The Metabolic and Exercise Physiology Laboratory (MEPL) is a state-of-the-art facility delivering objective metabolic assessments for young adults and college students. Through an interdisciplinary, community-driven approach, the lab tackles pressing issues in metabolism, exercise physiology, and human performance.
Since its founding in 2024, the lab has served as a hub for physiological testing, undergraduate training, and research, enabling high-volume data collection and providing students with immersive experience in research, leadership, and community service.
Central to the lab’s research is the COSMED Quark RMR-CPET metabolic cart, which enables advanced assessment of physiological function both at rest and during exercise. Using indirect calorimetry and breath-by-breath gas analysis, MEPL measures oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, energy expenditure, substrate utilization, aerobic capacity, and cardiometabolic health. This technology enables researchers to explore how metabolism, cardiovascular function, sleep, nutrition, physical activity, stress, behavioral health, disease risk, and social factors interact.
The MEPL views health as an interconnected system shaped by biology, behavior, environment, and experience. Its approach combines metabolic and cardiopulmonary testing, behavioral assessments, student-driven research, and community education. By studying the body as a dynamic whole, the lab advances rigorous, relevant research that benefits student wellness, community health, and preventive medicine.
Beyond research, the MEPL is committed to service through campus wellness programs, community education, and outreach.
Additionally, the lab prepares students for careers in healthcare, science, education, and public health through a faculty-mentored, student-driven, and course-integrated approach.
Student managed and operated
Health and Wellness Studies Lecturer Daniel Miller serves as principal investigator and faculty mentor for MEPL, while a small Undergraduate Executive Team oversees the lab’s daily operations, study design, project implementation, data management, student training, scholarly dissemination, and external engagement. This team also directs the research portfolio, develops studies, coordinates instrumentation, and cultivates a culture of undergraduate leadership and collaboration. Team members also represents the lab in discussions with campus partners, community collaborators, university leadership, and external stakeholders.
The MEPL Lab Leadership Team focuses on lab operations and growth. Members train and mentor new research assistants, assist with decision-making, and support lab procedures, study development, protocol writing, abstract creation, and peer-reviewed manuscript work. They also take on leadership within the MEPL's outreach and engagement groups, helping coordinate projects, support team communication, and ensure that work is carried out professionally and consistently.
The MEPL team also includes 25–30 undergraduate research assistants from disciplines across 91ÉçÇø who help coordinate participants, prepare tests, executive protocols, organize date, and manage lab workflow. All research assistants are CPR/BLS certified, supporting the lab's safety-conscious testing environment.
From the outset, the MEPL was structured around the core belief that undergraduates should not only participate in research, but also help design how research is conducted, communicated, and translated into real-world impact.
Integrated with Health and Wellness Studies
Integrated with Decker College's Division of Health and Wellness Studies, the MEPL offers course-embedded research experiences. Students engage in metabolic and exercise physiology testing and receive personalized data on various health measures. This model turns the classroom into a research environment, linking scientific concepts to student data and advancing research on young adult health.
The MEPL centers its research on young adulthood, a pivotal stage when sleep, stress, diet, activity, metabolism, mental health, and social influences shape lifelong wellness. As disease risks appear earlier, the lab aims to identify early indicators that impact long-term health trajectories.
The MEPL also prioritizes advancing research on female physiology, a historically underexplored area in exercise science. In partnership with Decker College's Motion Analysis Research Lab, the lab treats female physiology as a central aspect of human performance, fostering a more inclusive and accurate understanding of health and exercise.