Dr. Butts is an Assistant Professor, tenure track, and joined the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in September 2018. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Center for Exercise Medicine and the Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology at University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Butts completed her PhD at Emory University with a focus on cardiovascular disease, immunology, and exercise. She received her Bachelor's of Science in Nursing from Georgia State University and her Bachelor's of Science in Biology from the University of the Virgin Islands. Dr. Butts' research interests are on physiological mechanisms of symptoms and behavior in cardiovascular disease.

Awards and Honors:

Excellence in Undergraduate Nursing Education Crystal Apple Award, Emory University, 2019
Marie Cowan Promising Young Investigator Award, American Heart Association, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, 2018
PhD Silver Bowl Award, Emory University, 2016
PRISM Fellowship, Emory University
Division Fellowship, Emory University
Science and Mathematics Senior Award, University of the Virgin Islands
Senior Female Barnett Frank Class Award, University of the Virgin Islands
Chemistry Award, University of the Virgin Islands
Outstanding Calculus Award, University of the Virgin Islands

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1. Butts B, Calhoun DA, Denney, Jr. TS, Lloyd SG, Gupta H, Gaddam KK, Aban I, Oparil S, Sanders PW, Patel R, Collawn JF, and Dell’Italia LJ. (2019) Plasma Xanthine Oxidase Activity Is Related to Increased Sodium and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Resistant Hypertension. Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 134:343-349.

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2. Butts B, Butler J, Dunbar SB, Corwin, E, and Gary RA. (2018) Effects of exercise on ASC methylation and IL-1 cytokines in heart failure. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 50(9):1757-1766.

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3. Butts B, Goeddel LA, George DJ, Steele C, Davies JE, Wei CC, Varagic J, George JF, Ferrario CM, Melby SJ, and Dell'Italia LJ. (2017) Increased inflammation in pericardial fluid persists 48 hours after cardiac surgery. Circulation, 136: 2284-2286.

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4. Butts B, Butler J, Dunbar SB, Corwin E, and Gary RA. (2017) ASC Methylation and Interleukin-1beta Are Associated with Aerobic Capacity in Heart Failure. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 49(6):1072-1078.

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5. Butts B and Gary RA. (2016) 20 things you didn’t know about exercise. Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 31(5): 387-389.

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6. Butts B, Gary RA, Dunbar SB, and Butler J. (2016) Methylation of apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain and outcomes in heart failure. Journal of Cardiac Failure, 22(5): 340-346.

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7. Butts B, Gary RA, Dunbar SB, and Butler J. (2015) The importance of NLRP3 inflammasome in heart failure. Journal of Cardiac Failure, 21(7):586-593.

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8. Butts B and Gary R. (2015) Co-existing frailty, cognitive impairment and heart failure: implications for clinical care. Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management, 22(1).

Dr. Butts has taught Pathophysiology at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Dr. Butts received her STEM Teaching Certificate from the Center for Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Dr. Butts' overall research interests are focused on how behavior affects pathophysiological pathways in cardiovascular disease and how that relates to patient outcomes. Her research is focused on implementing interventions that are real-world behavior changes that demonstrate clinically meaningful changes and can be incorporated into patient teaching and care. Dr. Butts' research area also includes the discovery of physiologic changes that relate to patient outcomes, so we can not only better understand disease processes but also have physiologic markers of intervention effectiveness that relate to clinically meaningful improvements.