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Gary Klug Associate Professor, Department of Human Physiology B.S., 1970, Wisconsin State Ph.D., 1980, Washington State Research Interests Chronic and acute adaptations in muscle due to exercise. Email

The primary focus of the work conducted in our laboratory is on the ability of activity to influence the type-specific characteristics of mammalian skeletal muscle. This line of experimentation is based on our findings that prolonged alterations in the normal innervation patterns received by muscle can radically influence structural and functional characteristics. More specifically, it has been observed that chronic low frequency stimulation of fast muscle produced by implantation of electrodes in the proximity of the motor nerve is capable of inducing "fast to slow"-type transformation in muscle contractile proteins, sarcoplasmic reticulum (a system critical in muscle relaxation), and various calcium-binding proteins and metabolic enzymes. A major emphasis of our research is to determine if such changes can be produced with more physiological stimuli such as exercise training and, if so, what type of altered activity patterns are most effective in eliciting them. In addition, we are using the models of exercise and chronic stimulation to clarify the physiological function of several cellular proteins such as the calcium-binding protein parvalbumin as well as to assess the contribution of these various systems to the overall regulation of muscle contractile activity.

Representative Publications