Exercise and Health
Our research focuses on the metabolic and molecular interaction between nutrient delivery (by blood vessels) and nutrient utilisation (by muscle), and its impact on whole body metabolism. We study how endothelial cells change their metabolism to form new vessels (angiogenesis) following exercise. We evaluate whether angiogenesis controls muscular adaptation to exercise. In particular, we want to understand how muscle and endothelium metabolically communicate to ensure optimal nutrient delivery during exercise, to orchestrate muscle adaptation after exercise and whether muscle-endothelium interactions regulate muscle mass during conditions of inactivity (muscle atrophy). To do so, we use state-of-the-art in vitro techniques and several mouse models to evaluate characteristics of angiogenesis and muscle atrophy.