Current research projects
--Redox (aka "antioxidants") nutrition supplements
--The role of blood as a regulator of tissue redox status
--The use of animal models to study the redox biology of humans
--The meaning of redox inter-individual variability in response to stress
--Validation of exercise models as a tool to study redox homeostasis dynamics
--Conceptual shifts on the scientific and public understanding of free radicals
--Redox (aka "antioxidants") nutrition supplements
--The role of blood as a regulator of tissue redox status
--The use of animal models to study the redox biology of humans
--The meaning of redox inter-individual variability in response to stress
--Validation of exercise models as a tool to study redox homeostasis dynamics
--Conceptual shifts on the scientific and public understanding of free radicals
Perspective to tackle problems in redox biology
During the last decade, the area of redox biology (also known as free radical biology or oxidative stress biology) has witnessed many remarkable developments. Reactive species have been found to serve a multitude of diverse purposes, from controlling the signalling of intracellular pathways, to enzyme activation and to antibiotic synthesis. At the same time, the significance of reactive species (also referred to as reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and includes free radicals) has been further underlined by the emerging links between cellular redox events and many human diseases. In addition, from the initial belief that reactive species and oxidative stress were largely harmful entities (i.e., produced via uncontrolled processes) to the currently supported view that they also serve useful purposes (i.e., produced via controlled processes), a lot of development has been attained. As a result of this progress in basic redox biology, the subfield of redox biology of exercise has also markedly advanced. From the largely descriptive nature of the first attempts on this field using crude techniques to the today’s studies addressing the effects of reactive species employing state of the art analytical techniques, a large volume of knowledge has been accumulated. Our central aim is to explore the potential biochemical mechanisms through which exercise may interfere with blood, muscle and whole body function, and whether alterations in free radical concentration through redox agent supplementation affects the smooth function of an organism. However, it has to be stressed that the molecular mechanisms solely explain how the phenomena at the higher level (i.e., organism) are possible and cannot accurately predict what the higher level phenomena will actually be in any given instance. As mentioned by Prof. Pigliucci, “to look to molecular biology to finally get organismal research out of its quagmire of complexity is like waiting for Godot” (Basic Appl Ecol 4: 297–306, 2003).
During the last decade, the area of redox biology (also known as free radical biology or oxidative stress biology) has witnessed many remarkable developments. Reactive species have been found to serve a multitude of diverse purposes, from controlling the signalling of intracellular pathways, to enzyme activation and to antibiotic synthesis. At the same time, the significance of reactive species (also referred to as reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and includes free radicals) has been further underlined by the emerging links between cellular redox events and many human diseases. In addition, from the initial belief that reactive species and oxidative stress were largely harmful entities (i.e., produced via uncontrolled processes) to the currently supported view that they also serve useful purposes (i.e., produced via controlled processes), a lot of development has been attained. As a result of this progress in basic redox biology, the subfield of redox biology of exercise has also markedly advanced. From the largely descriptive nature of the first attempts on this field using crude techniques to the today’s studies addressing the effects of reactive species employing state of the art analytical techniques, a large volume of knowledge has been accumulated. Our central aim is to explore the potential biochemical mechanisms through which exercise may interfere with blood, muscle and whole body function, and whether alterations in free radical concentration through redox agent supplementation affects the smooth function of an organism. However, it has to be stressed that the molecular mechanisms solely explain how the phenomena at the higher level (i.e., organism) are possible and cannot accurately predict what the higher level phenomena will actually be in any given instance. As mentioned by Prof. Pigliucci, “to look to molecular biology to finally get organismal research out of its quagmire of complexity is like waiting for Godot” (Basic Appl Ecol 4: 297–306, 2003).