Sport and Exercise Science research themes

Skeletal muscle in health and disease

Joint theme with the Cardiovascular and Sport and Exercise Science research groups.

Our research focuses on skeletal muscle structure and function using a range of approaches from assessment of fundamental molecular mechanisms that underlie excitation-contraction coupling through to whole-body functional measures that underpin muscle performance.

Our interests lie in the muscle itself, including blood vessels and fibre composition, as well as in the neural mechanisms and pathways through which the central nervous system and skeletal muscles communicate.

We investigate the processes of muscle fatigue and atrophy/hypertrophy, and examine how these can be influenced by a range of interventions including physical activity, stimulation, hypoxia, nutrition, exercise training and drugs. We also explore the mechanisms and potential therapies for skeletal muscle pathology seen in muscle ischaemia, atrophy or hypertrophy, heart failure, malignant hyperthermia, and accompanying statin treatment.

We use animal models of exercise and disease, and human muscle biopsies obtained through collaborations with colleagues in the Faculty of Medicine and Health and international collaborators, which together promote the translational relevance of our work.

For muscle structure and function, we apply an array of techniques that include light/confocal/super-resolution/electron microscopy and protein chemistry, alongside bioinformatic analysis of gene expression, as well as in vitro and in vivo assessments of muscle performance.

To explore the control of neuromuscular function, we use stimulation of peripheral nerves and areas of the motor cortex to reveal the involvement of the peripheral, spinal and supraspinal mechanisms in muscle function. These experimental techniques are complemented by computational modelling.

View academics within Skeletal Muscle in Health and Disease

View postdoctoral researchers within Skeletal Muscle in Health and Disease

View PhD students within Skeletal Muscle in Health and Disease

Name	Area of expertise
Dr Graham Askew Associate Professor in Biomechanics	Skeletal muscle excitation-contraction coupling; calcium signaling; electrophysiology; confocal imaging
Dr Al Benson Lecturer in Cardiovascular Science	Computational modelling; magnetic resonance imaging; cardiopulmonary exercise testing; near infrared spectroscopy
Dr T. Scott Bowen Lecturer in Exercise Physiology	Contractile function; muscle atrophy/hypertrophy; mitochondrial function; diaphragm; exercise training; small-molecule therapeutics
Dr Sarah Calaghan Associate Professor in Cardiac Physiology	Calcium handling; muscle contraction; caveolae; protein chemistry; post translational modification; light and electron microscopy; rodent exercise analysis
Professor Stuart Egginton Leadership Chair in Exercise Science	Physiology (cardiovascular, respiratory, skeletal muscle); angiogenesis; peripheral oxygen transport; microcirculation; exercise; thermal acclimation
Dr Carrie Ferguson Lecturer in Physiology	Mechanisms of exercise intolerance; cardiopulmonary exercise testing; VO2kinetics; exercise intensity; exercise bioenergetics
Dr Ronaldo Ichiyama Associate Professor in Motor Control	Neural control of movement; motoneurones; rehabilitation; neural trauma
Dr Izzy Jayasinghe Lecturer in Cardiovascular Science	Super-resolution microscopy of the calcium signalling and contractile machinery as an avenue to understand the structural basis of skeletal muscle contraction and the fine remodelling which takes place in chronic (inherited) diseases and acute muscle damage
Dr Matthew Lancaster Lecturer in Exercise Physiology	Sarcopenia with ageing; protection against sarcopenia
Professor Derek Steele Professor of Cellular Physiology	Skeletal muscle excitation-contraction coupling; calcium signaling; electrophysiology; confocal imaging
D r Bryan Taylor University Academic Fellow in Cardiovascular Exercise Medicine	Electrical and magnetic nerve stimulation; exercise-induced respiratory and locomotor muscle fatigue; assessment of central and peripheral mechanisms of fatigue