SUMMARY
The research of Mark W. Pataky, Ph.D., M.S., explores how exercise improves metabolic health. Dr. Pataky uses human skeletal muscle biopsies, rodent models, cell culture models and molecular biology techniques.
These techniques unveil the molecular mechanisms of exercise that result in improved insulin sensitivity. These studies lay the groundwork for development and optimization of therapies to effectively combat insulin resistance and diabetes.
Dr. Pataky identifies molecular responses to different exercise training modes, such as aerobic versus resistance, in the context of aging, metabolic diseases and biological sex.
Focus areas
Post-exercise molecular signaling in skeletal muscle. Post-translational modifications (PTM) to skeletal muscle proteins can alter enzyme activity, protein stability, intracellular signaling, and protein localization or transport. Dr. Pataky studies the PTM of phosphoproteome and acetylproteome, metabolomic, and transcriptomic changes in skeletal muscle as well as other cardiometabolic outcomes.
He studies these outcomes following aerobic and resistance exercise to gain a better understanding of what molecular signaling events are important for metabolic health.
Skeletal muscle protein turnover. Removal of damaged proteins and synthesis of new functional proteins are critically important for skeletal muscle function. Muscle proteomic maintenance is altered by exercise training.
Dr. Pataky uses stable isotope approaches in humans, rodents, and cell cultures to identify exercise changes in protein synthesis and degradation in response to different exercise modes. He measures the synthesis of hundreds of individual proteins to develop and optimize an in-depth understanding of muscle protein turnover.
Sex differences in exercise responses. Molecular responses to distinct exercise modes appear to differ in men and women. Dr. Pataky has recently uncovered that the sex differences in the skeletal muscle signature appears to be mostly driven by sex hormones.
These hormones influence exercise responses. He studies the direct role of sex hormones on the response to exercise and how this differentially influences metabolic health between sexes.
Significance to patient care
Dr. Pataky's research provides the groundwork for the development and optimization of therapies and drugs that can prevent metabolic diseases. These therapies and drugs are important for those who are unable to exercise at a high enough intensity to reap the full benefits of a workout. Dr. Pataky closes the gap in our understanding of how the different sexes respond to different training modes throughout their lifespan. This enables healthcare professionals to provide more informed and individualized exercise prescriptions.