Cardiovascular, Muscle & Metabolism Science Seminar: September 8, 2025
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"The Impact of Exercise on Alternative Splicing in Skeletal Muscle"
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Speaker: Date: Monday, September 8, 2025, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Location:
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Register Here
*Zoom option available
Description
Dr. Andrew Ludlow’s talk explores how exercise and metabolic disease reshape gene expression in skeletal muscle, with a particular focus on alternative splicing. Leveraging both short-read and long-read RNA sequencing, his research reveals that acute endurance exercise induces dynamic changes in splicing patterns altering mRNA variants and the function of key RNA-binding proteins, changes that standard transcriptomic methods often miss. Extending beyond exercise, Dr. Ludlow will present new findings from CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of the glyoxalase I (GLO1) gene in muscle cells, investigating its impact on muscle cell differentiation and gene regulation. Additionally, the talk will highlight differences in alternative splicing signatures in type 2 diabetic skeletal muscle before and after interventions, illustrating how these molecular mechanisms contribute to muscle adaptation and metabolic health. Together, these studies point to previously unrecognized layers of gene regulation in muscle and suggest new avenues for improving muscle function and treating metabolic disease.
About the Speaker
Dr. Andrew Ludlow is an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan, whose research bridges exercise physiology, molecular biology, and the intricacies of aging. He received both his master’s and Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from the University of Maryland under the mentorship of Dr. Steve Roth. It was here that Dr. Ludlow developed a passion for understanding aging, telomere biology, and the effects of exercise at the cellular level. During this formative period, he made key discoveries demonstrating that physical activity preserves telomere length in humans and exerts tissue-specific effects on both telomere length and telomerase activity.
This interest in telomere biology led Dr. Ludlow to pursue postdoctoral research in the joint laboratory of Drs. Jerry Shay and Woodring Wright. During this time, he innovatively adapted the standard telomerase enzyme activity assay to a droplet digital PCR platform. This adaptation enabled single-cell measurements and higher throughput of telomerase activity, revealing remarkable heterogeneity among tumor cells and allowing screening of telomerase modulators on a greater scale than previously achieved.
Supported by a NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00), Dr. Ludlow went on to discover the first RNA-binding protein that regulates TERT alternative splicing and telomerase activity. This breakthrough opened new avenues for developing telomerase inhibition strategies in cancer therapeutics.
At the University of Michigan, Dr. Ludlow continues to advance the frontiers of telomerase and TERT alternative splicing research in both cancer cells and stem cells. He has also re-engaged his foundational passion for exercise physiology, integrating his expertise in cell and molecular biology to explore how physical activity influences cellular aging processes. His lab is currently supported by two NIH R grants. One investigating the physiological role of TERT splicing isoforms and the other investigating detoxifying enzymes in metabolic disease.
Dr. Ludlow’s work is characterized by a commitment to interdisciplinary research and innovation, aiming to translate molecular insights into meaningful strategies for health and disease prevention.
About the Seminar Series
The goal of the NextGen Cardiovascular, Muscle & Metabolism Science Seminar is to highlight transdisciplinary precision research taking place in cardiovascular, muscle and metabolism fields; provide opportunities for collaboration among researchers to build their own research efforts; and promote clinical/researcher activity across the University of Missouri System and our partners.
For questions about this event, please reach out to Mackenzie Lynch.