The UAB Center for Exercise Medicine (UCEM) will host its inaugural Hunter-Bamman Award Lecture on November 8, 2021 from noon to 1.15 p.m. CT virtually. This lecture will be co-sponsored by the UAB Nathan Shock Center.
Sue C. Bodine, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center Chair, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine will deliver the lecture on “Regulation of Skeletal Muscle Mass and Function: the critical role of recruitment and loading throughout the lifespan.” Registration is required to attend.
The Hunter-Bamman Award Lecture is designed to honor the work of two pioneers of exercise research at UAB - Gary Hunter, PhD, Professor Emeritus Department of Nutrition Sciences and Marcas Bamman, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology and Founding Director of UCEM.
In 2013, UCEM supported the initial Hunter Award Lecture. The award was named in honor of Dr. Hunter who has been an international leader in exercise adaptation, energy metabolism and body composition research with more than 250 peer-reviewed articles in the area. The Hunter Award Lecture was held as part of the UCEM Distinguished Lecture Series from 2013 to 2020.
In 2021, UCEM is renaming the lecture to the Hunter-Bamman Award Lecture to continue honoring Dr. Hunter while also recognizing the accomplishments of Dr. Bamman. Dr. Bamman was instrumental in increasing support and awareness for exercise medicine research both at UAB and across the nation. His research on exercise spans from biological underpinnings to clinical outcomes. He has been fostering and directing research for more than 25 years with funding from National Institute of Health (NIH), Veteran Affairs, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Department of Defense. He is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and serves on the ACSM Board of Trustees and ACSM Science Integration and Leadership Committee. He has also served as Chair of the 2021 ACSM World Congress on the Basic Science of Exercise in Regenerative Medicine.
On the UAB campus, Dr. Bamman was responsible for helping establish the > 6000 sq. ft Exercise Clinical Trials facility, and he was also a key driver in garnering NIH support for the current Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC), a Common Fund supported program designed to elucidate the molecular adaptations responsible for the wide variety of benefits of exercise on health.
“With Dr. Bamman’s retirement, I wanted to find a way to honor his accomplishments and contributions to Exercise Medicine research at UAB,” said Thomas Buford, PhD, Director of UCEM.
“I thought this was a great way to do it while continuing to recognize the amazing accomplishments of Dr. Hunter. I know that Drs. Hunter and Bamman have a special relationship and I hope that this will serve as a way to honor them both. We will continue to seek nationally and internationally recognized speakers to deliver the Hunter-Bamman lecture each year.”
Dr. Bodine’s research is focused on the study of the neuromuscular system and its response and adaptation to various stressors, including exercise, microgravity, disuse, denervation and aging. She received her PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles and has held positions in both academia and the biotechnology industry. The current focus of her lab is understanding the mechanisms that regulate skeletal muscle size and function under growth and atrophy conditions.