College of Medicine
Esser Lab
Led by Karyn Esser · Physiology and Aging
What we study
The Esser Lab studies the circadian clock inside skeletal muscle: how it shapes muscle health, exercise adaptation and aging, and what goes wrong in conditions such as muscular dystrophy and cancer cachexia. It also uses -omics platforms on human muscle samples from the SOMMA aging study.
What working here is like
- Wet lab
- Cells in a dish
- Coding helps
- Projects
- 4
- Papers
- 5
Current projects
Studies on circadian clock in muscle for healthy aging and diseases
Investigating how muscle circadian rhythms affect aging and conditions like muscular dystrophy and cancer cachexia.
Mechanisms of circadian clock in muscle and exercise
Exploring how muscle clocks influence exercise adaptations and performance.
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SOMMA aging study
Using -omics platforms to study molecular changes in muscle during human aging.
Impact of Uremic Toxins on Circadian Clock Function in C2C12 Myotubes
The lab studies how the toxin indoxyl sulfate, found in kidney disease, may disturb the daily rhythm of muscle cells. They will grow C2C12 myotubes, stain them, and record BMAL‑luciferase activity to see if the toxin changes rhythm amplitude, damping, or phase.
From the Spring 2025 UF Undergraduate Research Symposium · abstract book, p. 429
Summaries are written by AI in plain language from public symposium abstracts and may be imperfect.
Recent papers, explained
- FBXL21 regulates diurnal proteostasis in skeletal muscle by targeting DNAJB6 and client proteins
2026 · EMBO Reports
Finds a protein that helps muscles repair daily, targeting another protein.
- Pancreatic Cancer Disrupts Circadian Patterns of Gene Expression in Cardiorespiratory Muscles
2026 · Journal of Cachexia Sarcopenia and Muscle
Shows how pancreatic cancer disrupts daily rhythms in heart and lung muscles.
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- Biomarkers of Individual Health Status Provide a Biological Signature of the Whole Person Living with Chronic Pain
2026 · Biomedicines
Shows how health markers beyond pain could help track chronic pain patients.
- Hepatocyte FAM210A deficiency disrupts mitochondrial function and triggers juvenile steatosis with compensatory repair in adulthood
2026 · Communications Biology
Finds a protein that helps liver cells grow and function properly.
- Quantifying Background Bioluminescence in C2C12 Cells Across Lumicycle Instruments
2026 · UF Journal of Undergraduate Research
Tests how well different machines measure light from glowing cells.
Plain-language summaries are AI-written and reviewed by us; check the paper for details.
How to reach out
Karyn Esser hasn't set up this page yet. Their UF Scholars profile lists their publications.