PhD students participating in August Krogh seminars receive 0,2 ECTS per seminar
AKC seminar: Skeletal Muscle-Specific Roles for an Oncogene in Exercise Adaptation
August Krogh Seminar
Coen Elemans
Associate Professor
M3R: Molecular Muscle Mass Regulation Laboratory, Department of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation, Exercise Science Research Center, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA.
Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Program, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA
Abstract
In skeletal muscle, exercise triggers a variety of transcription factors to become active and contribute to adaptation in muscle fibers. Much focus has been paid to myogenic (muscle-enriched) transcription factors; however, a wide array of other transcription factors are also activated in muscle fibers with exercise. The roles of these other (non-myogenic) transcription factors are less well-known. Our laboratory has shown that the oncogene MYC is among the most influential transcription factors driving the transcriptional response to resistance exercise in human and murine skeletal muscle.
This lecture will dive into the biology of MYC in skeletal muscle fibers and its role in exercise adaptation. We use murine exercise models, muscle-specific temporally inducible mouse models, multi-omics, histology, cell culture, and computation to reveal the roles of MYC in adult muscle fibers.
Links to relevant literature
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021925822009589
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1038/s44319-024-00299-z
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpcell.00528.2025
Researcher profile
Kevin A. Murach, PhD, received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, completed a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, then earned his PhD in Human Bioenergetics from the Ball State Human Performance Laboratory in Muncie, Indiana.
His dissertation was a collaboration with NASA aimed at optimizing the exercise prescription for astronauts on the International Space Station. Dr. Murach spent six years as a post-doctoral fellow/scholar studying muscle stem cells at the University of Kentucky Center for Muscle Biology in Lexington. Dr. Murach is an Associate Professor of Exercise Science.
He has earned an NIH R00, American Federation for Aging Research Junior Investigator Award (<10 awarded per year), an NIH R01, an NIH K02, and funding from the World Anti-Doping Agency as Principal Investigator. As a postdoc, he earned an NIH F32 postdoctoral fellowship and an NIH K99. He studies the biology of muscle aging and the effects of exercise.
Time
27 March 2026
12:00-13:00: Seminar and discussion
13:00-14:00: Post seminar servings and socializing
Venue
Auditorium 1, August Krogh Building, Universitetsparken 13, DK-2100 Copenhagen
Registration
Participation is free, but please register here.
For PhD students
PhD students participating in August Krogh seminars receive 0,2 ECTS per seminar
Contact
Anders Gudiksen, anders.gudiksen@bio.ku.dk
