Kendra Gage is a historian who specializes in topics including international women's and U.S. sports, African American resistance and social movements, 20th-century America, and the U.S. West. She is also well-regarded for her advocacy on teaching educators about implicit bias and anti-racism in the classroom.

After obtaining her Ph.D. in history from UNLV, Gage joined the faculty in 2011 as an assistant professor with the Department of Interdisciplinary, Gender, and Ethnic Studies. Her manuscript,  "Creating the Black California Dream: Virna Canson and the Black Freedom Struggle in the Golden State's Capital, 1940-1988," used the life of Virna Canson as lens for incorporating Sacramento's activities within the larger historical framework of the civil rights movement.

Gage is also one of the founders of the Race, Indigeneity, and Freedom Lab, which is an intensive interdisciplinary research lab for the creative study, thinking, and teaching on race, racism, and liberation in the Mountain West and beyond.

Associate professor Kara Radzak joined the kinesiology and nutrition sciences department during fall 2015 and teaches courses for the department’s master of science in kinesiology program’s athletic training emphasis and within the undergraduate professional athletic training program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education.

Radzak’s research focuses on utilizing biomechanical analysis of movement to evaluate musculoskeletal injuries, particularly overuse injuries of the knee, and osteoarthritis. Her current research evaluates the relationship of running biomechanics and injuries commonly associated with military training such as iliotibial band syndrome, patellofemoral pain syndrome, and lateral ankle sprains. She is also interested in the influence of physical activity and previous injury history on lower extremity joint health throughout the lifespan. This includes the development and end-range treatment — such as joint replacement surgery — of hip and knee osteoarthritis.

Radzak serves as the Far West Athletic Trainers’ Association’s Young Professional Chair and represents the district to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association. She is also professionally involved in the Athletic Trainers’ Osteoarthritis Consortium.

John Mercer is a professor for the department of kinesiology & nutrition sciences, which is the study of how the human body moves. He is an expert in kinesiology, biomechanics (the physics of sports), and running. Mercer has trained as a triathlete for more than 25 years.

A prolific researcher, Mercer recently directed kinesiology-focused studies on rehabilitation techniques like running in the water and running with body weight support, how shoe design is important to consider for children runners, and if rocker-bottom styled shoes increase muscle development in the lower legs.

His work has been published in dozens of industry publications including the Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, the Journal of Applied Biomechanics, the European Journal of Applied Physiology, and Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Mercer is also chair of UNLV’s Biomedical Institutional Review Board, which approves, monitors, and reviews biomedical and social/behavioral research involving human subjects in order to protect their rights and welfare. 

Nancy Lough is a professor in UNLV’s College of Education, where she also coordinates the College Sport Leadership certificate program. Her areas of expertise include sport marketing and sponsorship, development of women leaders, gender equity, and in sport. She has served as a consultant for Title IX issues in Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Recently, Lough served as editor of Sport Marketing Quarterly and the Journal of Contemporary Athletics, as well as the director of the Center for Sport Education Leadership at UNLV. She was the first female president of the Sport Marketing Association from 2013-15. As the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics (COIA) representative for UNLV, Dr. Lough serves as a voice for NCAA Division I faculty senates on issues in college sport. Additionally, Lough is an executive board member of the UNLV Women of Excellence, which works to raise funds for women’s sport; member of the Women’s Council, Dean’s Advisory Council; an advisory board member for the Penn State Center for Sports Business & Research, and UNLV PGA Management program, and University of Colorado Business of Sport certificate program. In addition she has conducted leadership training for a variety of organizations. He scholarly work has earned distinction meriting selection as a Sport Marketing Association Research Fellow.

She has been quoted extensively in media via outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Canada’s Globe & Mail, and the Sports Business Journal.

Merrill Landers is chair and associate professor for the physical therapy department, within the School of Allied Health Sciences. He is a licensed physical therapist and board-certified clinical specialist in orthopedics, and has doctorates in physical therapy and biological sciences.

Landers has extensive clinical and research experience in orthopedic physical therapy and movement disorders. Much of his research has focused on Parkinson’s disease, for which he has used human and animal models.

His studies have included an analysis of the changes in cervical range of motion following uncomplicated single- and multi-level cervical fusion; active recovery and electro-muscular stimulation on delayed onset muscle soreness after endurance running; and the safety of cervical spine manipulation, specifically if severe adverse events are preventable and manipulations being performed appropriately.

His research has led to more than 40 peer-reviewed publications, including placements in The Spine Journal, Physical Therapy Journal, Behavioural Brain Research, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, Manual Therapy, Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy, Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy, and Clinical Journal of Pain.

Landers has earned multiple awards for his research, including the John Medeiros Best Paper Award from the Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy; Rose Excellence in Research Award from the Orthopaedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association, eLayne Library Verve Award for Parkinson’s disease research and the Cyrus Tang Research Award for Parkinson’s disease research.

Bradley Donohue is a psychology professor and director of Family Research and Services in the department of psychology. His research expertise is in substance abuse, child maltreatment, family violence, conduct disorders, and the improvement of mental health and sport performance in athletes.

A national expert on sports psychology and wellness, he is the creator of The Optimum Performance Program in Sports (TOPPS), a mental health program targeted specifically to student athletes from elementary-age through college. The program blends traditional mental health services with sport culture and customized performance coaching — essentially meeting athletes where they are to develop ways to enhance both mental health and performance. The program de-stigmatizes mental health care by offering wellness training to all team members and focusing on optimizing performance, not fixing problems. This work focuses on the development, evaluation, and dissemination of family-supported interventions to assist in goal achievement. 

Additionally, Donohue is one of the developers of Family Behavior Therapy (FBT), an evidence-based treatment listed in national clearinghouses, such as SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-based Practices and Programs, and the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare. His research interests include the development and adoption of evidence-based treatments (primarily FBT), psychometric development, and improving the functioning of mental health clinics through effective supervision and quality assurance.

Donahue has directed projects funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). He is a recipient of the Western Psychological Association Early Career Research Award and the UNLV Barrick Scholar Award for Distinguished Research. In 2023, he was appointed to the British & Irish Boxing Authority (BIBA) Medical Advisory Board.

Owen Hambrook has served as head men’s tennis coach for over a decade and stands third all-time in victories at the school with 112.  After leading the team to a 10-win improvement as interim coach, he was awarded the job permanently and has continued to improve the program ever since. The 2006 squad won 13 times and continued to successfully defend its home courts with a 9-1 mark at the Fertitta Tennis Complex. In fact, the UNLV men boast a shiny 59-19 home record under Hambrook. In addition to being named ITA Mountain Region coach of the year in 2007, his squad produced the first conference Player of the Year in six seasons, and sent both a singles player and doubles team to the NCAA Championships in 2011.

Prior to taking over the men's squad, Hambrook spent four years as an assistant with Lady Rebels tennis, including serving on the staff of the 2003 MWC regular-season champions, and the 2000 and 2002 league tournament champion women's teams. Hambrook joined UNLV after having served as director of the state's largest junior program — the Junior Tennis Academy at the Sports Club of Las Vegas from 1996-2000. Previously, the certified tennis professional worked as the tennis pro at the MGM Grand Hotel for two years. Hambrook is a graduate of Northwest Missouri State University and played tennis collegiately for three seasons.