NATIONAL SPACE BIOMEDICAL
RESEARCH INSTITUTE
RESEARCH INSTITUTE
 Postdoctoral Fellow – 2004-2006 at Boston University Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy University of Florida Honors/Awards during Fellowship: 2005 – Young Investigator Award, FASEB Summer Research Conference on Skeletal Muscle Satellite and Stem Cells, Tucson, Arizona What is your area of research interest? Muscle biology, in particular, focusing on muscle wasting What type of work are you doing? Our main research focus is muscle atrophy, with a primary emphasis on disuse muscle atrophy, and I have an NIH grant to continue work in that area. However, my lab has recently expanded to also look at muscle wasting associated with various diseases and conditions. So, we are also looking at cancer-induced muscle wasting, aging-associated muscle wasting, and peripheral arterial disease and the muscle wasting associated with it. We are exploring the different triggers and pathways associated with these conditions and diseases that end up feeding into the same common end point of muscle wasting. How does your current work relate to the research you did as an NSBRI fellow? Very closely – As a fellow, I studied disuse muscle wasting using the hind limb unweighting model, which is more specifically directed toward NASA's needs to learn about muscle wasting in microgravity and reduced gravity. My research is still exploring the same pathways of disuse atrophy, but I am using the cast immobilization model instead. Key Honors/Grants since Fellowship: 2009 – NIH/National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases grant for "The Role of Heat Shock Proteins in Skeletal Muscle Disuse Atrophy" 2009 – Florida Department of Health grant for "The Role of NF kappa B and Foxo in the Regulation of Muscle Atrophy Genes and Muscle Atrophy during Experimental Cancer Cachexia" 2009 – University of Florida Pepper Institute Pilot Grant for "The Role of Heat Shock Protein 70 over Expression on the Recovery of Muscle Mass and Function following Cast Immobilization in Old Rats" 2008 – Florida Department of Health grant for "Cytokine-Induced Muscle Atrophy following Exercise Claudication" Ad Hoc Reviewer – U.S. Army Research, Division of Life Sciences and NASA Skeletal Muscle/Cardiovascular Physiology Study Section How did the Fellowship impact your career? For me, in the disuse muscle wasting field, NASA and NSBRI are considered the litmus test because that is where the premier work in that area is done. Being affiliated with NSBRI and NASA was a big plus during interviews and when going to talks. Being part of the Muscle Alterations Team, I got to know on a personal level leading muscle biologists who studied disuse muscle wasting. There aren't that many people studying muscle wasting from a disuse standpoint, so having a research background with NSBRI is viewed as a huge plus. What advice would you give someone completing a Ph.D. and considering a fellowship? Writing a fellowship application, whether it is accepted or not, is a really important learning tool. It is a skill you need if you are going to get into academia. A fellowship sets you apart from other people. What advice do you have for new NSBRI Fellows? Make the most of your time and the opportunity. I traveled to Texas to retreats of investigators working on space-related health studies and also went to Johnson Space Center. The resources we were given access to are second to none. The fellowship provides an opportunity to make connections and to see different sides of what you are studying. By all means, embrace the experience. |
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