Thomas Clanton

The primary direction of our current research involves the role of skeletal muscle as an endocrine organ. In recent years it has been discovered that muscles make significant amounts of signaling proteins called cytokines that were originally discovered in inflammatory cells of the immune system and are involved in innate immunity. We feel that these muscle-derived proteins have significant impacts on many inflammatory diseases and are influenced by exercise and muscle health. This project was recently funded by the American Heart Association. Another area of research involves the pathology of exertional heat stroke and mechanisms of prevention and treatment of heat stroke. This area of research was funded in 2015-2018 by the Department of Defense. One of the related areas we are studying is the role of these cytokines in protecting the intestinal barrier. In the process of this research we have developed methodologies and nutritional strategies for studying mechanisms of intestinal barrier dysfunction in disease. Dr. Clanton has a long history of expertise in pulmonary function, exercise testing, cardiopulmonary disease, pulmonary rehabilitation, confocal microscopy and free radical biology. He was former director of the Pulmonary function labs, the pulmonary rehabilitation program and an Associate Director of the Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute at The Ohio State University before coming to Florida.