Application of OMICS to study the mechanism and impact of exercise and nutrition on the regulation of skeletal muscle mass, sarcopenia and frailty in older age and comorbidities (e.g., heart failure, dementia, COPD).

Description

This is an Unfunded PhD student position. Students need to pay for tuition fee, bench fee, project costs and consumables. Detailed  

Sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass and strength, is established as highly prevalent comorbidity in older age and population with chronic diseases (heart failure, COPD, diabetes and stroke). Sarcopenia, contribute significantly to low physical capacity, exercise intolerance and worsens the prognosis of disease and quality of life. Yet the biological mechanism of diseases and optimal strategy to combat sarcopenia in HF is lacking.

Our team investigate whether novel non-pharmacological intervention (e.g., nutritional approach) can offset skeletal muscle atrophy (sarcopenia, and frailty) in ageing and diseases. Such data would inevitably have an important clinical impact, given the pervasive metabolic consequences of periodic muscle disuse in older adults.

For this we conduct clinical studies in collaboration with local NHS partners to collect clinical data such as body composition, physical examination and lifestyle questionnaires as well as biofluids (such as plasma). We use advance scientific ‘omic’ technologies including metabolomic, and lipidomic for analysis of these samples. A primary advantage of applying omic is providing intracellular signalling networks that the impact of nutritional and exercise strategies can be examined in greater scope and detail.

The students will be placed in an interdisciplinary team with opportunity to learn clinical study design, data collection, sample preparation and omics analysis as well as data processing and data analysis.  We have wide scope of research and looking for motivated candidates with interest to nutrition, exercise, and human biology.