graphic with molecules and silhouette of man and woman running

MoTrPACMolecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) have created the University of Texas Adult Clinical Center (UTACC) for the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC).

The primary aim of MoTrPAC is to 'extensively catalogue the biological molecules affected by physical activity in people, identify some of the key molecules that underlie the systemic effects of physical activity, and characterize the function of these key molecules. This molecular map will help us understand how physical activity translates into better health'. The consortium is composed of 6 adult clinical sites, 1 pediatric clinical center, 1 consortium coordinating center, 1 bioinformatics center, 3 preclinical animal study sites , and 7 chemical analysis sites.

UTACC is one of the Adult Clinical Sites and will be responsible for: 1) conducting exercise training trials in 450 participants in both acute and chronic exercise training studies; 2) perform physiological assessments; 3) collect biospecimens (muscle, adipose, and blood) before and after acute and chronic exercise training; and 4) analyzing and interpreting outcome data and dissemination of findings to the scientific community.

photo of people in lab

Preview Day

CeRPAN hosted visitors from the University of Texas, San Antonio on MoTrPAC Preview Day: May 15th, 2017. Visitors saw presentations and toured the lab facilities. View photos of the event.

Read More About MoTrPAC:

More information about participating in the exercise training trial will be posted soon.

UTMB

Principal Investigator
Blake B. Rasmussen, PhD

Recruitment and Retention Core Co-Leader 
Elena Volpi, MD, PhD

Clinical Research Core Co-Leader
Doug Paddon-Jones, PhD

Biorepository Core Co-Leader
Christopher S. Fry, PhD

Biostatistics Core Co-Leader
Heidi Spratt, PhD

UTHSCSA and UTSA

Principal Investigator
Nicolas Musi, MD

Recruitment and Retention Core Co-Leader
Sara Espinoza, MD, MSc

Clinical Research Core Co-Leader
Donovan Fogt, PhD

Biospecimen Management Core Co-Leader
Robin Leach, PhD

Biostatistics and Data Management Core Co-Leader
Jonathan Gelfond, MD, PhD

Co-Investigator
Darpan Patel, PhD

Co-Investigator
Douglas Cromack, MD, PhD

image of MoTrPAC map

Adult Clinical Centers:

  1. UTACC (University of Texas Medical Branch and UTHSCSA). PIs:  Blake Rasmussen & Nick Musi
  2. University of Alabama-Birmingham, Translational Research Institute for Diabetes and Metabolism, Ball State University. PIs: Marcas Bamman, Bret Goodpaster, Scott Trappe
  3. University of Colorado, Denver: PI: Wendy Kohrt
  4. Duke University. PI: Bill Kraus
  5. LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center. PIs: Eric Ravussin, Tuomo Rankinen
  6. University of Pittsburgh. PI: John Jakicic

Pediatric Clinical Center:

University of California, Irvine. PIs: Dan Cooper, Shlomit Radom-Aizik.

Consortium Coordinating Center:

University of Florida, University of Vermont, Wake Forest University.  PIs: Marco Pahor, Michael Miller, Jack Rejeski, Russell Tracy

Bioinformatics Center:

Stanford University. PI: Euan Ashley

Preclinical Animal Study Sites:

  1. University of California, Davis. PIs: Sue Bodine, Keith Baar
  2. Joslin Diabetes Center. PI: Laurie Goodyear
  3. University of Florida. PI: Karyn Esser

Chemical Analysis Sites:

  1. Broad Institute, Duke University. PIs: Robert Gerszten, Steven Carr, Clary Clish, Chris Newgard
  2. Emory University. PI: Dean Jones
  3. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. PIs: Stuart Sealfon, Martin Walsh
  4. Mayo Clinic, Rochester. PIs: Sree Nair, Ian Lanza
  5. University of Michigan. PIs: Charles Burant, Jun Li
  6. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. PI: Joshua Adkins
  7. Stanford University. PIs: Michael Snyder, Stephen Montgomery.