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Biography
Sophie Joanisse is an Assistant Professor in Exercise Science, she completed an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology and a Master's in Human Kinetics at Laurentian University (Canada) before moving to McMaster University (Canada) where she completed a PhD in Kinesiology. Following her PhD, Sophie moved to the University of Birmingham as a postdoctoral fellow/scientific research officer, where she helped establish the mitochondrial profiling centre. She then returned to McMaster to complete a second postdoctoral fellowship before joining Manchester Metropolitan University as a Senior Lecturer in Exercise Physiology in 2020. In September 2023, Sophie joined the University of Nottingham to establish her own research group in the Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience Division within the School of Life Sciences.
Sophie's research is largely focused on the molecular mechanisms underlying skeletal muscle remodeling (e.g., atrophy/hypertrophy), repair and regeneration regulation. Her previous work was fundamental in challenging common dogma that skeletal muscle stem cells/satellite cells (MuSC) were only necessary to support hypertrophic adaptation (e.g. after resistance training) in humans; her work described a novel role for MuSC in supporting non-hypertrophic muscle remodeling following endurance-type exercise.
She is particularly interested in MuSC, cells essential in the skeletal muscle repair process, and how their association with other structures (e.g., capillaries, ECM) and cell types (e.g., adipocytes, fibroblasts, inflammatory cells) within skeletal muscle can impact their function. Her more recent research focuses on understanding the role of female sex hormones on MuSC biology in young, middle-aged and older adults.
Expertise Summary
Skeletal muscle mass regulation, regeneration, satellite cells, in vitro/ex vivo/in vivo models