WEBINAR—Molecular Signals Mediate Increases in Muscle Size and Function

May 14, 2024
11 a.m. EDT

In this webinar, Bert Blaauw, PhD, explains in detail skeletal muscle regulatory pathways and offers approaches to tackle muscle deficits through therapeutics. Blaauw will explore the regulatory pathways that support adult skeletal muscle mass and function, focusing particularly on the Akt-mTORC1 signaling pathway. He will clarify the misconception that muscle mass and size are synonymous (increased size doesn’t always mean enhanced function). The critical intracellular processes bolstered by muscle activity and exercise, which contribute to muscle strength and performance, will also be discussed. Finally, Blaauw will introduce a strategic workflow to identify and address muscle deficits in dysfunctional muscles, which is a key step for targeted therapeutic interventions. 

Key Topics Include:

• exploring how mass and size do not always go together, 

• discussing which intracellular processes are important in increasing muscle function, 

• analyzing how muscle activity/exercise impinges on some of these processes, and 

• identifying a workflow to identify sites of muscle deficit in dysfunctional muscles.

Speaker

Bert Blaauw, PhD, is an academic researcher from University of Padua in Italy. During the first phase of his independent career, he led the work that identified the functional role of mTORC1 in muscle homeostasis and growth. His current research explores various approaches to determine muscle function in whole muscles in vivo, isolated muscles ex vivo and isolated muscle fibers in vitro. This in-depth analysis of muscle function has allowed Blaauw’s lab to link changes in muscle signaling or structural proteins to alterations in muscle function and vice versa.

Sponsored by: