Ayland Letsinger

Ayland Letsinger is an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at The University of Texas at Austin. He received his Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from Texas A&M University with Dr. J. Timothy Lightfoot, where he studied the biological mechanisms that reinforce physical activity motivation, particularly using overfeeding and wheel running models in mice. Following his doctoral studies, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the NIH's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences with Drs. Jerry Yakel and Guohong Cui, where he investigated the neurobiological regulation of physical activity motivation in mice with a focus on leveraging behavioral, nutritional, and pharmaceutical interventions to modulate long-term physical activity participation.

His research integrates cutting-edge techniques such as fiber photometry, chemogenetics, and machine learning, to examine and modify neurotransmitter activity in brain circuits related to exercise addiction. An essential goal of the lab is to identify compounds capable of modulating the pleasure of physical activity, altering the likelihood of future participation. Overall, Ayland Letsinger is committed to advancing interdisciplinary research in neurobiology, movement science and public health to address the global issue of sedentary behavior.