Joshua (Josh) is a dual degree student pursuing his MD at Emory University School of Medicine and his PhD in Nutrition and Health Sciences in Emory's Laney Graduate School. He received his BS in Biology from the University of Kentucky in 2018. He completed his first three years of medical school from 2019-2022 and will begin his PhD in January 2023. Josh will pursue his graduate studies in Dr. Dean Jones' Clinical Biomarkers Lab in conjunction with Dr. Rafael de Cabo's lab at the NIH National Institute on Aging Intramural Research Program. Josh's research interests include aging, metabolomics, exposomics, adipose tissue biology, metabolism, women's health, biomarker discovery, and nutritional interventions to improve healthspan and lifespan. His clinical interests include endocrinology, diabetes, obesity, geriatrics, clinical nutrition, surgical nutrition, critical care, surgery, and trauma. Josh has the long-term career goal of being an academic physician-scientist and aspires to practice medicine or surgery while also maintaining an active, basic-science research operation.
Areas of Interest
- Aging
- Biomarkers
- Cardiometabolic Diseases
- Chemical Exposure
- Chronic Diseases
- Diabetes
- Endocrine Disruptors
- Epigenetics
- Exposome
- Maternal and Child Health
- Non-communicable Diseases
- Nutrition
- Obesity Prevention
- Rural Health
- Toxicology
- Women’s Health
Education
- BS 2018, University of Kentucky
- MD (in progress) 2025, Emory University SOM
- PhD (in progress) 2025, Emory LGS
Affiliations & Activities
Medical Scientist Training Program, EUSOM
MD Program, EUSOM
NIH National Institute on Aging Intramural Research Program (Special Volunteer)
Christian Medical and Dental Association
American College of Physicians
Publications
- Rashid CS, Preston JD, Ngo Tenlep SY, Cook MK, Blalock EM, Zhou C, Swanson HI, Pearson KJ, 2023, PCB126 exposure during pregnancy alters maternal and fetal gene expression, Reproductive Toxicology, 119,
- Saintilnord WN, Tenlep SYN, Preston JD, Duregon E, DeRouchey JE, Unrine JM, de Cabo R, Pearson KJ, Fondufe-Mittendorf YN, 2021, Chronic Exposure to Cadmium Induces Differential Methylation in Mice Spermatozoa, Toxicological Sciences, 180, 262-276
- LJ Reynolds, OA Vsevolozhskaya, BB Rice, NR Chavan, AJ Dugan, HF Maddox, JD Preston, LB DeHoff, JM O'Brien, KJ Pearson, 2021, Physical activity during pregnancy alters gene expression in neonatal tissue, Physiology International, 108, 80-94
- Di Francesco A, Choi Y, Bernier M, Zhang Y, Diaz-Ruiz A, Aon MA, Kalafut K, Ehrlich MR, Murt K, Ali A, Pearson KJ, Levan S, Preston JD, Martin-Montalvo A, Martindale JL, Abdelmohsen K, Michel CR, Willmes DM, Henke C, Navas P, Villalba JM, Siegel D, Gorospe M, Fritz K, Biswal S, Ross D, de Cabo R, 2020, NQO1 protects obese mice through improvements in glucose and lipid metabolism, npj Aging and Mechanisms of Disease , 6, 1-18
- Reynolds LJ, Chavan NR, DeHoff LB, Preston JD, Maddox HF, O'Brien JM, Armstrong DA, Marsit CJ, Pearson KJ. , 2019, Smoking during pregnancy increases chemerin expression in neonatal tissue, Experimental Physiology, 104, 93-99
- Preston JD, Reynolds LJ, Pearson KJ., 2018, Developmental Origins of Health Span and Life Span: A Mini-Review, Gerontology, 64, 237-245