Faculty Profile for Dr. Milena Samora dos Santos

profile photo for Dr. Milena Samora dos Santos
Dr. Milena Samora dos Santos
Assistant Professor — Dept of Health & Human Performance
JOW A127
phone: (512) 245-2561

Biography Section

Biography and Education

Dr. Samora earned her Ph.D. in Physical Education with a focus on exercise physiology from the University of Brasília in Brazil, where she studied sex differences in blood pressure regulation during exercise in healthy individuals. Additionally, she taught undergraduate courses as an adjunct professor. Before joining TXST, she completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Texas at Austin, where she investigated the mechanisms underlying the exaggerated exercise pressor reflex in type 2 diabetic rats. Drawing on her expertise in both human and animal research, Dr. Samora is committed to advancing our understanding of the neural control of circulation during exercise in both healthy and disease-related conditions.

Google Scholar: http://bit.ly/3Oqr4Hz

Research Interests

Neural control of circulation, autonomic nervous system, exercise pressor reflex, arterial baroreflex, blood pressure regulation.

Selected Scholarly/Creative Work

  • Samora, M., Huo, Y., Stanhope, K. L., Havel, P. J., Kaufman, M. P., Harrison, M. L., & Stone, A. J. (2024). Cyclooxygenase products contribute to the exaggerated exercise pressor reflex evoked by static muscle contraction in male UCD-type 2 diabetes mellitus rats. Journal of Applied Physiology, 136(5), 1226–1237. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00879.2023
  • Samora, M., Huo, Y., McCuller, R. K., Chidurala, S., Stanhope, K. L., Havel, P. J., … Harrison, M. L. (2023). Spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity is attenuated in male UCD-type 2 diabetes mellitus rats: A link between metabolic and autonomic dysfunction. Autonomic Neuroscience, 249, 103117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autneu.2023.103117
  • Samora, M., Grotle, A.-K., & Stone, A. J. (2023). Altered Cardiovascular Responses to Exercise in Type 1 Diabetes. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, 51(2), 65–72. https://doi.org/10.1249/jes.0000000000000314
  • Samora, M., Teixeira, A. L., Sabino-Carvalho, J. L., & Vianna, L. C. (2020). Sex differences in cardiac vagal reactivation from the end of isometric handgrip exercise and at the onset of muscle metaboreflex isolation. Autonomic Neuroscience, 228, 102714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autneu.2020.102714
  • Samora, M., Incognito, A. V., & Vianna, L. C. (2019). Sex differences in blood pressure regulation during ischemic isometric exercise: the role of the β-adrenergic receptors. Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985), 127(2), 408–414. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00270.2019

Selected Awards

  • Award / Honor Recipient: Honorable mention for University of Brasilia Graduate Thesis Award, University of Brasilia. 2022
  • Award / Honor Recipient: CAPES Thesis Award 2021 Edition, CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel). 2021
  • Award / Honor Recipient: NCAR Research Recognition Award, American Physiological Society. 2020
  • Award / Honor Recipient: International Early Career Physiologist Travel Award, American Physiological Society. 2019
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Pan-American Congress Travel Award, American Physiological Society. 2019

Selected Service Activities

Reviewer / Referee
Experimental Physiology
2024-Present
Member
ESS Graduate Admissions Committee
September 2024-Present
Reviewer / Referee
The Journal of Physiology
2023-Present
Reviewer / Referee
American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology
2022-Present
Reviewer / Referee
American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology
2021-Present