Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Biological membranes that surround every cell in our body are important selectively permeable barriers that carry out many critical cellular processes associated with cell growth, communication, and metabolism.  Membrane structure is dependent, in part, on its fatty acid composition.  Alterations to membrane structure can impact cellular function. The major focus of the proposed research is to examine how membrane structure is influenced with diet (high fat) and exercise (endurance training) by examining the fatty acid composition of specific skeletal muscle organelles.  Specifically, this proposal addressed the significance of different kinds of dietary fats (saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats) and their role in membrane remodelling.  The long-term goals of this research program are to compare and contrast the underlying physiological and metabolic adaptations in healthy mammalian skeletal muscle with nutrition and physical activity and how these adaptations differ under certain metabolic disorders such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.