Research summary
The natural process of aging tends to cause progressive loss of muscle mass and strength. Doctors call this condition sarcopenia—and although it may be normal, it can detract substantially from people’s quality of life as they age. As Canada Research Chair in Skeletal Muscle Health in Aging, Dr. Stuart Phillips is looking for innovative and effective strategies to mitigate sarcopenia.
Using state-of-the-art methods in human metabolic physiology that combine stable isotope tracers and blood and tissue samples, he and his research team are studying sarcopenia in people over the age of 60. They are probing molecular mechanisms to speed up the discovery of new treatments using cell culture models from human-derived muscle stem cells. Ultimately, they aim to use multiple approaches to understand how exercise and nutrition can affect muscle health.