Dr. Tyler Churchward-Venne Receives CIHR Project Grant

Congratulations to Dr. Tyler Churchward-Venne, Assistant Professor within McGill's Kinesiology and Physical Education (KPE) Department, who was recently awarded a coveted Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant!  Dr. Churchward-Venne will be receiving $420,750 over three years to advance his research on ketone bodies as therapeutic agents to reduce the harmful effects of bed rest on muscle mass and metabolic health in older adults. Dr. Churchward-Venne's project was one of 17 McGill projects to have been awarded with CIHR Project funding.

Research Project Summary:

Bed rest is a common feature of many clinical environments such as hospitals and long-term care facilities; however, the physical inactivity associated with bed rest results in reductions in muscle size, muscle strength, and physical performance that can lead to a reduced quality of life and a higher risk of disease and death. Eating protein-rich foods and exercising normally helps to maintain muscle size by building proteins found in muscle, yet during bed rest there is a reduction in the rate at which proteins found in muscle are made, resulting in smaller muscles. Other issues resulting from bed rest include blood glucose regulation and insulin resistance, which can increase the risk for diabetes. The combined problem of the loss of muscle size and the insulin resistance are linked to cellular problems affecting mitochondria. Mitochondria do a lot of important things, including keeping our cells full of energy.

Bed rest occurs more frequently in older adults and also negatively impacts their health. Sadly, there are limited options to prevent the problems associated with bed rest. Ketone bodies are molecules that come from fat that are normally produced in the body in response to reduced carbohydrate intake (i.e. a ketogenic diet). Recently ketone supplements have become available, which increase the amount of ketone bodies in the body without the need to limit carbohydrate intake from food. Elevated ketone bodies may help protect muscle size and health during bed rest by enhancing the process of building muscle proteins, improving blood glucose regulation, and helping mitochondria work optimally. Pricipal Investigator, Dr. Churchward-Venne, working with Stéphanie Chevalier, Gilles Gouspillou, and José A. Morais will work to determine whether ketone supplements can prevent the typical decline in muscle size, protein synthesis, insulin sensitivity, and muscle mitochondrial function that occurs in response to bed rest. This project may positively affect the heath of older adults and recovery speed from bed rest.