Tim Koves, PhD, MBA

Faculty Member, Duke Molecular Physiology Institute and Sarah W. Stedman Nutrition and Metabolism Center

Position

Assistant Professor Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics

Contact

Carmichael Building

919 479 2324

tim.koves@duke.edu

Summary

Tim Koves, PhD, MBA, is an Associate Professor of Medicine with a primary appointment in Geriatrics and joint appointments with the Sarah W. Stedman Nutrition and Metabolism Center and the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute. Dr. Koves' research interests are focused on understanding mitochondrial alterations that occur in skeletal muscle as a result of aging and chronic disease. Using state-of-the-art mitochondrial phenotyping combined with flux analysis and metabolic profiling, he hopes to elucidate specific metabolite patterns of lipid-induced stress that could predict mitochondrial functional decline and seeks to understand how adaptations in response to exercise confer protection against age- and lipid-induced mitochondrial and muscle dysfunction.

MS, Health and Exercise Science, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
PhD, Physiology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
MBA, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC

Alterations in mitochondrial metabolism and bioenergetics have been implicated in a wide array of chronic disease states and aging. We are attempting to understand the ways in which mitochondrial function is altered in response to chronic disease states such as overnutrition, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart failure and how exercise can confer protection against these conditions. With aging and under states of chronic nutrient overload, skeletal muscle mitochondria display a preference for fat oxidation at the expense of other substrates whereas exercise training mitigates this phenotype (1,2,3,4).  From these observations, we are trying to understand the consequences of this nutrient-induced "metabolic inflexibility" on the whole organism, skeletal muscle physiology and function, and mitochondrial health. In longstanding collaborations with the laboratory of Debbie Muoio, we have developed expertise in the area of skeletal muscle and heart mitochondrial physiology and metabolism, exercise, age-related metabolic decline, as well as the design and interpretation of mass spectrometry-based metabolic flux and profiling experiments (5,6,7,8).

My current work focuses on molecular connections between mitochondrial health and metabolic control, with a particular interest in understanding the contribution of lipid dysregulation and mitochondrial dysfunction to age-related decline of skeletal muscle function. We utilize a comprehensive array of state-of-the-art tools to assess mitochondrial metabolism and bioenergetic function including but not limited to high resolution respirometry, cellular O2 flux analysis, radiolabeled substrates, stable isotope tracers, mass-spectrometry based metabolic profiling and whole-animal calorimetry. This battery of tools allows us to evaluate metabolic status in animals, cell culture systems, permeabilized muscle fibers and isolated mitochondria. Recently, exciting collaborative work with the Department of Biomedical Engineering is focused on understanding the metabolism in bioengineered 3d skeletal and cardiac muscle cultures with the aim of improving functional outcomes relevant to tissue regeneration and transplant (9).