Mark Miller, PhD
My primary interest is investigating the effects of aging and exercise on human skeletal muscle in males and females at the whole body, tissue, single fiber and molecular levels. The goal is to understand how alterations at the molecular and single fiber levels affect whole muscle contraction in order to find potential sex-specific countermeasures to prevent the age-related loss of muscle performance. The laboratory combines the use of advanced engineering methods to measure muscle function at the molecular and single fiber levels with imaging techniques to examine muscle structure from the myofibril to the tissue level, biochemical techniques to quantify proteins as well as techniques to analyze the whole body skeletal muscle contractile performance.
Gregory Spicer, PhD
Greg is a post-doctoral research fellow in the Muscle Biology Lab. He earned his undergraduate degree in Biology from Saint Anselm College in 2016 and his Master’s (2018) and PhD (2021) from Springfield College, both in Exercise Physiology. His dissertation research compared the acute effects of high intensity interval exercise and moderate intensity continuous exercise on brain-derived neurotrophic factor, arterial stiffness, state anxiety, and cognitive function. Greg is generally interested in how skeletal muscle function relates to aspects of cardiovascular, neurological, and metabolic health.
Brent Momb, M.S.
Brent received his undergraduate degree in Kinesiology from Gonzaga University and his Masters degree in Exercise Physiology from Springfield College. He is interested in skeletal muscle structure and function in diseased populations, primarily stage 3 and 4 chronic kidney disease. Brent’s current research project in the Muscle Biology Laboratory seeks to determine changes in skeletal muscle cellular and molecular contractile function in mice with chronic kidney disease.
Christopher Lee, M.S.
Chris is a first-year PhD student in the Muscle Biology Lab. He received his Bachelor’s in Kinesiology-Exercise Science and Master’s in Kinesiology from California State University, Northridge. He has been involved in health, exercise, and fitness since his time in the military from 2009 to 2015 and throughout his academic career with sports performance and community engagement. He is interested in skeletal muscle physiology and the molecular and cellular function in aging adults.
Philip Woods, B.S.
Phillip is a current master’s student and Graduate Research Assistant in the Muscle Biology Lab. He graduated from UMass Amherst in 2019 with B.S. in Nutrition and served as the Lab Technician for the MBL after graduation, aiding in preparing skeletal muscle fibers for experimentation. Phillip’s thesis work will revolve around the investigation of stretch activation, a mechanical phenomenon in which a delayed increase in force is observed following a rapid stretch of a calcium activated muscle fiber, and its role during fatigue in fast and slow mouse skeletal muscle fibers.
Matt Limoges, M.S.
Matt is the project coordinator and exercise trainer for the CHAMP study. He holds two degrees in Exercise and Sport Science. A Master’s in Exercise Physiology, and a Bachelor’s in Clinical Exercise Science. Both degrees were received from Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY. Matt has been in the health, wellness, and fitness industry since 2008 and has worked in several academic, clinical, commercial, and private health and fitness settings.
Shay Stanley, B.S.
Shaye is currently the Laboratory Technician for the Muscle Biology Laboratory. She completed her undergraduate degree in Kinesiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2021. During her undergraduate studies, she completed an Honors Thesis in the Muscle Biology Laboratory quantifying intramyocellular lipid content in younger, normal and higher BMI groups and an older, normal BMI group for the R21 study. She also spent time as an undergraduate analyzing myosin heavy chain (MHC) fiber type distribution and cross sectional areas of fibers of cross sections of tissue for the CHAMP study.