Faculty

Sergi Garcia-Retortillo is an assistant professor at the University of Central Florida’s College of Nursing. He holds a BS in Exercise Science, a BS in Physical Therapy, an MSc in Physical Activity and Health, and a Ph.D. in Exercise Science. His expertise includes exercise physiology, electrophysiology, exercise testing, and physiological network analysis.

His research centers on the emerging field of Network Physiology, which seeks to understand how physiological systems interact as an integrated network to sustain function. He investigates the fundamental principles regulating interactions between skeletal muscles and other systems, including the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Dr. Garcia-Retortillo’s work focuses on quantifying inter-muscular and muscle-organ coordination during exercise. He develops innovative, network-based markers — such as inter-muscular, cardio-muscular, and respiratory-muscular coordination — to advance the assessment of human function. These markers aim to move beyond traditional single-system measures and toward a network-level understanding of functional capacity and human performance.

With more than a decade of experience in the fitness and wellness industry, he has worked as both a strength and conditioning coach and a physical therapist, serving a wide range of athletes and clinical populations.

Education

• PhD, University of Barcelona
• MS, University of Barcelona
• BS, University of Barcelona

Selected Editorial Activities

• Associate Editor, Frontiers in Network Physiology; Section Network Physiology Exercise
• Review Editor, Frontiers in Network Physiology; Section Fractal Physiology
• Reviewer, Isokinetics and Exercise Science
• Guest Reviewer, Sports Medicine Open, Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders, Scientific Reports, Frontiers in Physiology, New Journal of Physics, European Journal of Applied Physiology, European Journal of Pain, Journal of Men’s Health, Musculoskeletal Science and Practice, Physiological Measurement, and Plos Computational Biology

Selected Awards & Honors

• Outstanding Reviewer, Frontiers in Network Physioloy, December 2021
• American Physiological Society APS Select Award, 2020
• 2nd International Summer Institute on Network Physiology Award, 2019

Selected Professional Activities

• Member, American Physiological Society (APS)
• Member, International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology

Language

• Spanish