Public Health and Health Professions
Hepple Lab
Led by Russell T Hepple · Physical Therapy
What we study
The Hepple Lab studies how aging affects skeletal muscle and its mitochondria, focusing on muscle loss and dysfunction in health and disease. They use experiments on mice and humans to explore mechanisms like denervation and mitochondrial dysfunction.
What working here is like
- Wet lab
- Clinical
- Mice
- Human participants
- Projects
- 2
- Papers
- 5
Current projects
Study of Muscle, Mobility and Aging (SOMMA)
A large human cohort study examining muscle biology and mobility decline with aging.
Mitochondrial permeability transition in cancer cachexia
Investigating how mitochondrial dysfunction drives muscle wasting in cancer.
Summaries are written by AI in plain language from public symposium abstracts and may be imperfect.
Recent papers, explained
- Striatal dopamine and skeletal muscle energy metabolism in older adults
2026 · The Journals of Gerontology Series A
Links brain dopamine levels to muscle energy production in older adults.
- Entropy of Muscle Fiber Histology Predicts Mobility in Older Adults: The Study of Muscle, Mobility, and Aging
2026 · Aging Cell
Shows muscle disorganization predicts mobility decline in older adults.
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- Evaluation of L-Kynurenine–Aryl Hydrocarbon Signaling as a Modulator of Physical Function in Aging Mice
2026 · Physiology
Examines if blocking a protein linked to frailty improves muscle function in aging mice.
- Skeletal muscle transcriptomic profile of older adults with high-impact musculoskeletal pain in the study of muscle, mobility and aging (SOMMA)
2026 · Molecular Pain
Analyzes muscle gene activity in older adults with high-impact musculoskeletal pain.
- Mitochondrial permeability transition in skeletal muscle phenocopies muscle alterations seen in cancer cachexia and other wasting conditions
2026 · The Journal of Physiology
Tests if mitochondrial permeability transition mimics muscle changes in wasting conditions.
Plain-language summaries are AI-written and reviewed by us; check the paper for details.
How to reach out
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