Christopher Sundberg
University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI·Physiology
As people age, their muscles shrink, a condition called sarcopenia. But their ability to produce power falls even faster, called dynapenia, and their muscles tire more quickly during movement.
- Fields
Physiology
Medicine & Clinical Research
Biophysics
- Topics
skeletal muscle
aging
sarcopenia
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jan 2031
What they work on
- Measure how the protein content of slow and fast muscle fibers changes as they shrink with age in older males and females, using single-fiber proteomics and 3D fiber imaging on the same fibers.
- Determine whether age-related power loss in single fibers is driven by fiber size or by altered cross-bridge mechanics, the molecular contacts that generate force, by pairing contractile testing with 3D imaging or proteomics.
- Identify fiber type-specific protein profiles that predict whole-muscle weakness and fatigue in older adults, using machine learning.
More about the research
This limits mobility, raises the risk of falls and lowers quality of life. A likely piece of the puzzle is that aging affects slow and fast muscle fibers, the two main types of muscle cells, in different ways. After about 25 years of research, scientists still do not know how much power loss comes from fibers shrinking versus fibers working less well.
Why it matters
Weak, easily tired muscles make daily activities harder for adults aged 65 and older, especially women. Older adults with sarcopenia, power loss and fatigue may eventually benefit if this work identifies the proteins and fiber changes behind age-related muscle decline. Those proteins could become therapeutic targets for preventing loss of muscle size and function, and the work may reveal sex differences that affect treatment.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Bumsoo Ahn
Wake Forest University, NC·Physiology·Early-career
Test whether unacylated ghrelin (UnAG) combined with endurance exercise boosts mitochondrial energy production and lowers oxidative stress in skeletal muscle of older mice, compared with either treatment alone.
Orlando Laitano
University of Florida, FL·Physiology
Test whether deleting Nox2, Nox4, or both specifically in muscle fibers — using myoAAV, a virus engineered to enter muscle — protects septic mice from weakness and atrophy during hindlimb disuse, measured by contractile force and muscle mass.
Sarah Lessard
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, VA·Physiology
Determine how chronic hyperglycemia alters production of the extracellular matrix, the protein scaffold around muscle fibers, and how that changes the mechanical properties of skeletal muscle.
The school
University of Wisconsin-Madison: 91 labs on PI Pages, $1.9B a year on research, 854 research doctorates a year.
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