I am currently a Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  My research is focused on examining the effects of exercise training and nutritional factors on cardiovascular health and muscle wasting in in patients with kidney failure.   I am particularly interested in the role that dietary sodium has on both chronic fluid overload, a condition that contributes to heart failure, as well as muscle sodium accumulation, which may contribute to deficits in muscle strength and function.  My long-term goal is to develop strategies that shift the focus of the care of dialysis patients from predominantly pharmacological approaches to strategies that rely on lifestyle management, such as improved nutrition and physical activity.  I am also the founder and a current Co-Chair of the Global Renal Exercise (GREX) Network, an international group of clinicians and researchers whose goal is to improve research and the implementation of physical activity programs in people with kidney disease.