as the physiological mechanisms regulating human health and performance.

Bolstering our progressive curriculum is a commitment to integrating knowledge from the molecular to the public health level, across all physiological systems. With an average student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, students will have high levels of interaction with their faculty.

8:1

student to faculty ratio

HANDS ON

EXPERIENCES AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

E A R N I N G Y O U R B A C H E L O R ’ S I N H E A LT H A N D HUMAN PHYSIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

What will you study?

The Health and Human Physiological Sciences faculty are committed to furthering student comprehension in physiology, nutrition, exercise physiology, and biochemistry by providing high-impact learning experiences beyond the traditional classroom. This is accomplished by utilizing state-of-the-art facilities and working with students as collaborators to conduct nationally and internationally recognized research.

FACULTY RESEARCH FOCUS

Participating in Research: At Skidmore, students engage deeply in the research process through classroom, lab, and independent projects. Project-based learning allows hands-on experience, with opportunities for semester or summer research, including funded programs like the Faculty Student Summer Research Program. Students work alongside faculty on meaningful investigations that often lead to professional conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications.

Faculty research is supported by major funders such as the National Institutes of Health, Department of Homeland Security, American Heart Association, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and industry partners. This integrative, experience-based approach to physiology prepares students for graduate studies and careers in public health, biomedical research, and the health professions.

Paul J. Arciero, D.P.E. Nutrition, physical activity, and cognitive interventions to optimize health and performance across the age, fitness, and health spectrum.

Patricia C. Fehling, Ph.D. First responder health and safety, cardiovascular health and disease.

Stephen Ives, Ph.D. Cardiovascular physiology, autonomic control of the CV system, blood pressure, and vascular function, dietary and exercise interventions.

T. H. Reynolds, Ph.D. Insulin and glucagon signal transduction, cellular aspects of obesity, mechanisms of insulin resistance, and aging.

Denise L. Smith, Ph.D. First responder health and safety, cardiovascular health and disease.

Majoring in Human Physiological Sciences in the HHPS Department Students are required to fulfill the general College requirements and to complete the following: CORE REQUIREMENTS HP 111 CH 125 HP 126 HP 127 HP 131 MS 204

Introduction to Exercise Physiology General Chemistry Human Anatomy and Physiology I Human Anatomy and Physiology II Introduction to Public Health Statistical Methods

C

HP 242 HP 255

Principles of Nutrition for Health and Performance Research Techniques in Health and Human Physiology

HP 311

Advanced Exercise Physiology

HP 355

Research Design

+1 OF THE FOLLOWING

1

HP 312

Cellular Aspects of Skeletal Muscle Physiology and Metabolism Integrative Physiology of Adipose Tissue

HP 315

Cardiovascular Physiology in Health and Disease

HP 316

The Physiology of Aging

HP 317

Clinical Cardiovascular Disease

Applied Anatomy and Kinesiology

HP 318

Human Endocrine Physiology

HP 313 HP 314

OPTIONAL

O

HP 351

HP 375 HP 299

HP 371

Topics in Health and Human Physiological Sciences Independent Study

Senior Research Professional Internship I/II

Healthcare Professionals: Over

75%

of our graduates matriculate to programs in the allied health field (e.g. physical therapy, medicine, nursing, etc.). The remaining graduates work in clinically related positions or in industry.

Our major is flexible to allow students to complete additional courses that may be necessary for successful application into professional programs. The college also offers the Health Professions Advisory Committee (HPAC), which provides students with another layer of advising to ensure they are on track for their career goals.

STUDENT SUPPORT

STUDY ABROAD

Student success is essential in our educational mission; thus, beyond the professor’s office hours, we offer peer academic coaching (PAC), who provide drop-in sessions for help with studying and assignments.

Our potent but efficient curriculum lends flexibility to students to study abroad, with the most popular locations being Australia, New Zealand, and Denmark.

Facilities Our science facilities are state-of-the-art. But you should expect that. The difference here is that they’re yours — access isn’t even a question.

