Our Team
Current Team Members:
Dr. Steven A. Romero – Principal Investigator
Dr. Romero grew up in the small town of Socorro, Texas. Dr. Romero completed his undergraduate
studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio and completed his doctoral training
at the University of Oregon under the mentorship of Dr. John Halliwill. Dr. Romero
then completed a post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Craig Crandall at the University
of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the Institute for Exercise and Environmental
Medicine (IEEM) in Dallas. Currently, Dr. Romero is an Assistant Professor in the
Department of Physiology and Anatomy and is an Associate Scientist at the IEEM. In
his down time, Dr. Romero enjoys the outdoors, BBQing, and watching track and field
while enjoying a good craft beer. Dr. Romero also enjoys quality coffee and is always
happy to use his barista skills to provide a delicious beverage to subjects after
their experimental sessions.
Ysabella Ruiz, BS – Predoctoral Fellow Ysabella started her research journey while working with dairy cows at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where she completed her B.S. in Animal Science. After graduation she left her girls (dairy cows) and began working as a medical assistant apprentice in primary care. Working in patient care made her realize her passion for human cardiovascular physiology, eventually leading her to the Human Vascular Physiology Laboratory! Outside of the lab, you can find her laughing with family and friends or cuddling with her pups- Jude and Dora.
Sophia Wagle-Babb – Predoctoral Fellow
Sophia started her research journey working
in a microbiology and an analytical chemistry lab at Abilene Christian University
where she received her B.S. in Biochemistry. Sophia knew when she started college
that she wanted to pursue medical school but along the way she discovered a love for
research and the impacts it has on the practice of medicine. Knowing this she enthusiastically
joined the DO/PhD program at UNT Health Fort Worth in the fall of 2023. After finishing
the first two years of medical school at TCOM and realizing her passion for cardiovascular
physiology she has now transitioned to be a full time PhD student excited to be working
in the Human Vascular Physiology Lab! When she’s not in the lab Sophia enjoys spending
time outdoors, reading, hitting the gym or spending time with friends and family including
her husband and dogs Cody and Magnolia.
Alumni:
Rauchelle Richey, PhD
Rauchelle fell in love with human physiology while completing a B.S. in kinesiology
at San Diego State University. She took a break from academia to be a stay at home
mom and dove deep into the world of endurance racing. After two Ironman races, she
decided that she needed a bigger challenge and enrolled at UT Arlington where she
recently completed her M.S. in exercise physiology. Rauchelle loves human physiology
research, any excuse to exercise, exploring the outdoors, traveling to far away places,
and her family of boys most of all! One of her favorite aspects of experimentation
is entertaining research participants with her stand-up comedy routine of dad jokes.
Don’t worry, the research participants love them too!
Holden Hemingway, PhD
Holden Hemingway received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Kentucky in 2017.
He is a third year Ph.D. student in the Physiology and Anatomy department at UNT Health.
His project focuses on vascular ischemia-reperfusion injury, specifically its pathophysiology
and therapeutic methods to protect against it. Outside of the lab, he enjoys spending
his time cooking and baking in the kitchen or doing some form of cardiovascular exercise.
Holden is always focused on subject comfort and does his best to ensure subjects are
not without a blanket during studies.
Amy Moore, RN
Amy was born and raised in North Texas, and joined the lab in November, 2019. She
received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Tarleton State University in 2017.
Her nursing background includes 2 years in the ICU and 1 year in home health with
previous non-nursing experience in management, fine dining, and hospitality. She is
also a registered yoga instructor and works as an adoption coordinator for a local
racehorse rescue in her spare time. Outside of yoga and horses, Amy also loves rock-climbing,
traveling, and is a certified Scuba diver. She has 2 boys- a Shepsky named Luke, and
an off-track Thoroughbred named Naqafeer.
Stephanie Hope, RN
Stephanie was the first RN to join the Romero lab, during a pause in her travel life,
while living in Aledo. Originally from Wyoming, Stephanie attended the University
of Sioux Falls for an education in Exercise Physiology and then attended Nursing School
at Sheridan College. Although very sad to leave the lab, Stephanie enjoyed her time
at UNT Health and getting to experience a new side of nursing (that she never realized
existed!) while participating in experiments as both a volunteer subject and a team
member. She is now back on the road, with her husband, 2 small children, and bloodhound,
to destinations unknown.
Rachel Engelland, BS
Rachel graduated from Texas A&M University, where she earned a B.S. in University
Studies, a major that allowed her to create her own curriculum and explore a wide
variety of interests. In addition to the foundations of the Biomedical Sciences, she
studied advanced Chemistry, Psychology, Spanish, and Business. Wanting to learn more
about biomedical research, she joined the Human Vascular Physiology Laboratory in
March of 2018 as a research assistant. After experiencing how exciting and rewarding
human research was, Rachel decided to come on as a student. She is currently in her
first year of the PhD program in the College of Biomedical and Translational Sciences.
When Rachel is not in the lab or studying for her next exam, she likes to relax by
reading, meditating, listening to music, going on walks with her dog, petting her
cat, spending time with friends and family, and texting quotes from The Office back
and forth with her sister.
Harrison Peyrovi, BS – Medical Sciences Research Track
Born in Grapevine, Texas, Harrison Peyrovi graduated from Texas Christian University
(TCU) with a BS in Nutritional Science. His passion for healthy living and dieting,
developed during his undergraduate studies, led him to pursue research in human cardiovascular
physiology. Outside of academics, Harrison enjoys watching and playing soccer, cooking,
and exploring the world of coffee.
