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At the Metabolic and Exercise Physiology Laboratory, each breath becomes a window into how the body uses energy.

The laboratory uses the COSMED Quark RMR-CPET system, a research-grade metabolic testing platform that captures human metabolism in real time by turning each breath a participant takes into measurable data via indirect calirometry and breath-by-breath gas exahncae analysis.

This type of technology is used across advanced research, clinical, medical, and human performance settings to move beyond estimates and observe physiology directly, allowing the MEPL to measure how the body responds in the moment.

By studying metabolism at rest and during progressive exercise, the lab gives students and researchers a rare window into human physiology — from baseline energy needs to cardiovascular and metabolic responses under physical stress. These tools allow the MEPL to connect classroom learning, student-led research, and real-world health questions through objective physiological data.

Resting metabolic rate testing (RMR)

Resting metabolic rate testing shows how the body uses energy at baseline.

During an RMR test, participants lie comfortably while breathing normally under a ventilated canopy hood. The COSMED system measures oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production while the body is in a calm, rested state.

Researchers look for a steady state, when the body’s breathing and gas exchange values become stable enough to reflect true resting metabolism. From this data, the lab can estimate resting energy expenditure and examine respiratory quotient values, which provide insight into whether the body is relying more heavily on fats or carbohydrates for fuel.

RMR testing helps the MEPL study:

• Resting energy expenditure
• Oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production
• Respiratory quotient
• Estimated fat and carbohydrate utilization
• Baseline metabolic function
• Resting physiological efficiency

This information can offer insight into early patterns in metabolic health, including whether the body readily shifts between energy sources or shows signs of reduced metabolic flexibility. For students, RMR testing turns metabolism into measurable data about how the body sustains and adapts every day.

Graded exercise testing (GXT)

Graded exercise testing shows how the body responds when physical demand increases.

During a GXT, participants complete a progressive treadmill protocol while wearing a fitted oronasal mask connected to the COSMED Quark RMR-CPET system. As speed and incline gradually increase, researchers observe how the heart, lungs, muscles, and metabolic system respond to rising physical demand. The lab also records participants’ effort using the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion, connecting real-time physiological data with how strenuous the exercise feels at each stage.

One of the most informative measures from GXT is peak oxygen uptake, often referred to as VOâ‚‚max when maximal criteria are met. It reflects the body’s highest observed ability to take in, deliver, and use oxygen during intense exercise, making it one of the most powerful indicators of cardiorespiratory fitness. 

GXT allows the MEPL to assess:

• Aerobic capacity
• VOâ‚‚max or peak oxygen uptake
• Ventilatory threshold
• Respiratory exchange during exercise
• Exercise efficiency
• Cardiovascular response to increasing workload
• Recovery patterns
• Physiological resilience under exertion

This test helps researchers understand how the body adapts under stress, how efficiently it uses oxygen, and how well multiple body systems work together during exercise. For students, it transforms exercise physiology from a classroom concept into real-time data, allowing them to observe how the body responds as physical demand increases. 

Integrating physiology with behavior

Behind every metabolic measurement is a person’s daily life. How people sleep, eat, move, manage stress, recover, and navigate their responsibilities can shape how the body effectively uses energy.

At the MEPL, objective physiological testing is paired with validated psychosocial and behavioral measures to better understand the person behind the data. Rather than studying metabolism or exercise capacity in isolation, MEPL researchers examine how sleep quality, movement, stress, nutrition, resilience, and wellness behaviors relate to resting metabolism, fuel use, metabolic flexibility, recovery, and performance.

This integrated approach helps the lab ask questions that matter in today’s health landscape: How might patterns of poor sleep cluster into distinct physiological phenotypes? Why do individuals fatigue earlier, recover more slowly, or show signs of metabolic inflexibility based on their everyday habits? How do hormones and sex-based physiology influence energy use, performance, and healing? What early patterns in metabolism or exercise response may reveal risk before chronic disease appears? 

By connecting biological data with real-world behavior, the MEPL studies human health as it actually exists: complex, dynamic, and shaped by both physiology and everyday life.