Muscle Atrophy

Prolonged inactivity, bed rest or months spent in space take a heavy toll on our muscles. They start to become weaker and it gets progressively harder to restore their original strength without unwanted inflammation as a side effect. I am looking for ways to both slow down the muscle degeneration and speed up the regrowth.

The answer might be hidden in what we call The Dark Side of the genome.

Processes activated in neuromuscular diseases have many of their molecular signatures similar to healthy muscle regeneration. However, there will usually be a faulty 'switch' that will plunge the muscle into degenerative state. I am interested in finding these switches and exploiting the knowledge of muscle repair to set them on the right track.

Muscle atrophy—whether caused by aging, long-term bedrest, disuse, chronic illness, or even common medications—is a major but often overlooked threat to health and independence. As muscles shrink and weaken, people become more vulnerable to falls, hospitalization, and loss of mobility, creating a cascade of medical and social consequences.