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Pepperdine | Seaver College
Dr. Rachel Tan, professor of sports medicine

Rachel Tan

Associate Professor of Sports Medicine
Natural Science, Seaver College
RAC 197
310.506.7041

Biography

Dr. Tan’s research focuses on exercise physiology, sports nutrition, and muscle function. Her work centers on dietary nitrate supplementation (i.e., concentrated beetroot juice) and strategies to optimize nitric oxide bioavailability, with the goal of enhancing weightlifting performance, sport-specific outcomes, and power. She is particularly interested in translating science into practice for healthy, elite, and understudied populations. Dr. Tan leads a team of 16 researchers in the Nitric Oxide eXercise (NOX) Lab, where the group shares a passion for beets, beats, and exercise. The lab values human research for the connections it fosters—within the team and with research participants—reflecting a broader goal of using science to help others.

Education

  • PhD Sports and Health Science, University of Exeter, United Kingdom, 2019
  • MS Sports and Health Science, University of Exeter, United Kingdom, 2015 (distinction)
  • BSc Kin. Honors, McMaster University, Canada, 2014 (summa cum laude)

 

  • Brennan, S.N., Foster, J.M., Gerardo, R.T., Molnar, T.M., Tran, R., Sottile, C.B., Geppert, K.S., Egiazarian, M., Ballhagen, A.F., Ghimire, M., Renwick, J.R.M., Gough, L.A., Gonzalez, S.D., Allen, J.D., Rowland, S.N., Bailey, S.J., Pennell, A, Tan, R. (2026) Dietary nitrate supplementation does not improve resistance exercise performance in resistance-trained women. European Journal of Applied Physiology https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-026-06206-9
  • Tan, R., Lincoln, I.G., Paniagua, K.K., Foster, J.M., Wideen, L.E., Gerardo, R.T., Ornelas, N.J., Tchaprazian, I., Li, J., Egiazarian, M., Rowland, S.N., Bailey, S.J., Pennell, A. (2025) The effect of dietary nitrate supplementation on resistance exercise performance: A dose-response investigation. European Journal of Applied Physiology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-025-05779-1
  • Tan R., Cass JK, Lincoln IG, Wideen LE, Nicholl MJ, Molnar TJ, Gough LA, Bailey SJ, Pennell A. Effects of Dietary Nitrate Supplementation on High-Intensity Cycling Sprint Performance in Recreationally Active Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. (2024) Nutrients. 2024; 16(16):2764. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16162764
  • Tan, R., Merrill, C., Riley, C.F., Hammer, M.A., Kenney, R.T., Riley, A.A., Li, J., Zink, A.C., Karl, S.T., Price, K.M., Sharabidze, L.K., Rowland, S.N., Bailey, S.J., Stiemsma, L.T., Pennell, A. Acute inorganic nitrate ingestion does not impact oral microbial composition, cognitive function, or high-intensity exercise performance in female team-sport athletes. (2024). Eur J Appl Physiol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-024-05552-w
  • Tan, R., Price, KM., Wideen, LE., Lincoln, IG., Karl, ST., Seals, JP., Paniagua, KK., Hagen, DW., Tchaprazian, I., Bailey, SJ., and Pennell, A. Dietary nitrate ingested with and without pomegranate supplementation does not improve resistance exercise performance. (2023). Frontiers in Nutrition. 10:1217192. doi: 10.3389/fnut/2023.1217192
  • Tan, R., Baranauskas, M.N., Karl, S.T., Ortiz De Zevallos, J., Shei, R., Paris, H.L., Wiggins, C.C., Bailey, S.J. Effects of dietary nitrate supplementation on muscular power output: Influence of supplementation strategy and population. Nitric Oxide. 138-139, 105-119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.niox.2023.06.004
  • Tan, R., Pennell, A., Karl, S.T., Cass, J., Go, K., Clifford, T., Bailey, S.J., Perkins Storm, C. Effects of Dietary Nitrate Supplementation on Back Squat and Bench Press Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. (2023). Nutrients. 15(11): 2493. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15112493
  • Tan, R., Black, M.I., Home, J., Blackwell, J.R., Clark, I., Wylie, L.J., Vanhatalo, A., Jones, A.M. Physiological and performance effects of dietary nitrate and N-acetylcysteine supplementation during prolonged heavy-intensity cycling. (2023). Journal of Sports Sciences. 40(23):2585-2594. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2023.2176052
