Member Spotlight

Q&A with Professor Gordon S. Lynch, Ph.D., Professor of Physiology, Head of Department, The University of Melbourne from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

		"I have always been fascinated by the ability of muscles to adapt to different interventions, especially exercise.  My Ph.D. thesis investigated exercise adaptations in muscle function at the cellular level and included a study on how exercise affected these properties in muscle fibers from old rats."
Meet Gordon.

Q: Why did you become a member and how does GSA assist with your professional development?
A: I became a member of the GSA in 2005.  I had completed postdoctoral training at the Institute of Gerontology at The University of Michigan back in 1997 and wanted to keep well informed about all aspects of this broad field.  In addition to my ongoing academic career, in 2000 I had co-founded a company with two friends and colleagues developing online health and wellness programs that especially promoted healthy aging. The GSA and especially its publications, helped keep me informed about all aspects of aging and how to improve these online health programs.  Fortunately the company was quite successful with offices in Melbourne and London (U.K.) and was sold to a major Australian health insurer/provider in 2009.  Some of my lab’s work has appeared in GSA’s journals. The GSA’s multidisciplinary coverage of gerontology is very important because it helps put the results from basic and applied research into an appropriate context and translate findings into practice.

Q: How did you get interested in the field of aging?
A: I have always been fascinated by the ability of muscles to adapt to different interventions, especially exercise.  My Ph.D. thesis investigated exercise adaptations in muscle function at the cellular level and included a study on how exercise affected these properties in muscle fibers from old rats.  After my Ph.D. I was fortunate to secure a research fellowship to undertake postdoctoral training at The University of Michigan with renowned physiologist, Professor John A. Faulkner, a leading researcher on sarcopenia – age-related muscle wasting and weakness.  I completed a wonderful traineeship at the Institute of Gerontology and after 2½ years returned to Melbourne, eventually securing a faculty appointment in the Department of Physiology at The University of Melbourne, where I had completed my Ph.D.  I was fortunate to establish an excellent lab studying muscle wasting conditions including muscle diseases like the muscular dystrophies, cancer cachexia, and of course, sarcopenia.

Q: What are your key responsibilities at your job?
A: As a Professor of Physiology, I lead a thriving group of talented researchers including other faculty, research fellows and other postdoctoral scientists, research assistants, graduate students and Honors undergraduate students.  I do a fair amount of teaching; convening courses and giving many lectures to undergraduate and graduate students in medicine, physical therapy, biomedical sciences, biomedical engineering and the basic sciences.  I am also the Head of the Department of Physiology (Department Chair) and have a range of different administrative, financial, and leadership responsibilities in the department, faculty and broader university.

Q: What has been your most valuable contribution to gerontology and aging research?
A: I think one of the most valuable contributions to the field has been my training of younger scientists in studying sarcopenia and other muscle wasting disorders.  I have been fortunate to have trained many successful graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who have gone on to become successful independent researchers.  In 2009, I was humbled to receive national recognition for my mentoring achievements through a Citation Award from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) for sustained excellence in supervision, support and mentoring of graduate scholars in the biomedical sciences.

My laboratory’s research over the last 15 years on beta-adrenergic signaling has formed the scientific basis for multiple clinical trials investigating the use of beta-adrenoceptor agonists for tackling muscle wasting in patients with cancer cachexia.  We have been investing a lot of effort over the last four or five years on developing new approaches to tackle muscle disorders and some of these have been published and others are still being perfected. My sole edited textbook ‘Sarcopenia – Age-Related Muscle Wasting and Weakness’ (ISBN: 978-90-481-9712-5, Springer) is a leading resource for scientists and clinicians on mechanisms and treatments for sarcopenia.

Q: Do you have any tips for emerging gerontologists?
A: Your choice of mentor and laboratory to undertake postdoctoral training is very important.  If you are trying to establish an independent laboratory, then having credentials in gerontology, such as through completion of an established traineeship, will help you compete favorably for fellowship and grant funding.

Q: Have you had an important mentor in your career? If so, how did it make a difference?
A: My mentor, John Faulkner, has had an enormous influence on my professional and personal life.  He was influential not only while I was training in his laboratory but also when I was establishing my independent research laboratory when I returned to Melbourne and was especially supportive and constructive as I progressed through the academic ranks through to full professor.