Scientists are investigating how exercise-triggered stress reshapes the cell’s energy systems, and whether those same mechanisms could eventually help counter metabolic disease.
Don’t like the gym? Exercise scientist Ryan Montalvo gets it. He still goes anyway, because the physical strain of exercise often leads to lasting health benefits.
Although workouts can feel intimidating, exercise triggers a biological reaction that helps cells prepare for future energy demands. This process, known as a hormetic response, occurs when a mild stressor stimulates beneficial adaptations. With support from an early-career research grant from the American College of Sports Medicine Research Endowment, Montalvo is studying whether this response to exercise stress could help counter noncommunicable diseases.
Montalvo works in Professor Zhen Yan’s lab at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC. His research focuses on how the body adjusts to the stress caused by physical activity. By examining these changes, he hopes to better understand how exercise affects metabolic disorders such as diabetes.
“Every time you exercise, you’re increasing the demand to your mitochondria, and the exposure to that stress makes you better adapted to that stress the next time you encounter it,” Montalvo said. “If your mitochondria adapt to those physiological stressors you’ve given them through exercise, they can be more effective at mitigating or preventing disease.”