  • Rowland, S.N., Da Boit, M., Tan, R., Robinson, G.P., O’Donnell, E., James, L.J., Bailey, S.J. (2023) Dietary nitrate supplementation enhances performance and speeds muscle deoxyhaemoglobin kinetics during and end-sprint after prolonged moderate-intensity exercise. Antioxidants. 12(1), 25. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox12010025 
  • Tan, R., Pennell, A., Price, K.M., Karl, S.T., Seekamp-Hicks, N.G., Paniagua, K.K., Weiderman, G.D., Powell, J.P., Sharabidze, L.K., Lincoln, I.G., Kim, J.M., Espinoza, M.F., Hammer, M.A., Goulding, R.P., Bailey, S.J. (2022). Effects of dietary nitrate supplementation on performance and muscle oxygenation during resistance exercise in men. Nutrients. 14(18), 3703. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14183703
  • Tan, R., Wylie, L.J., Wilkerson, D.P., Vanhatalo, A., Jones, A.M. (2022). Effects of dietary nitrate on the O2 cost of submaximal exercise: accounting for ‘noise’ in pulmonary gas exchange measurements. Journal of Sports Science. Mar 18, 1-9  doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2022.2052471
  • Tan, R., Cano, L., Lago-Rodriguez, A., Dominguez, R. (2022) The effects of dietary nitrate supplementation on explosive exercise performance: a systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 19(2), 762. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19020762 
  • Baranauskas, M.N., Freemas, J.A., Tan, R., Carter, S.J. (2021). Moving beyond inclusion: methodological considerations for menstrual cycle and menopause in research evaluating the effects of dietary nitrate on vascular function. Nitric Oxide. 118, 39-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.niox.2021.11.001
  • Rodriguez, A.L., Dominguez, R., Ramos-Alvarez, J.J., Tobal, F.M., Jodra, P., Tan, R., Bailey, S.J. (2020). The effect of dietary nitrate supplementation on isokinetic torque in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrients. 12(10): 3022.  https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12103022
  • San Juan, A.F., Dominguez, R., Lago-Rodriguez, A., Montoya, J.J., Tan, R., Bailey, S.J. (2020). Effects of dietary nitrate supplementation on weightlifting exercise performance in healthy adults: a systematic review. Nutrients. 12(8): 2227. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12082227
  • Clark, I., Vanhatalo, A., Thompson, C., Joseph, C., Black, M. I., Blackwell, J. R., Wylie, L. J., Tan, R., Bailey, S. J., Wilkins, B., Kirby, B., Jones, A. M. (2019). Plasticity of the power-duration relationship during prolonged endurance exercise: influence of carbohydrate ingestion. J Appl Physiol. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00207.2019
  • Tan, R., Nederveen, J.P., Gillen, J.B., Joanisse, S., Parise, G., Tarnopolsky, M.A., Gibala, M.J. (2018). Skeletal muscle fibre-type specific changes in markers of capillary and mitochondrial content after low-volume interval training in overweight women. Physiol Rep. DOI: 10.14814/phy2.13597
  • Tan, R., Wylie, L.J., Thompson, C., Blackwell, J.R., Bailey, S.J., Vanhatalo, A., Jones, A.M. (2018). Beetroot juice ingestion during prolonged moderate-intensity exercise attenuates progressive rise in O2 uptake. J Appl Physiol. DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.01006.2017
  • Gillen, J.B., Percival, M.E., Skelly, L.E., Martin, B.J., Tan, R.B., Tarnopolsky, M.A., Gibala, M.J (2014). Three minutes of all-out intermittent exercise per week increases skeletal muscle oxidative capacity and improves cardiometabolic health. PLos One. 9(11): 1-9
  • Martin, B.J., Tan, R.B., Gillen, J.B., Percival, M.E., Gibala, M.J. (2014). No effect of short-term green tea extract supplementation on metabolism at rest or during exercise in the fed-state. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 24(6): 656-64

Courses

  • BIOL 270: Principles of Human Physiology
  • SPME 360: Physiology of Exercise
  • SPME 110 Introduction to Sports Medicine
  • SPME 490 Research in Sports Medicine

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