What did your genes do for you today?

Researcher : Dr. Stephen Roth
Lab : Functional Genomics Laboratory
Looking Forward : This finding could someday lead to treatment for muscle diseases, including helping the elderly who suffer from muscle deterioration and improving muscle performance in endurance athletes.

Are Your Genes Working for or Against Your Health?

Today, everyone knows that genes are important, but did you know that some times our genes work against us when we are exercising?  For most people, exercising results better health.  However, some individuals show little to no positive physiological response to exercise training. Dr. Roth and his collaborators have begun to identify specific genes that appear to contribute to differences in skeletal muscle mass and strength, which someday may be useful in identifying men and women at increased risk of age-related muscle losses. For example, blood pressure is known to improve in response to physical activity for most people, but it doesn't improve in some.

We are studying the genetic factors that may be responsible for such non-responders (as well as for "super-responders"), and how this information might be used to help them. Dr. Stephen Roth, an Assistant Professor in Kinesiology, studies the genetic factors that may be responsible for such non-responders (as well as for "super-responders"), and how this information might be used to help them improve their health risk factors. 

Leading Genetic Research

For the past 7 years, Dr. Roth has examined the role of genetic variation in the responses and adaptations of various phenotypes to exercise training. He directs the Functional Genomics Laboratory in the Department of Kinesiology and he maintains a number of collaborations with faculty in the department and around the country interested in these research questions.

Most of Dr. Roth's NIH-funded work has been dedicated to understanding the role of genetic factors in skeletal muscle phenotypes, especially aging muscle. Muscle strength and mass diminish with age, though the rate of loss differs among individuals. Dr. Roth and his collaborators have begun to identify specific genes that appear to contribute to differences in skeletal muscle mass and strength, which someday may be useful in identifying men and women at increased risk of age-related muscle losses. In 2004, Dr. Roth's group identified the first gene (VDR) to be associated with sarcopenia, the name of the condition that describes low muscle mass in older individuals. In collaboration with Dr. Ben Hurley, he is also studying the adaptation of muscle to strength training, and how genetic variation plays a role in those responses.

Interdisiplinary and Institutional Collaboration

Dr. Roth is collaborating on two other NIH-funded studies related to genetics and exercise. In 2004, Dr. Roth's group identified the first gene (VDR) to be associated with sarcopenia, the name of the condition that describes low muscle mass in older individuals. The first in collaboration with Dr. Bradley Hatfield of the department, is examining the role of physical activity in reducing the risk of dementia in genetically susceptible individuals. This research may have important implications for individuals with a genetic susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease. The second collaboration is with Temple University, with the research questions aimed at understanding the role of genetic factors in the response of blood pressure and blood pressure regulation to exercise training in African Americans. African Americans have disproportionately high rates of blood pressure, and this work may someday help improve treatment for this population. 

Recent Publications

Dr. Roth is a co-author of the regularly published Human Gene Map for Performance and Health-related Fitness Phenotypes, which reviews the growing literature in the area of genetics and exercise science. In the future, this research may lead to "individualized" exercise prescription, allowing more targeted use of exercise, especially for the non-responders and super-responders. In 2007, Human Kinetics published Dr. Roth's textbook in this area, Genetics Primer for Exercise Science and Health.