Michael Sturek, MS, PhD

APS members are doing amazing things. We asked Michael Sturek, MS, PhD—one of our esteemed member-researchers—to tell us about his work and its implications on our understanding of life and health. He also shares why he would likely be coaching football or other sports if he wasn’t a scientist.

Tell us about your research.

MS: I’m a professor of physiology with an appointment in cardiology at Indiana University School of Medicine and adjunct appointment in biomedical engineering at Purdue University. I primarily study metabolic and cardiovascular disease, from molecular and cellular regulation to intact animals and tissues from human patients. I enjoy diverse approaches such as peering through a microscope into a vascular cell at calcium shuttling between compartments to measuring blood flow in the intact heart in pigs exercising on a treadmill or being viewed with intracoronary catheters. My group also studies human tissue to strive for translation of our work to human health, disease and treatment.

Give it context.

MS: Preventing and treating diabetes and coronary disease has been my “heart throb” since my son was diagnosed with diabetes when he was three years old. I wake up every day seeking translation to the clinic. It’s been a long, continuing journey, which has included capturing feral pigs on Ossabaw Island. Their unique genetic makeup from their survival of the feast and famine ecology and their heart that is nearly identical to a human heart have made Ossabaw miniature pig the premiere model of these human diseases. Integrative and broad training in physiology, along with a “get it done” attitude, have been fundamental to pursuing my lines of research.

What would you be doing if not science? Describe your passion.

MS: I probably would have been a football coach, because I had enough success playing and I learned many lessons from the sport. Desire, determination, dedication became life skills. The impact on youth and society can be phenomenal. Fundamental to success is physical fitness; in fact, I loved off-season training as much or more than being on the field during the season. Thus, sport makes its greatest impact on lifelong fitness for health and wellness. In the end, the practical desire to make the most impact motivated me to choose physiology as a career over coaching (although I had my share as an unpaid little league coach 😊).