Faculty Profiles

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Dr. Stacy Denise Hunter

  • Associate Professor - Dept of Health & Human Performance
Portrait of Dr. Stacy Denise Hunter

Biography and expertise

Stacy D. Hunter received her Ph.D. in Clinical Exercise Physiology from the University of Texas at Austin where she studied the effects of yoga on vascular function in the Cardiovascular Aging Research Laboratory. A yoga practitioner since 2008, she has now published several pioneering studies on the impact of yoga on vascular endothelial function, arterial stiffness, and glucose tolerance and presented her findings at teacher trainings, yoga studios and symposia in the U.S. and abroad. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance at Texas State University where she continues her investigation into the acute and chronic effects of yoga on vascular health and other coronary heart disease risk factors in healthy and clinical subpopulations.

Education

Doctorate Degree

PhD in Kinesiology

University of Texas at Austin, 2011

Master's Degree

MS in Exercise Science

University of Tennessee Knoxville, 2008

Bachelor's Degree

BS in Physical Education

College of Charleston, 2006

  • Hunter, Stacy Denise (Principal). Yoga postures and slow deep breathing in altering mechanistic outcomes in hypertension, NIH NCCIH, Federal, $408493. (Submitted: March 2021, Funded: December 1, 2021 - November 30, 2024). Grant.
  • Hunter, Stacy Denise, Brasfield, Karen (Co-Principal). Effects of hot yoga on renal sodium handling in African Americans, REP, Texas State University, $4262. (Submitted: October 9, 2020, Funded: January 2021 - Present). Grant.
  • Hunter, Stacy Denise. Acute effects of vinyasa yoga on lipid profile and fasting glucose, Pure Action, Inc., Private / Foundation / Corporate, $770. (Submitted: 2018, Funded: 2018). Grant.
  • Hunter, Stacy Denise. The Effects of Bikram Yoga on Vascular Health in Hypertensive Adults, Research Enhancement Program, Texas State University, $8000. (Funded: January 2018 - May 2019). Grant.
  • Hunter, S. D. (2026). Short-term high sodium intake increases nocturnal blood pressure but not arterial stiffness in Black adults. European Journal of Nutrition, 65. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00394-026-03994-w
  • Hunter, S. D. (2026). Effects of yoga posture and slow deep breathing interventions on ambulatory blood pressure in adults with hypertension. Journal of Hypertension, 44(6), 1068–1070.
  • Jeong, S., Hunter, S. D., Cook, M. D., Grosicki, G. J., & Robinson, A. T. (2024). Salty subjects: Unpacking racial differences in salt-sensitive hypertension. Current Hypertension Reports. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-023-01275-z
  • Hunter, S. D. (2023). Exploring heated exercise as a means of preventing the deleterious effects of high-sodium intake in Black women. American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 324(6), H833–H839.
  • Pingali, H., & Hunter, S. D. (2023). Exploring mechanisms of blood pressure regulation in response to device-guided and non-device-guided slow breathing: A mini review. Autonomic Neuroscience, 244.
View all scholarly/creative works
  • Award / Honor Recipient: The American Physiological Society (APS)select Distinction in Scholarship in the American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology for the article “Exploring heated exercise as a means of preventing the deleterious effects of high-sodium intake in Black women”, The American Physiological Society. June 1, 2023 - Present
  • Award / Honor Recipient: College Achievement Award, Texas State University. February 2022 - Present
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Leadership & Diversity Training Program renewal, American College of Sports Medicine. September 2020 - June 2021
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Leadership & Diversity Training Program acceptance, American College of Sports Medicine. January 2019 - December 2019
  • Award / Honor Recipient: FASEB MARC Travel Award. 2009
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  1. Member

    Faculty Senate

  2. Other

  3. Member

    College of Education PI Working Group

  4. Reviewer / Referee

    Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

  5. Member

    Personnel Committee

  6. Editorial Review Board Member

    Frontiers in Physiology

  7. View all activities