Scott L. Davis

Associate Professor Scott Davis is a physiologist who joined the faculty of Southern Methodist University in the Fall of 2010. He is the Director of the Applied Physiology Laboratory in the Department of Applied Physiology and Sport Management. He is also currently an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Neurology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. His neurophysiology laboratory is located within the Multiple Sclerosis Program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

Dr. Davis earned his Ph.D. in Exercise and Sport Science from the University of Utah in 2003. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship from 2003 to 2006 in Integrative Physiology at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.

Dr. Davis' major research area is the function and dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system in healthy and clinical populations. The major focus of his research currently is autonomic dysfunction specifically related to thermoregulation and blood pressure control in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). His research is funded by grants from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Current grants examine the neural control of skin blood flow and sweating in MS patients and the ability of MS patients to maintain and control blood pressure and heart rate during stressors that cause blood pressure to drop. These research projects have profound implications for understanding both the biology of MS and potential causes of fatigue in patients who suffer from the disease.

He resides in Plano with his wife, Kristi-Ann, and his children, Jaxsen and Jenna.

Research Interests

• Autonomic function in multiple sclerosis
• Neural control of skin blood flow and sweating
• Reinnervation and revascularization of grafted skin

Significant Publications

Davis SL, Frohman TC, Crandall CG, Brown MJ, Mills DA, Kramer PD, Stuve O, and Frohman EM. Modeling Uhthoff's phenomenon in MS patients with internuclear ophthalmoparesis (INO). Neurology 70: 1098-1106, 2008.

Davis SL, Shibasaki M, Low DA, Cui J, Keller DM, Purdue GF, Hunt JL, Arnoldo BD, Kowalske KJ, and Crandall CG. Cutaneous vasoconstriction during whole-body and local cooling in grafted skin 5-9 months post-surgery. Journal of Burn Care and Research 29: 36-41, 2008.

Davis SL, Shibasaki M, Low DA, Cui J, Keller DM, Purdue GF, Hunt JL, Arnoldo BD, Kowalske KJ, and Crandall CG. Impaired cutaneous vasodilation and sweating in grafted skin during whole-body heating. Journal of Burn Care and Research 28: 427-34, 2007.

Davis SL, Shibasaki M, Low DA, Cui J, Keller DM, Purdue GF, Hunt JL, Arnoldo BD, Kowalske KJ, and Crandall CG. Crandall. Skin grafting impairs post-synaptic cutaneous vasodilator and sweating responses. Journal of Burn Care and Research 28: 435-41, 2007.

Davis SL, Fadel PJ, Cui J, Thomas GD, and Crandall CG. Skin blood flow influences near infrared spectroscopy derived measurements of tissue oxygenation during heat stress. Journal of Applied Physiology 100: 221-4, 2006.

Davis SL, Wilson TE, Vener JM, Crandall CG, Petajan JH, and White AT. Pilocarpine-induced sweat gland function in individuals with multiple sclerosis. Journal of Applied Physiology 98: 1740-4, 2005.

Recent Publications

Cui J, Shibasaki M, Low DA, Keller DM, Davis SL, and Crandall CG. Heat stress attenuates the increase in arterial blood pressure during the cold pressor test. Journal of Applied Physiology 2010 Aug 26. [Epub ahead of print]

Davis SL, Wilson TE, White AT, and Frohman EM. Thermoregulation in multiple sclerosis. Journal of Applied Physiology 2010 Jul 29. [Epub ahead of print]

Crandall CG and Davis SL. Cutaneous vascular and sudomotor responses in human skin grafts. Journal of Applied Physiology 2010 Jun 17. [Epub ahead of print]

Davis SL and Crandall CG. Heat stress alters hemodynamic responses during the Valsalva maneuver. Journal of Applied Physiology 108: 1591-4, 2010.

Miles B, Davis SL, Crandall CG, and Ellis E. Laser-Doppler examination of the blood supply in pericranial flaps. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 68: 1740-5, 2010.

Shibasaki M, Davis SL, Cui J, Low DA, Keller DM, and Crandall CG. Botulinum toxin abolishes sweating via impaired sweat gland responsiveness to exogenous acetylcholine. British Journal of Dermatology 161: 757-61, 2009.

Davis SL, Shibasaki M, Low DA, Cui J, Keller DM, Wingo JE, Purdue GF, Hunt JL, Arnoldo BD, Kowalske KJ, and Crandall CG. Sustained impairments in cutaneous vasodilation and sweating in grafted skin following long term recovery. Journal of Burn Care and Research 30: 675-685, 2009.

Low DA, Wingo JE, Keller DM, Davis SL, Cui J, Zhang R, and Crandall CG. Dynamic cerebral autoregulation during passive heat stress in humans. American Journal of Physiology Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology 296: R1598-605, 2009.

Cui J, Shibasaki M, Davis SL, Low DA, Keller DM, and Crandall CG. Whole body heat stress attenuates baroreflex control of muscle sympathetic nerve activity during postexercise muscle ischemia. Journal of Applied Physiology 106: 1125-31, 2009.

Keller DM, Low DA, Wingo JE, Brothers RM, Hastings JL, Davis SL, and Crandall CG. Acute volume expansion preserves orthostatic tolerance during whole-body heat stress in humans. Journal of Physiology (London) 587: 1131-9, 2009.