Jeff S Volek

• Associate Professor

My primary area of research is focused on physiological adaptations to low carbohydrate diets with emphasis on outcomes related to metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. I primarily use prospective diet and/or exercise interventions and use sophisticated cellular techniques to understand changes in adiposity, fatty acid and lipoprotein metabolism, inflammation, vascular function, and endocrine adaptations. Our recent studies have suggested a shift in our understanding of the role of dietary carbohydrate restriction.  Long considered primarily a stratagem for weight loss, reduction in dietary carbohydrate is now understood to lead to improvements in metabolic syndrome and other cardiac risk factors, even in the absence of weight loss and frequently even in the presence of higher levels of saturated fat.  Another major area of research has been in the general area of sports nutrition including studies evaluating a wide range of dietary supplements on exercise performance and overall health.

• Contact Information:
  • Email: jeff.volek@uconn.edu
  • Phone: (860) 486-6712
  • Fax: (860) 486-1123
• Office:
  • Location: Gampel 217
• Mailing Address:
  • Department of Kinesiology
  • 2095 Hillside Rd, Unit 1110
  • Storrs, CT 06269-1110
• Areas of Expertise:
  • Exercise & Nutrition
  • Low Carb Diets
  • Dietary Supplements
  • Weight Loss/Dieting
• Currently Teaching:
  • EKIN 248: Physiological Systems in Human Performance
  • EKIN 258: Mechanisms and Adaptations in Sport
  • EKIN 392: Muscle Physiology
  • EKIN 393: Physiology of Human Performance
• Honors and Awards:
  • 2007 Promotion to Associate Professor and Awarded Tenure
  • 2007 Nutrition & Metabolism Society Award for Excellence in Nutrition and Metabolism
  • 2005 Neag School of Education Outstanding Young Investigator Award
  • 2004 National Strength & Conditioning Association Young Investigator Award
• Associations/Organizations/Outreach:
  • Professional Organizations: American Society of Nutrition, American Dietetic Association, Nutrition and Metabolism Society

• Educational Background:
  • Ph.D. Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University, 1999
  • M.S. Exercise Science, The Pennsylvania State University, 1995
  • R.D. Penrose-St. Francis Health Services, 1992
  • B.S. Dietetics, Michigan State University, 1991
  • Curriculum Vitae

• Selected Publications/Presentations:
  • Volek, J.S., S.D. Phinney, C.E. Forsythe, E.E. Quann, R.J. Wood, M.J. Puglusi, W.J. Kraemer, D.M. Bibus, M.L. Fernandez, and R.D. Feinman. Lipids. 2008 Dec 12. [Epub ahead of print]
  • Volek, J.S., D.A. Judelson, R. Silvestre, L.M. Yamamoto, B.A. Spiering, D.L. Hatfield, J.L. Vingren, E.E. Quann, J.M. Anderson, C.M. Maresh, and W.J. Kraemer. Effects of Carnitine Supplementation on Flow-Mediated Dilation and Vascular Inflammatory Responses to a High-Fat Meal. American Journal of Cardiology. 12(10), 1413,1417, 2008.
  • Feinman, R.D. and J.S. Volek. Carbohydrate restriction as the default treatment for type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Scandinavian Cardiovascular Journal. 42(4):256-63, 2008.
  • Volek, J.S., M.L. Fernandez, R.D. Feinman, and S.D. Phinney. Dietary Carbohydrate restriction induces a unique metabolic state positively affecting atherogenic dyslipidemia, fatty acid partitioning, and metabolic syndrome. Progress in Lipid Research. 47(5):307-18, 2008.
  • Accurso, A., R.K. Bernstein, A. Dahlqvist, B. Draznin, R.D. Feinman, E.J. Fine, Gleed A, D.B. Jacobs, G. Larson, R.H. Lustig, A.H. Manninen, S.I. McFarlane, K. Morrison, J.V. Nielsen, U. Ravnskov, K.S. Roth, R. Silvestre, J.R. Sowers, R. Sundberg, J.S. Volek, E.C. Westman, R.J. Wood, J. Wortman, and M.C. Vernon. Dietary carbohydrate restriction in type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome: time for a critical appraisal. Nutrition and Metabolism Metab (Lond). 5(1):9, 2008.
  • Sharman, M.J., M.L. Fernandez, T.L. Zern, M. Torres-Gonzalez, W.J. Kraemer, and J.S. Volek. Replacing dietary carbohydrate with protein and fat decreases the concentrations of small LDL and the inflammatory response induced by atherogenic diets in the guinea pig. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. 2008 Mar 5; [Epub ahead of print]
  • Seip, R.L., J.S. Volek, A. Windemuth, M. Kocherla, M.L. Fernandez, W.J. Kraemer, and G. Ruano. Physiogenomic comparison of human fat loss in response to diets restrictive of carbohydrate or fat. Nutrition and Metabolism Metab (Lond). 2008 Feb 6;5(1):4 [Epub ahead of print].
  • Forsythe, C.E., S.D. Phinney, M.L. Fernandez, E.E. Quann, R.J. Wood, D.M. Bibus, W.J. Kraemer, R.D. Feinman, and J.S. Volek. Comparison of low fat and low carbohydrate diets on circulating fatty acid composition and markers of inflammation. Lipids. 43(1):65-77, 2007.
  • Silvestre, R., W.J. Kraemer, E.E. Quann, R.L. Seip, C.M. Maresh, J.L. VanHeest, and J.S. Volek. Effects of exercise at different times of the day on postprandial lipemia and endothelial function. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 2008 Jan 11 [Epub ahead of print].
  • Gotshalk, L.A., W.J. Kraemer, M.A.G. Mendonca, J.L. Vingren, A.M. Kenny, B.A. Spiering, D.L. Hatfield, M.S. Fragala, and J.S. Volek. Creatine supplementation improves muscular performance in older women. European Journal of Applied Physiology. 2007 Oct 18; [Epub ahead of print]

• Funded Research:
  • Effect of varying the fat composition of a carbohydrate restricted diet
  • Effect of a novel whey protein on markers of vascular function
  • Physiogenomic method for predicting responses to carbohydrate restricted and low fat diets
  • Safety and efficacy of NBTY products as part of a carbohydrate restricted diet with and without resistance exercise
  • Potential of eggs in enhancing the cardiprotective effects of carbohydrate restricted diets in weight loss interventions
  • Hyperglycemia-mediated alterations in vascular endothelium function and redox sensitive parameters
  • Investigation of whey protein supplementation for physiologic enhancement to resistance training and dietary regimes in young adults