Join the Department of Kinesiology on Thursday, April 6th at 2:00 pm as we host the 2023 Ramsey Lecture Series with Dr. David Nieman as he presents his lecture on "The compelling link between physical activity and the body's defense system." This lecture will be held at the Georgia Museum of Art located at 90 Carlton Street. Please RSVP to Jessica Smith at jabsmith@uga.edu by March 31st.

Brief Description: The immune system is very responsive to exercise, with the extent and duration reflecting the degree of physiological stress imposed by the workload. Key exercise immunology discoveries since 1980 will be highlighted, with an emphasis on nutrition interactions.

Bio: David Nieman is a pioneer in the research area of exercise immunology and helped establish that 1) regular moderate exercise lowers upper respiratory tract infection rates while improving immunosurveillance, 2) heavy exertion increases infection rates while causing transient changes in immune function, and 3) that carbohydrate and flavonoid ingestion by athletes attenuates exercise-induced immune dysfunction. Dr. Nieman’s current work is centered on investigating unique nutritional products as countermeasures to exercise- and obesity-induced immune dysfunction, inflammation, illness, and oxidative stress using a metabolomics-based approach. Dr. Nieman has received $10.5 million in research grants and published more than 370 peer-reviewed publications in journals and books and sits on 10 journal editorial boards. Dr. Nieman’s Google Scholar h-index is 101, and his publications have been cited more than 38,000 times. He is the author of nine books on health, exercise science, and nutrition. Dr. Nieman served as vice-president of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), president of SEACSM, and two terms as president of the International Society of Exercise and Immunology.

Lecture History: The Ramsey Lecture Series honors the University of Georgia’s most generous individual benefactor, the late Bernard B. Ramsey (BS ’37), long-time chairman of the board of Merrill Lynch. His lifetime gifts totaled more than $44 million and included more than $23 million to fund the Foundation Fellowship program, the University’s most prestigious scholarship, in addition to numerous endowed chairs, programs, and classrooms across campus. His contributions also helped fund construction of a student center in the Terry College of Business, a concert hall in the Performing Arts Center and the Butts-Mehre Athletic Heritage Hall.

The Ramsey Lecture Series is funded by an endowment of academic programs in the Ramsey Center from Bernard B. Ramsey. Through Mr. Ramsey’s generosity, internationally respected scholars have been brought to UGA each year.