Education Health & Safety Science

WFU Will Collaborate On National Study Of Exercise At The Molecular Level

by Bethany Chafin

Wake Forest University professors will join scientists from around the country to research the health benefits of exercise on the smallest biological scale.

Wake Forest University will partner with colleges across the county to take part in a large national study. The $170 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will fund research on how exercise affects the body at the molecular level.

The study will include people of various ages, ethnic groups and fitness levels. Dr. Jack Rejeski with Wake Forest's Department of Health and Exercise Science says we know that exercise has positive health benefits, but we don't yet fully understand the microscopic mechanisms enabling those benefits.
 

"This is the first large-scale study of over 3,000 people to try to nail down exactly what is happening at the molecular level when people engage in a variety of exercises all the way from aerobic work involving treadmill exercise or riding a bike or even lifting weights," he says.

Scientists will look at blood samples as well as muscle tissue and fat tissue samples from participants before, during and after exercise. Some exercise studies will take place over an extended period of time, while others will track a single session of activity. The project is funded through 2022.

Drs. Anthony Marsh and Mike Miller of Wake Forest will also work with Rejeski on the research.

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