Kinesiology, Applied Health & Recreation

I am an associate professor in the School of Kinesiology, Applied Health, and Recreation and director of the Musculoskeletal Adaptations to Aging and eXercise lab (MAAX). My research team regularly uses imaging tools, surveys, and functional tests to help us better understand bone and muscle health across the lifespan. We also regularly test performance, sleep quality, dietary needs, endocrine function, and injury risk in athletes and first responders. I also hold the following affiliations:

I am a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine - https://acsm.org/

I maintain my Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist distinction from the National Strength and Conditioning Association - www.nsca.com

I am an affiliate of OSU's Human Performance and Nutrition Research Institute - https://go.okstate.edu/hpnri

Research Interests:

Exercise, injury prevention, and musculoskeletal health in the following cohorts:
Athletes (college and professional)
Aging adults (healthy and clinical)
Tactical (military, first-responders, police etc...)

I am a Visiting Assistant Professor in the School of Kinesiology, Applied Health, and Recreation. I teach Recreation and Athletic Management courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. I focus on outdoor recreation, facilitation, and community events.

My research interests include how recreation can foster community, aid in life transitions, increase participant engagement in large event settings, and improve the quality of life for veterans recently separated from the military. 

Brittany Dao is an assistant professor in the school of Kinesiology, Applied Health, and Recreation. She teaches within the Recreational Therapy, Recreation Management and Leisure Studies programs. Her research is centered on pediatric development and quality of life in children with disabilities and developmental delays. Brittany is a Licensed and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS/L).

Research interests include:

Pediatric physical, cognitive, emotional, and mental health

Recreation, play and leisure of children

Recreation and quality of life of young adults

Jay Dawes is a Professor of Applied Exercise Science at Oklahoma State University with approximately 25 years of experience as an athletic performance coordinator, strength coach, personal trainer, and educator. He frequently coaches and provides sports science support to elite teams, as well as law enforcement, fire, and military groups. His research focuses on improving health, fitness, and performance in tactical athletes, first responders, and sport athletes. Dawes has extensive expertise in strength and conditioning, specializing in training methods for athletes and first responders.

Research Interests:

Improving health, fitness and occupational performance for first responders and military personnel (e.g., Tactical Athletes).

Quincy R. Johnson, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the School of Kinesiology, Applied Health, and Recreation. He received his degrees from Midland University and Oklahoma State University. Dr. Johnson's research interests focus on optimizing athletic performance, developing physiological profiles to support training and return to play approaches, long-term athletic development, and training load monitoring.

These interests have led to professional roles within high school, NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NBA, NFL, MLB, MLS, and private settings. In addition to his scholarly activity, Dr. Johnson has been an active strength and conditioning coach working with athletes from professional to developmental levels of sport. Most recently he served as the Assistant Director of the Jayhawk Athletic Performance Laboratory, a member of the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, Founding Director of Jayhawk Performance, Founding Director of STRIDE Kansas, and Associate Director of the Well-Fit Center at the University of Kansas. Additionally, he served as the Director of Loper Performance at the University of Nebraska-Kearney and the Director of Strength and Conditioning at Kearney Combat Sports. Dr. Johnson is passionate about developing and creating opportunities for the next generation of exercise science professionals.

Johnson is an active member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Dr. Johnson holds certifications from the (CSCS*D, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with Distinction; CPT*D, Certified Personal Trainer with Distinction), USA Weightlifting, Functional Movement Systems, and the International Society of Performance Analysis of Sport. Additionally, he currently serves as the Vice Chair of the NSCA's powerlifting special interest group and on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Strength and Conditioning.

Dr. Johnson's research interests focus on optimizing athletic performance, developing physiological profiles to support training and return to play approaches, long-term athletic development, and training load monitoring. In particular, his research has examined specific physiological characteristics that contribute to sporting success for athletes, and occupational success for tactical athletes. By studying the relationships between readiness to train, anthropometrics, flexibility, muscular strength and power, sprinting speed and agility, cardiorespiratory fitness, and seasonal changes in training and competition intensities and volumes a greater understanding of athletic performance can be developed. Further, these relationships can be examined through multiple lenses and at multiple layers in order to optimize athletic performance and enhance sporting outcomes.

Research Interests:

• Development of strength and conditioning approaches that optimize athletic performance
• Development of anthropometric and physical fitness profiles of collegiate and professional athletes
• Sport-specific differences in measures of athletic performance
• Position-specific differences in measures of athletic performance
• Seasonal changes in athletic performance
• Development and implementation of long-term athletic development models for collegiate and professional athletes
• Examining relationships between training load, training stress, recovery and athletic performance
• Development and implementation of sports science technology
• Strength and conditioning
• Sports performance
• Performance science
• Sports science

Awards & Honors

Outstanding Young Alumni

Midland University

2023

Central States President's Cup Award

American College of Sports Medicine

2021

Phi Kappa Phi

National Academic Honor Society

2018

Selected Publications & Presentations

Jacobson, B.H., Dawes, J.J., Smith, D.B., Johnson, Q.R. Kinanthropometric Characteristic Comparisons of NCAA Division I Offensive and Defensive Linemen Spanning 8 Decades. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2022; 36(12), 3404-3408. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000004179

Johnson, Q.R., Sealey, D., Frels, C., Stock, S., Gleason, D., Akehi, K. Neurobiophysical Differences in Countermovement Jump Performance across NCAA Division II Sports. 2023 National Strength and Conditioning Association National Conference (Las Vegas, NV).

Johnson, Q.R., Sealey, D., Stock, S., Gleason, D. Wins vs. Losses: Training Periodization Strategies Effect on Competition Outcomes within NCAA Division II Football. 2023 American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting.

Sealey, D., Eisenmann, J., Johnson, Q.R. Quantification of Game and Practice Demands of NCAA Division II College Football Players using Global Position Systems. 2023 National Strength and Conditioning Association National Conference (Las Vegas, NV).

Johnson, Q.R. Analyzing Differences in Jump Characteristics between NCAA Division II Men’s and Women’s Basketball Athletes. 2023 American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting

I am a teaching assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology, Applied Health, and Recreation. I teach Recreational Therapy and Recreation Management courses. I specialize in child and adolescent mental health, and childhood trauma and partner with multiple public school districts around the state to study the impact of Recreational Therapy clinical services on students. 

My research interests include childhood trauma and its impacts on the child and family, child and adolescent mental health, evidence-based practices, and professional development and professional associations.