Wesley Smith started teaching for the University of Miami in 2004 as a Doctoral student, and has since developed and taught 9 different courses. As a doctoral student he was twice awarded the Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences Outstanding Doctoral Student. Prior to coming to the University of Miami, Wesley was named MAPHERD’s Top Male Physical Education College Student in state of Maryland and was awarded the Salisbury University Athletic Department’s Top Male Athlete Academic Achievement Award. Wesley started his graduate work in exercise physiology at the University of Florida where he received the prestigious Lee and McCachren Doctoral Student Scholarship, and won University of Florida Teacher of the Year for teaching lab sections of the Human Anatomy course in the College of Health and Human Performance. His Masters Thesis, “Alterations of contractile force and mass in the senescent diaphragm with beta-2 agonist treatment,” was published in the Journal of Applied Physiology. Wesley started his doctoral work at University of Florida which was focused on age-associated changes in skeletal muscle and exercise induced cardioprotection from ischemia-reperfusion injury in the myocardium.

Transferring to the University of Miami allowed Wesley to apply his research toward the large aging population in south Florida. His Dissertation, “Simple equations to predict concentric lower body muscle power in older adults using a 20-second chair-rise test.,” is in submission to the Journal of Gerontology. This assessment technique will be able to aid gerontologists and other clinicians to predict functional independence and fall risk in the elderly.

Wesley would like to continue his research on the preservation of active lifespan in aging adults through the betterment of muscle testing and exercise strategies specifically designed to target age-associated weaknesses. In this regard, Wesley has spoken at numerous conferences and workshops across the country, including the American College of Sports Medicine, and the American Geriatric Society meetings, and has taught monthly workshops for the National Council on Strength and Fitness.