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Brian A. Irving, PhD, FACSM, CCD

Dr. Brian Irving is the director of the TEMPO@UVA Laboratory and an affiliate of the Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center at the UVA School of Medicine. As an exercise physiologist and mitochondrial biologist, his research is driven by a simple question: how can the tools of bioenergetics reveal — and improve — the way skeletal muscle adapts to exercise, aging, and disease?

His research program integrates non-invasive NIRS-based bioenergetics with high-resolution respirometry, stable-isotope tracer methods, and translational exercise interventions across the lifespan and across cardiometabolic disease. He is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, a Certified Clinical Densitometrist, an Extended Board Member of the Mitochondrial Physiology Society, and a member of the international MitoEAGLE consortium standardizing mitochondrial respiratory terminology.

Before joining the University of Virginia in 2026, Dr. Irving was a tenured professor at Louisiana State University in the School of Kinesiology, where he held the William Prescott Foster Professorship (2019), received the LSU CHSE Distinguished Research Award (2024), was named an inaugural Meauxmentum Scholar by the Louisiana Board of Regents (2024), and chaired the School of Kinesiology's Tenured Faculty Committee (2025–2026). He served as a Visiting Scientist at Oroboros Instruments in Innsbruck, Austria, in the summer of 2025.

Earlier appointments include Assistant Professor of Endocrinology at Mayo Clinic and Founding Director of the Metabolic Phenotyping Laboratory at the Geisinger Obesity Institute. He completed his PhD in Exercise Physiology at UVA under Weltman, Gaesser, and Barrett, and postdoctoral training at Mayo Clinic under K. Sreekumaran Nair.

Ashok Sivasailam, PhD

Dr. Ashok Sivasailam is a postdoctoral fellow in the TEMPO@UVA Laboratory, co-mentored with Dr. Timothy Allerton. His research focuses on the standardization of NADH measurements using high-resolution respirometry in isolated mitochondria from C2C12 myotubes, examining how autophagy modulation affects NADH redox balance. He is also developing hydrogen-sulfide-based approaches to skeletal-muscle dysfunction in cardiometabolic HFpEF, currently under review for AHA postdoctoral fellowship support.

Undergraduate positions are available on a rolling basis for the 2026–27 academic year and for Summer 2027. Email Dr. Irving with a short note describing your interests, coursework, and availability.

James E. Stampley, PhD (2024)

Effects of Resistance Training with Low-Intensity Physical Activity on Muscle Oxidative Capacity in Older Adults. SEC Emerging Scholar fellowship (2023–24) and LSU Economic Development Assistantship.
Current: Research Assistant Professor - LSU Baton Rouge

Brett H. Davis, PhD (2023)

Impact of Blood-Flow-Restricted Resistance Training on Skeletal Muscle Strength, Hypertrophy, Fatigue, Mitochondrial Response, and Activation. Published in Physiological Reports.
Current: Assistant Professor of Practice - University of Tennessee

Heather D. Quiriarte, MS (2021)

Establishing and Validating Methods to Assess the Influence of Exercise on Circulating Exosome Profiles in Sedentary Older Adults. Continues to publish in the HFpEF collaboration.
Current: Research Manger - LSU School of Kinesiology