Research Associate

Physical Activity Epidemiology programme

Current work and interests

Tomas is a Research Associate in the Physical Activity Epidemiology programme. His research uses novel measurement and modeling techniques to assess musculoskeletal function and cardiorespiratory fitness, improving our understanding of their relationship with chronic disease outcomes in population studies. He is particularly interested in developing and implementing robust methods for accurately assessing physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness in home-based settings. His work aims to inform the development of effective interventions to promote physical activity and reduce the burden of chronic disease.

Background and experience

Tomas completed a PhD in Medical Science at the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge. His thesis used large epidemiological datasets (e.g., UK Biobank, Fenland) to develop, validate, and apply inclusive and adaptive assessments of cardiorespiratory fitness for population health research.

Tomas has academic training in Kinesiology, earning his Bachelor of Science degree from California State University in San Marcos, and his Master’s degree from San Diego State University. He has previous research experience as the lab manager and a coinvestigator at the Muscle Morphology Mechanics and Performance Laboratory at the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Centre.

Publications

• MRC Epidemiology Unit publications on the Publications Database

Selected publications

• Perry, A.S.*, Farber-Eger, E.*, Gonzales, T.I.* et al. Proteomic analysis of cardiorespiratory fitness for prediction of mortality and multisystem disease risks. Nat Med 30, 1711–1721 (2024). DOI:10.1038/s41591-024-03039-x
• Watts, E.L. *, Gonzales, T.I. *, Strain, T. et al. Observational and genetic associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and cancer: a UK Biobank and international consortia study. Br J Cancer 130, 114–124 (2024). DOI:10.1038/s41416-023-02489-3
• Cai, L., Gonzales, T.I., Wheeler, E. et al. Causal associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and type 2 diabetes. Nat Commun 14, 3904 (2023). DOI:10.1038/s41467-023-38234-w
• Gonzales T.I., Westgate, K., Hollidge, S. et al. Descriptive Epidemiology of Cardiorespiratory Fitness in UK Adults: The Fenland Study. Med Sci Sports Exerc 55(3), 507-516 (2023). DOI:10.1249/MSS.0000000000003068
• Gonzales, T.I., Westgate, K., Strain, T. et al. Cardiorespiratory fitness assessment using risk-stratified exercise testing and dose-response relationships with disease outcomes. Sci Rep 11, 15315 (2021). DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-94768-3

* These authors contributed equally.