Associate Professor of Practice and Associate Co-Chair
Department of Health and Human Development
Elizabeth “Betsy” Nagle Stilley, Ph.D., FACSM is an Associate Professor and Co-Associate Chair in the Department of Health and Human Development within the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh with a secondary appointment in the School of Health and Rehabilitative Sciences. She teaches human and exercise physiology,and completed her Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh.
She is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and Level 2 USA Swimming Coach. She has collaborated with American Red Cross, National Swimming Pool Foundation, and American College of Sports Medicine on her professional service.
Dr. Nagle’s research is focused on aquatic physiology in clinical, athletic, and mainstream populations. Her interests include development and validation of aquatic test protocols of aerobic and anaerobic capacity for shallow water running, swimming, and military performance, as well as studying energy expenditure related to aquatic exercise.
Instructional Interests
- HPA 1031 Research in Sport Science
- HPA 1033 Human Physiology
- HPA 1996 Clinical Internship
- HPA 1045 Directed Research Practicum
- HPA 2371 Advanced Exercise Physiology
- HPA 2267 Physiological Aspects of Sport and Fitness Conditioning
- HPA 0477 Introduction to Exercise Science
Scholarly Interests
Elizabeth’s research focus involves the study of aquatic physiology in clinical, athletic, and mainstream populations. Interests include development and validation of aquatic test protocols of aerobic and anaerobic capacity for shallow water running, swimming, and military performance, as well as studying energy expenditure related to aquatic exercise.
Selected Grants
- 2018 - 1st Place, Human Performance Innovation Tournament. Funded by University of Pittsburgh Innovation Institute, Department of Athletics, Clinical Translation Science Institute
- 2018 - Principal Investigator “Comparison of Energy Expenditure and Cardiorespiratory Responses in Land-Based Treadmill and Shallow Water Treadmill Running”. Funded by Swim Ex, Inc.
- 2017 - Co-Investigator, Naval Special Forces ‘Injury Prevention & Human Performance Research Initiative” Funded by Department of Defense
- 2016 - Co-Investigator, “MARSOC Injury Prevention & Human Performance” Funded by Department of Defense
- 2013 - Principal Investigator, “Validity of a Shallow Water Running Test Using Healthy Adult Women” National Swimming Pool Foundation/Center for Disease Control
Featured Publications
- Nagle, E.F., Sanders, M.E., Becker, B.E. Aquatic Exercise for Health: Probing the Depths of HIIT for Cardiometabolic Training. ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal: 7/8 2019 - Volume 23 - Issue 4 - p 14-26. doi: 10.1249/FIT.0000000000000493
- Nagle, E.F., Nagai, T., Beethe, A., Lovalekar, M.T., Nagle-Zera, J.A.,Connaboy, C., Abt, J.P., Beals, K., Nindl, B.C., Robertson, R.J., Lephart, S.M. Reliability and Validity of a Pool-Based Maximal Oxygen Uptake Test 2019 May; 33(5):1208-1215. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003113
- Zera, J.N., Nagle, E.F., Gibbs, B.B., Abt, J.P., Jakicic J.M. Energy Cost of Land and Shallow Water Walking in Females who are Overweight and Obese, International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education: 2019. Vol. 12 : No. 1 , Article 8. DOI: 10.25035/ijare.12.01.08.
- Beethe, A.Z., Nagle, E.F., Lovalekar, M., Nagai, T., Nindl, B.C., Connaboy, C. Hip Strenth Improves Novice Surface Combat Swimming Flutterkick Performance. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2018 May 29:1-26. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2018-0112. [Epub ahead of print]
- Nagle, E.F., Gibbs, B.B., Prins, P., Sanders, M.E., Johnson, C., Robertson, R.J. Reliability and Validity of a Shallow Water Running test Using Healthy Adult Women. J Strength Cond Res. 2017: 31(6): 1669-1777.
Awards and Honors
- 2020 - 1st Place School of Health and Rehabilitative Sciences First Gear Innovation Award (Team of Matt Darnell, PhD and Elizabeth Nagle, PhD)
- 2018 - 1st Place, Human Performance Innovation Tournament. Funded by University of Pittsburgh Innovation Institute, Department of Athletics, Clinical Translation Science Institute
Engagement, Partnerships, and Professional Service
- American Red Cross Executive Health and Safety Committee
- Faculty Advisor, University of Pittsburgh Exercise Science Organization
- Committee Member, United States Swimming Learn to Swim Program
- Invited Committee Member, American College of Sports Medicine Presidential Task Force on Pool Safety, Aquatic Fitness, and Exercise
- Water Immersion Works Initiative Committee through Playcore and National Swimming Pool Foundation
- Hydroworx Science Advisory Board
- Contributor, Rx for Health Series, American College of Sports Medicine Exercise is Medicine Initiative
- University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees Athletics Committee Representative
- University of Pittsburgh Student Affairs Standing Committee
- University of Pittsburgh Review Board
- Health and Rehabilitative Science, M.S. in Sports Medicine Advisory Board Committee