Matt McAllister, Ph.D.
Department of Health and Human Performance
College of Education
Metabolic & Applied Physiology (MAP) Lab Community Resilience Collaboration: Improving Firefighter Health and Performance
Background:
Dr. McAllister leads the Metabolic and Applied Physiology (MAP) Lab, where he researches the physiological effects of stressors and ways to mitigate these effects in high stress occupations, such as firefighters and law enforcement.
Faculty Fellows Project:
Dr. McAllister investigated the relationship between markers of stress and cardiovascular disease in professional firefighters. His Faculty Fellows project supported biomarker analysis as well as an extensive outreach campaign to fire stations across Texas and a well-attended webinar to disseminate his findings about the importance of fitness testing in this community.
Project Outcomes
Webinar: Improving Firefighter Health and Performance
On March 8, 2023, THRC hosted a webinar to share Dr. McAllister's research and recommendations to improve the health and performance of firefighters. The webinar presented a collaboration between THRC, the MAP Lab, and the Huffines Institute at Texas A&M.
The webinar drew participation from across Texas, with attendees joining from San Antonio, Austin, San Marcos, Midland, Longview, Houston, Lewisville, College Station, Hutto, Abilene, Arlington, Waco, Denton, and El Paso.
Health+Resilience Research Network
Dr. McAllister participated in the first campus-wide Health+Resilience Research Network meeting to share his research with the TXST community.
McAllister, M. (2022). A holistic approach to health, immunity, and post COVID-19 rehabilitation. Health+ Resilience Research Network, San Marcos, Texas.
Firefighter Resilience Research Network
THRC is developing a telementoring program for firefighters in collaboration with Dr. McAllister to engage and expand the firefighter network identified as a result of the webinar.
Grant Proposals
The project led to one grant proposal, which will involve collaborative dissemination and implementation activities supported by THRC.