Front row: Rachel Rosonke, Molly Crew, Jaden Kephart.
Interested in pursuing a graduate degree (MS/PhD) with either Dr. Lefferts in the Clinical Vascular Research Lab? We are currently recruiting MS and PhD students. Please reach out to Dr. Wes Lefferts at wleffert@iastate.edu or Dr. Elizabeth Lefferts at eschro@iastate.edu if interested in learning more.
Principal Investigators
Wesley Lefferts, PhD
After falling in love with research as an undergraduate, Wes pursued his MS/PhD in vascular exercise physiology and became interested in the emerging link between vascular and brain health. He has examined vascular contributions to heart and brain function in clinical populations and across the lifespan, in response to different types of exercise, and environmental conditions (heat stress and high altitude). Visit his personal page to learn more.
Interests: Arterial stiffness, vascular hemodynamics, cerebrovascular physiology, cognitive function, hypertension, hypoxia, heat stress, creating visual models of physiology for teaching, research expeditions to Mt. Everest Base Camp (2018 blog, 2023 blog).
Elizabeth Lefferts, PhD
Elizabeth started her career as an athletic trainer but soon became interested in exercise and chronic disease prevention and the underlying physiological mechanisms. She has utilized randomized controlled exercise/physical activity trials, epidemiology, and mechanistic vascular studies to understand how chronic disease, aging, and behavior mechanistically impact cardiovascular function. Visit her personal page to learn more.
Interests: Inflammation, endothelial function, vascular hemodynamics, epidemiology, statistics, cardiovascular autonomic control, hypertension, special populations, improving cancer treatment/survivor outcomes .
PhD Students
Krista Reed, MS
BS: University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO
MS: California State University San Marcos, San Marcos, CA
PhD anticipated 2026
Current Career Goal: I plan to pursue a career in academia as a professor.
Research Interests: I am interested in the role that lifestyle behaviors (e.g. dietary patterns and exercise habits) have on the underlying physiological mechanisms that contribute to vascular health and disease. More specifically, I plan to investigate how these behaviors influence cerebrovascular hemodynamics and brain health.
Spencer Romanowski, MS
BS: Taylor University, Upland, IN
MS: Ball State University, Muncie, IN
PhD anticipated 2027
Current Career Goal: Exercise and diet are crucial to a healthy lifestyle. I hope to convey these essential principles to students. Thus, I want to attain a Ph.D. in Kinesiology to teach and research at the university level.
Research Interests: My primary research interests concern arterial stiffness and vascular measurements, which have been a passion of mine since the beginning of graduate school. Specifically, analyzing how exercise and nutraceuticals impact vascular health determined via ultrasound and pulse wave analysis/velocity.
Frankie Porter, MS
BS: Drake University, Des Moines, IA
MS: Drake University, Des Moines, IA
PhD anticipated 2027
Current Career Goal: I plan to pursue a post-doc, and after post-doc plan to consider both academic and non-academic routes.
Research interests: My primary interest interest is physical activity epidemiology, as it allows me the opportunity to consider physical activity and health from the population level and produce evidence which can advance both public health and policy.
Master's Students
Undergraduate Students
Jacquelyn Paul (2024) - Major: Kinesiology, Pre-Occupational Therapy; Minor: Biology; Career goals: Occupational Therapist; Interests: cardiovascular physiology.
Molly Crew (2025) - Major: Kinesiology, Honor's Program; Minor: Psychology; Career goals: Physician; Interests: cardiovascular physiology.
Katarina Kozakova (2025) - Major: Kinesiology, Honor's Program; 2022 Outstanding FHMP Scholar; Career goals: continue to graduate school for physical therapy after my bachelors; Interests: vascular measures, transcranial Doppler.
Rachel Rosonke (2025) - Major: Biology & Psychology, Honor's Program; 2023 College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Dean's High Impact Award; Career goals: Neurologist/Psychiatrist; Interests: cerebrovascular and cognitive health, role of sex hormones on vascular health.
Ava Spinner (2026) - Major: Kinesiology; Career goals: ; Interests: .
Kiana Kaftousian (2026) - Major: Kinesiology; Career goals: ; Interests: .
Maxwell Weaton (2027) - Major: Kinesiology, Pre-Health; Career goals: Attend medical school to become an orthopedic surgeon
Emma Palmer (2027) - Major: Kinesiology, Honors Program; Minor: Nutrition; Career goals: Chiropractor.
Lab Alumni
Quinn Keleher, MS
Diet & Exercise 2023
Thesis: Associations between dairy consumption, cerebral blood flow, and cognitive function.
Current position: Dietetics intern, Tampa Bay VA.
Maggie Davis, MS
Diet & Exercise 2022
Creative Component: Exercise is aging: a new perspective on the mechanisms behind exercise as preventive medicine against age-related chronic disease. This paper contributed to our recent review paper in Frontiers in Physiology.
Current position: Track & field coach, Black Hills State University.
Undergraduate Alumni
Blair Bell (2023) - Major: Kinesiology; Minor: Business; 2023 College of Human Sciences Dean’s Recognition Award, 2023 Germaine G Guiot Outstanding Senior Award; Current position: research coordinator, Univ of Iowa.
Jaden Kephart (2022) - Major: Kinesiology, Pre-Health; Current position: medical sales.
Vanessa Chong (2023) - Major: Kinesiology, Pre-PT.
Leah Willie (2023) - Major: Kinesiology, Pre-PT; Current position: physical therapy student, University of Iowa.
Taryn Anderson (2023) - Major: Kinesiology, Pre-Health; 2021 Rosenfeld Internship recipient, 2023 Harry Schmidt Outstanding Senior Award; Current position: Sports Medicine intern, Iowa Wolves, NBA G-league.
Abigail Burkhart (2023) - Major: Kinesiology, Pre-Health; 2023 Barbara E Forker Leadership Award; Current position: DO medical student starting, DMU.
Drew Schmidt (2023) - Major: Kinesiology, Pre-PT; 2023 Kinesiology Scholarship Award; Current position: Physical therapy school applicant.
McKenna Yordy (2023) - Major: Kinesiology, Pre-Health; Minor: pharmacology & toxicology; Current position: Medical school applicant.
Carolyn Steffen (2023) - Major: Kinesiology, Pre-PA; Current position: Research coordinator, ISU; Physician assistant student,
Abby Frescoln (2024) - Major: Kinesiology and Health (Community and Public Health); minor in psychology; Current position: MPH student at University of Iowa.
Interested in getting involved in the Clinical Vascular Research Lab as an undergraduate or MS/PhD student? Please reach out to Dr. Wes Lefferts at wleffert@iastate.edu or Dr. Elizabeth Lefferts at eschro@iastate.edu if interested in learning more.