Kyle Levers

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Bio

Dr. Levers is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences and serves as the Director of the Metabolism and Exercise Testing Research Services and Academic Laboratories on GW’s main campus in Foggy Bottom. Dr. Levers joined the Milken Institute School of Public Health as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2018. Prior to his tenure at GW, Dr. Levers was an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at Longwood University where he worked to significantly improve the Strength & Conditioning and Sports Nutrition curricula, upgrade the Exercise Science Laboratory facility, and establish a collaborative relationship between the Kinesiology Program and the Athletics Department. Prior to his time at Longwood, Dr. Levers served as a researcher in the Exercise and Sports Nutrition Laboratory at Texas A&M University collaborating with mentors Dr. Richard Kreider and the late Dr. Michael Greenwood on several large sports performance nutrition projects and women’s health initiatives while pursuing his doctorate in Exercise Physiology. During his doctoral tenure at Texas A&M, Dr. Levers volunteered his time as a Strength & Conditioning Coach and Research Collaborator with Texas A&M Athletics in addition to co-founding a start-up wearable technology company to improve blood pressure monitoring accuracy during exercise.

Dr. Levers’ professional career prior to academia was grounded in athletic performance development at the Division I collegiate level and in the private sector. After obtaining his doctoral degree, Dr. Levers founded a strength and conditioning facility in New Jersey where he served as the Director of Athletic Performance and Nutrition. Dr. Levers is a certified strength and conditioning specialist with the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA CSCS), a certified practitioner of the functional movement (FMS-1) and fundamental capacity screens (FCS), a certified functional range conditioning mobility specialist (FRCms), and a trained professional in Redcord Active techniques. Stemming from Dr. Levers’ background in athletic performance development and collegiate athletic career, his research interests are broadly focused on the application of movement, exercise, and nutrition-based interventions as methods to enhance health and human performance. He has published several articles and co-authored two book chapters related to the influences of nutrition and supplementation on exercise performance and body composition. He also has presented at several regional, national, and international events on topics ranging from health and physical activity, weight management, sports nutrition, youth sport specialization, athletic development, and athletic performance evaluation.

Expertise

Expertise:

Exercise Science

Nutrition

Prevention

Education:

Bachelor of Arts in Exercise Science and Chemistry - McDaniel College (2009)

Masters of Science in Exercise Physiology/Strength & Conditioning - The George Washington University (2011)

Doctor of Philosophy in Exercise Physiology - Texas A&M University (2015)

Teaching:

EXNS 1118 - Sport & Nutrition

EXNS 2111 - Exercise Physiology I

EXNS 2112 - Exercise Physiology II

EXNS 2113 - Kinesiology

EXNS 3103 - Training & Conditioning Program Design & Application I

EXNS 3995 - Undergraduate Research

EXNS 6203 - Advanced Exercise Physiology II (MS/MPH)

EXNS 6998 - Thesis Research (MS)

Research

Research:

Dr. Levers' applied research explores central and peripheral fatigue, stress, and movement quality monitoring as strategies to inform human health and performance while reducing the onset of disease and incidence of physical injury. This path points to the prioritization of health and movement quality as prerequisites for human performance optimization across all populations, including athletes. Applying these aspects within the overall human performance development model, Dr. Levers is intrigued by the intersection of movement, sleep, nature exposure, and nutrition as primary informants of human health, stress, durability, and longevity. Specifically, this interest has led to the collection of data through observational initiatives and the investigation of simple monitoring strategies to augment performance development, recovery, and regeneration strategies for all active individuals, including tactical and athletic populations. Through observational motor control, stress, and performance research that Dr. Levers initiated prior to his current role, the allied health community possesses a more comprehensive understanding of how athletes, recovering athletes, and teams adapt to and handle training demands as a part of the competitive student-athlete lifestyle. This information has ultimately improved awareness surrounding academic-athletic demands and facilitated changes in training methods to cater to sustainable health and performance. Additionally, Dr. Levers' previous research explorations have also examined the effects of recovery modalities and supplementation interventions on the physiological adaptations and biochemical mechanisms regulating skeletal muscle protein degradation, inflammation, stress, soreness, and performance in demanding acute and successive bouts of exercise.

Publications

Publications:

TM. Purdom, KS. Levers, J. Giles, L. Brown, C. McPherson, J. Howard. Accumulative competitive season training stress affects neuromuscular function and increases injury risk in uninjured D1 female athletes. Frontiers in Sport and Active Living. 2:610475. 2021.

TM. Purdom, KS. Levers, C. McPherson, J. Giles, L. Brown. A longitudinal prospective study: the effect of annual seasonal transition and coaching influence on aerobic capacity and body composition in Division I female soccer players. Sports. 8:107. 2020.

M. Galbreath, B. Campbell, P. LaBounty, J. Bunn, J. Dove, T. Harvey, G. Hudson, J.L. Gutierrez, K. Levers, E. Galvan, A. Jagim, L. Greenwood, M.B. Cooke, M. Greenwood, C. Rasmussen, R.B. Kreider. Effects of adherence to a higher protein diet on weight loss, markers of health, and functional capacity in older women participating in a resistance-based exercise program. Nutrients. 10:8. 2018.

A. Naderi, S. Rezai, A. Moussa, K. Levers, C.P. Earnest. Fruit for sport. Trends in Food Science & Technology. 74. 2018.

C. Baetge, C.P. Earnest, B. Lockard, A. Coletta, E. Galvan, C. Rasmussen, K. Levers, S. Simbo, Y.P. Jung, M. Koozehchian, M. Mardock, J. Oliver, R. Dalton, B. Sanchez, M.J. Byrd, D. Khanna, A. Jagim, J. Kresta, M. Greenwood, R.B. Kreider. Efficacy of a randomized control trial examining commercial weight loss programs and exercise on metabolic syndrome in overweight and obese women. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. 42:2. 2017.

K. Levers, R. Dalton, E. Galvan, A. O’Connor, C. Goodenough, S. Simbo, S.U. Mertens-Talcott, C. Rasmussen, M. Greenwood, S. Riechman, S. Crouse, R.B. Kreider. Effects of powdered Montmorency tart cherry supplementation on acute endurance exercise performance in aerobically trained individuals. Journal of the International Society of Sport Nutrition. 13:22. 2016.

E. Galvan, D.K. Walker, S.Y. Simbo, R. Dalton, K. Levers, A. O’Connor, C. Goodenough, N.D. Barringer, M. Greenwood, C. Rasmussen, S.B. Smith, S. Riechman, J.D. Fluckey, P.S. Murano, C.P. Earnest, R.B. Kreider. Acute and chronic safety and efficacy of dose dependent creatine nitrate supplementation and exercise performance. Journal of the International Society of Sport Nutrition. 13:12. 2016.

K. Levers, R. Dalton, E. Galvan, C. Goodenough, A. O’Connor, S. Simbo, N. Barringer, S.U. Mertens-Talcott, C. Rasmussen, M. Greenwood, S. Riechman, S. Crouse, R.B. Kreider. Effects of powdered Montmorency tart cherry supplementation on an acute bout of intense lower body strength exercise in resistance trained males. Journal of the International Society of Sport Nutrition. 12:41. 2015.

A.R. Jagim, K. Levers, E. Galvan, D. Joubert, C. Rasmussen, M. Greenwood, R. Kreider. Effects of an ultra-endurance event on body composition, exercise performance, and markers of clinical health: A case study. Bioenergetics. 3:119. 2014.