Gerald S. Zavorsky, Ph.D., RRT, RPFT, FACSM

Research Interests

I am an Adjunct Professor and respiratory therapist with a California license to practice respiratory care. I also have a graduate biostatistics certificate from the University of Louisville. Since 1998, I published over 80 first-author or senior-author (last-author) peer-reviewed publications in sports sciences, respiratory physiology, and clinical medicine.

Since 2001, I held several faculty positions around North America, including McGill University, Georgia State University, University of Louisville, and Saint Louis University. I am an expert in in pulmonary function diagnostics, specifically pulmonary diffusing capacity for nitric oxide (DLNO). DLNO may be an added prognostic indicator of pulmonary gas exchange impairment over and above the DLCO (pulmonary diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide) in those with cardiopulmonary disease. Once inhaled, nitric oxide (NO) diffuses almost instantaneously in the lungs, and thus it can be said that its blood transfer conductance approaches infinity in vivo. Thus, DLNO represents more of the alveolar-capillary component of diffusion, while DLCO represents more of the vascular component of diffusion. So, adding a small amount of NO (10-40 ppm) to the traditional DLCO gas mixture (0.3% CO, 10% He, 21% O₂, Bal N₂) when performing a diffusing capacity test can be additive to understanding the pathophysiological process of poor pulmonary gas exchange in those with cardiopulmonary diseases. My research goals are to (1) develop parsimonious reference equations for DLNO across all ages and ethnic groups and (2) determine the added benefit of DLNO to DLCO in various cardiopulmonary diseases. In addition, I am interested in exercise physiology, focusing on examining pulmonary gas exchange impairments during exercise in endurance athletes and those with cardiopulmonary disease via arterial blood gas analyses. Finally, I enjoy analyzing data and performing biostatistical analyses for various studies in cardiopulmonary sciences.

I am a member of several professional organizations: the American Association for Respiratory Care, American Thoracic Society, California Thoracic Society, the California Society for Respiratory Care, the European Respiratory Society, and the American College of Sports Medicine. I also review several manuscripts for several journals. I am on the editorial board for Respiratory Physiology and Neurobiology, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, and an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Physiology: Respiratory Physiology and Pathophysiology.

Graduate Group Affiliations

• Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology
• Interdisciplinary Graduate Group (Biomedical Engineering, Biostatistics, Clinical Research)