Human Performance Laboratory

Muscle Biopsy Laboratory

Muscle biopsies have historically played an important role in advancing our understanding of the adaptations of muscle to exercise. From acute exercise responses of different exercise protocols to the differential effects of training, the examination of changes in skeletal muscle allow greater understanding of the adaptive mechanisms mediating functional and performance related outcomes. The skeletal muscle biopsy procedure allows for the direct measurement of a wide array of variables in muscle such as muscle fiber typing, receptor analyses, glycogen storage, cellular and molecular signaling, and gene expression.

This laboratory area is also used for the determination of resting metabolic rate using indirect spirometry methodology. This is vital to many studies related to changes in muscle metabolism.