People

Alex Seabright - PhD Student

Education: BBSRC Midlands Integrative Biosciences Doctoral Training Program
Bio: Alex is from Cambridge, studied Sports and Exercise Sciences at the University of Birmingham, is a fitness enthusiast and competitive korfball player. He is currently striving for a sub-17 min parkrun time.

Ibrahim Musa - PhD Student

Education: Nigerian Government Funded PhD Studentship
Bio: Ibrahim holds an MSc in human physiology and worked as a lecturer in Nigeria, where he hopes to return to his wife and son following studying.
Research Aims: To understand the cellular mechanisms of muscle atrophy.

Dr Jonathan Barlow - Mitochondrial Profiling Centre & Lab Manager

Education: PhD in Biochemistry, University of Plymouth
Bio: Dr Barlow has more than 7 years’ experience using high resolution respirometry for assessing mitochondrial function in a wide range of different cells and tissues. His own research interests are targeted at understanding the involvement of mitochondria in the loss of pancreatic islet-cell function and mass in the development of diabetes.

Peter Dawson - PhD Student

Education: MRC & Arthritis UK Centre of Excellence in Musculoskeletal (MSK) Ageing Research Studentship
Bio: Peter comes from Worcestershire and enjoys cooking. He previously worked in a corporate career as a salesperson before entering higher education.
Research Aims: To elucidate the mechanisms of muscle atrophy by exploring MuRF1 signalling.

Sam Lord - MSc Student

Education: MSc by Research
Bio: Sam is from Sheffield, is a competitive badminton player, and engages in lots of charity work - recently completing Dig Deep in Kenya.
Research Aims: Studying protein-protein interaction in potential markers of muscle atrophy to identify and determine different proteins that may influence the outcome of these markers.

Yuske Nisimura - PhD Student

Education: Funded by the University of Birmingham
Bio: Yusuke was raised in Kyoto, Japan, loves football and travelling to new places. He is interested in using protein tracers in his research
Research Aims: Muscle protein metabolism in ageing, exercise, and nutrition

Dr Yu-Chiang Lai - Birmingham Fellow in Molecular Physiology and Biochemistry
Director of Mitochondrial Profiling Centre

Education: PhD Exercise Physiology, Norwegian School of Sport Science, Oslo, Norway
Bio: Yu-Chiang has 7 years of post-doctoral research experience, working in the De Duve Institute, Belgium, and the MRC protein phosphorylation and ubiquitylation unit (MRC-PPU), Dundee - He is interested in dissecting the signalling mechanism in muscle function and response to exercise. Yu-Chiang enjoys golfing and spending holidays with his family.