Rate My Professor Bryan Dowdell

Bryan Dowdell is an Assistant Professor of Exercise and Sport Science in the Department of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences at Weber State University. He earned his PhD in Exercise Physiology from Kent State University in May 2020 and holds certification as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). With a background in exercise physiology and expertise in sports performance metrics, Dowdell previously conducted research at Kent State University. In addition to his teaching and research roles, he serves as a member of the Faculty Senate representing Exercise & Nutrition Sciences and advises the ENS Club.

Dowdell's academic interests focus on esports and video games, particularly the relationships between esports participation, physical activity levels, physical characteristics, cognitive and executive functions, sedentary behavior, and physiological stress responses such as heart rate and blood pressure during competitive gaming. He created Weber State University's esports lab, adjacent to the Human Performance Laboratory, to facilitate these investigations. His dissertation examined cardiovascular stress responses in gamers versus non-gamers, finding elevated heart rate and blood pressure in gamers—especially during competition—despite low metabolic demand from sedentary postures. Current projects he oversees include dual motor tasking and executive function in college gamers and non-gamers, hemodynamic responses across different games, and effects of high-intensity interval training cycling on gaming parameters. He also participates in implementing and evaluating the Walk with a Doc program on campus. Dowdell has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, including "Esports Athletes on a Team or Club Are More Physically Active and Less Sedentary Than Equally Experienced Casual Video Gamers" (2024), "Esports Gamers, Recreational Gamers, and the Active Couch Potato Lifestyle" (2023), "The Gamer Identity Scale: A Measure of Self Concept as a Video Gamer" (2022), "Breaking Stereotypes: Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior of Esports Athletes Compared with Frequent Video Gamers" (2022), "Blood Pressure Response in Competitive Versus Casual Fortnite Playing" (2022), and "The Acute Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in University Students and Employees" (2020). His research has received 284 citations.