Anita Rivera Brown, Ph.D., is an exercise physiologist with an interest in human performance, thermoregulation, and fluid balance. She is a Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine, at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine and directs the Exercise Physiology Unit at the Center for Sports Health and Exercise Sciences, which provides services to elite and recreational athletes. She is also an Invited Professor in the Graduate Program in Exercise Science at the UPR- Rio Piedras Campus.
Education
Dr. Rivera Brown has a Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, and an M.S. in Exercise Physiology from the University of Rhode Island. She is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, Member of the Sports Medicine Federation of Puerto Rico, and member of the Medical Commission of Centro Caribe Sports. She is certified as a National and International Doping Control Officer for sports competitions.
Research
Her research interests focus on physiological profiles of elite athletes, women and sports, isokinetic strength testing during rehabilitation and return to sport, and thermoregulation and fluid balance in young and elite athletes. Her lab has done and analyzed more than 1,000 on-field sweat tests in more than 20 different sports in the tropical environment of Puerto Rico in the past 25 years and established normative values for sweat loss and fluid needs of heat-acclimatized athletes.
She has been a reviewer for several peer reviewed journals and is on the Editorial Board of the Journal “Pensar en Movimiento- Revista de Ciencias del Ejercicio y la Salud” of Costa Rica and on the Editorial Board of the “Journal of Movement and Health” of Chile. She enjoys playing tennis, running, cycling, duathlons, and golf.
Selected Publications
- Rivera-Brown AM, Correa JJ, Micheo WF. Return to Competition Progression after Exertional Heat Stroke in an
Adolescent Runner: A Case Report. J Athl Train. 58:349-354, 2023. - Rivera-Brown AM, Frontera WR, Fontánez R, Micheo WF. Evidence for isokinetic and functional testing in return
to sport decisions following ACL surgery. PM&R. 14:678-690, 2022. - Rivera-Brown, A.M. Dehydration and the Young Athlete: Effects on Health and Performance. In: Fluid Balance,
Hydration, and Athletic Performance, ed. F. Meyer, Z. Szygula and B. Wilk, Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2016. - Rivera-Brown, A.M., Frontera, W.R. Principles of Exercise Physiology: Responses to Acute Exercise and Long
Term Adaptations to Training. PM&R: The Journal of Injury, Function, and Rehabilitation 4:797-804, 2012. - Rivera-Brown, A.M., De Felix, R.A. Hydration status in adolescent judo athletes before and after training in the
heat. Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perform. 7:39-46, 2012. - Rivera-Brown A.M., Ramírez-Marrero, F.A., Wilk B.and Bar-Or O. Voluntary drinking and hydration in trained,
heat-acclimatized girls exercising in a hot and humid climate. Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. 103:109-116, 2008. - Wilk, B, Rivera-Brown A.M. and Bar-Or O. Voluntary drinking and hydration in non-acclimatized girls exercising
in the heat. Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. 101:727–734, 2007. - Rivera-Brown, A.M., Rowland T.W., Ramírez Marrero, F., Santacana G. and Vann, A. Exercise tolerance in a hot
and humid climate in heat-acclimatized girls and women. Int. J Sports Med. 27:943-950, 2006. - Rivera-Brown, A.M., Gutiérrez, R., Gutiérrez, J.C., Frontera, W.R. and Bar-Or, O. Drink composition, voluntary
drinking, and fluid balance, in exercising, trained, heat- acclimatized boys. J. Appl. Physiol. 86:78-84, 1999. - Rico-Sanz, J., Frontera, W.R., Mole, P.A., Rivera, M., Rivera-Brown, A. and Meredith, C.N. Dietary and performance
assessment of elite soccer players during a period of intense training. Int. J. Sports Nutr. 8: 230-240, 1998. - Rivera, M., Rivera-Brown, A.M. and Frontera, W.R. Health related physical fitness characteristics of elite Puerto
Rican athletes. J. Strength and Cond. Res., 12: 199-203, 1998.