September 29, 2023 4:00 – 5:00 PM
Dr. Karyn Esser
Professor, Associate Director of Myology. University of Florida
“Muscle clocks and exercise; partners in health”
Email CSRmail@partners.org for Zoom link
Host: Dr. LaDora Thompson, lvthomp@bu.edu
Dr. Esser Short Bio:
Dr. Esser is Professor and Chair of the Physiology and Aging department and co-Director of the UF Pepper Center. Dr. Esser’s lab has been at the forefront in the study of circadian rhythms and skeletal muscle health. In 2002, her lab made a serendipitous discovery that genes controlling the body’s “biological clock” also were part the response of muscle to contractions. This discovery changed the trajectory of her research program to focus on understanding what the muscle circadian clocks are doing. Over the years, Dr Esser’s group has demonstrated that the muscle circadian clock is necessary for maintaining healthy metabolism and muscle strength. In addition, her work has uncovered a role for the muscle clock in contributing to features of sleep. Her lab is actively working on the following topics; 1) defining the molecular network in muscle regulated by the circadian clock 2) learning how exercise works with the circadian clock to help promote tissue and systemic health and 3) learning how aging changes the circadian clock function in skeletal muscle and other tissues;