Dr Mark C Turner

Supervisor Details

Contact Details

Centre for Health and Life Sciences, Coventry University

Scientific Background

Research Interests

My research interests primarily focus on the cellular and molecular responses of skeletal muscle in health and disease. I'm interested in how skeletal muscle metabolism changes across the life-course and diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and cancer. I use an integrative approach to investigate how we can induce adaptation which improve skeletal muscle metabolism through nutritional, exercise or pharmacological means to improve health and quality of life.

Supervision Style

In three words or phrases: supportive, collaborative and student-centred.

Provision of Training

I will provide training with the support of other members of the research group. The group will support and enable you to build confidence, designing and executing your own experiments to become an independent researcher.

Progression Monitoring and Management

Once you are confident and have established your laboratory skills, I will expect you to take full ownership of your progression but come to me when you need help troubleshooting. I will provide advice and guidance to help you reach the goals you set for yourself.

Communication

I may communicate outside of normal working hours however do not expect you to do the same. I have an open-door policy and should feel comfortable discussing any issues you encounter.

PhD Students can expect scheduled meetings with me:

In a group meeting

At least once a fortnight

In year 1 of PhD study

At least once a week

In year 2 of PhD study

At least once a fortnight

In year 3 of PhD study

At least once a fortnight

These meetings will be a mixture of face to face, via video chat or telephone, and I am usually contactable for an instant response on every working day.

Working Pattern

The timing of work in my lab is completely flexible, and (other than attending pre-arranged meetings), I expect students to manage their own time.

Notice Period for Feedback

I need at least 1 week’s notice to provide feedback on written work of up to 5000 words.

MIBTP Project Details

Current Projects (2025-26)

Primary supervisor for:

The role of exercise mimetics on proteostasis function and dysfunction in skeletal muscle

See the PhD Opportunities section to see if this project is currently open for applications via MIBTP.

Please Note: The main page lists projects via BBSRC Research Theme(s) quoted and then relevant Topic(s).

The role of exercise mimetics on proteostasis function and dysfunction in skeletal muscle

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Yu-Chiang Lai

University of Registration: Coventry University

BBSRC Research Themes: Integrated Understanding of Health (Ageing)

Project Outline

Skeletal muscle accounts for approximately 60% of total body mass and is pivotal for maintaining whole-body health [1]. Physical inactivity, disuse, or ageing lead to proteostasis dysfunction, resulting in a decline in skeletal muscle mass. Multiple pathways regulate proteostasis to ensure the maintenance of protein turnover and quality [2]. However, despite the gradual loss in skeletal muscle mass across the life course, there is limited knowledge on the pathways that regulate protein breakdown and its role in proteostasis dysfunction [3].

Maintaining an active lifestyle, through regular exercise, can attenuate the decline in muscle mass and improve the quality of life by promoting positive cellular, tissue and whole-body adaptions [4]. Exercise mimetics, such as electrical pulse stimulation (EPS)), provide insight into molecular adaptions of skeletal muscle at the cellular level [5]. Recent advances in the mechanisms that regulate exercise-induced protein degradation and its importance in maintaining proteostasis have been identified [3]; however, there remains gaps in the literature as to the role of exercise mimetics play in the regulation of protein breakdown in skeletal muscle.

Aim

The aim of this project is to elucidate the cellular mechanisms underlying skeletal muscle proteostasis dysfunction and investigate how exercise mimetics can mitigate this dysfunction.

Objective 1: To establish the factors implicated in the dysregulation of skeletal muscle proteostasis.

Objective 2: To determine the exercise mimetic induced proteostasis response in human skeletal muscle cells.

Objective 3: To interrogate the molecular mechanism of exercise induced reversal of muscle breakdown in cellular ageing of skeletal muscle cells exposed to exercise mimetics.

Methods

The project will utilise the molecular tools established by the Lai group (University of Birmingham) and EPS methods established by the Turner group (Coventry University) to understand the mechanisms that underpin the skeletal muscle proteostasis in response to exercise mimetics. The project will generate a holistic picture using advanced analytical approaches (e.g. RNA-Sequencing, Proteomics, Immunoblotting and Immunohistochemistry) to determine the mechanisms which regulate protein degradation and the response to exercise mimetics.

References

1. McLeod, M., et al., Live strong and prosper: the importance of skeletal muscle strength for healthy ageing. Biogerontology, 2016. 17(3): p. 497-510.

2. Lemmer, I.L., et al., A guide to understanding endoplasmic reticulum stress in metabolic disorders. Mol Metab, 2021. 47: p. 101169.

3. Nishimura, Y., et al., Recent advances in measuring and understanding the regulation of exercise-mediated protein degradation in skeletal muscle. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, 2021. 321(2): p. C276-C287.

4. Egan, B. and A.P. Sharples, Molecular responses to acute exercise and their relevance for adaptations in skeletal muscle to exercise training. Physiol Rev, 2023. 103(3): p. 2057-2170.

5. Mengeste, A.M., et al., Insight Into the Metabolic Adaptations of Electrically Pulse-Stimulated Human Myotubes Using Global Analysis of the Transcriptome and Proteome. Front Physiol, 2022. 13: p. 928195.

Co-supervisor on a project with Dr Lucas Guimaraes Ferreira.