The laboratory and research facilities in the Health and Human Physiological Sciences Department at Skidmore College allow students hands-on access through curriculum-based lab classes and involvement in faculty research projects. Skidmore’s liberal arts focus and wealth of laboratory resources provide excellent opportunities for direct applications of the concepts and knowledge learned in the Health and Human Physiological Sciences program. Our labs are “bench to bedside” ranging from wet labs suited for basic or biomolecular science to labs suited for pre-clinical or clinical assessments of health and physiology.

Clinical and Applied Biochemistry Lab

provides students opportunity to learn alongside faculty performing in vitro assessments of tissues or samples to better understand physiological processes and their response to interventions (e.g., aging, diet, exercise, etc.). This is accomplished by standard biochemical laboratory techniques such as gel-electrophoresis, immuno-blotting, quantitative real time PCR, and a variety of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA).

Nutrition and Metabolism Lab

is well-suited to conduct resting metabolic rate measurements. The Nutrition and Metabolism Lab is adjacent to our other body composition labs to ascertain the influence of nutritional and physical activity intervention on energy metabolism, body composition, glucose tolerance, and cardiovascular disease risk in healthy and diseased populations.

Integrative Vascular and Exercise Science Lab

is focused on cardiovascular health and physiology. The Integrative Vascular and Exercise Science Lab is seeking to better understand vascular function, arterial stiffness, the autonomic nervous system influence on the CV system, and their relation to blood pressure and CVD risk in healthy and at-risk individuals.

First Responder Health and Safety Lab

Their mission is to enhance the health, safety and performance of first responders by conducting scientific research to elucidate the dangers of this important occupation, and develop and test interventions to mitigate those dangers.

A full list of our resources can be found at skidmore.edu/hhps/facilities/index.php

Where are they now?

A SAMPLE OF WHERE HHPS G R A D S H AV E G O N E A F T E R SKIDMORE.

OLIVIA MINICUCCI ’16

JON BRESTOFF PARKER ’08

Registered Dietitian for the Miami Marlins Major League Baseball team

Associate Professor of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis

MIKE ORMSBEE ’02

AMBER KINSEY ’10

Professor, Graduate Program Director, and Director of Florida State University Institute of Sports Sciences and Medicine

Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine, University of Alabama School of Medicine

H E A LT H A N D H U M A N P H Y S I O L O G I C A L S C I E N C E S G R A D I AT E S

Life after Skidmore PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS

GRADUATE SCHOOLS

ISS Program Deputy Scientist at NASA Johnson Space Center

Postdoctoral Fellow – Salk Institute

Physician at Yale New Haven Hospital

MS in Data Science – Duke University

Research Assistant at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

PhD in Translational Sciences – George Washington University

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at Massachusetts General Hospital

MS in Health Informatics – Weill Cornell School of Medicine

CMC Regulatory Submissions Lead at Takeda Pharmaceuticals

MSN – Columbia University School of Nursing

Lead Research Specialist, Human Performance & Data Analytics, University of Pittsburgh

RD and MPH – Tufts University School of Medicine

Pharmacoepidemiologist at Genesis Research Group

DPT – George Washington University School of Medicine

75%

PhD in Medical Anthropology – University of Maryland

of our graduates go on to health-related fields such as physical therapy, medicine, nursing, dentistry, and physician assistant. Other students enter a variety of graduate programs in the physiological/biomedical sciences.

FACULTY DIRECTORY KAREN ARCIERO, DPT

Teaching Professor and Internship Coordinator PAUL J. ARCIERO, D.P.E.

Professor and Director of Human Nutrition and Metabolism Laboratory PATRICIA C. FEHLING, PH.D.

Professor

STEPHEN IVES, PH.D.

Department Chair and Professor T. H. REYNOLDS, PH.D.

Professor

DENISE L. SMITH, PH.D.

Tisch Distinguished Professor, Professor, and Director of the First Responder Health and Safety Laboratory

For more information, visit

skidmore.edu/hhps/index.php