Staff profile

Dr Chris van der Poel

Lecturer, Postgraduate Coordinator

Faculty of Health Sciences

School of Public Health and Human Biosciences
Department of Human Biosciences

HS2-421, Melbourne (Bundoora)

 

Qualifications

B.Science (Biological) (Hons) La Trobe, PhD La Trobe

Membership of professional Associations

Australian Physiological Society (AuPS), American Physiological Society (APS)

Area of study

Anatomy and Physiology

Brief Profile

Chris obtained his PhD in zoology at La Trobe University in 2005 and worked as a researcher at the University of Melbourne before joining the Department of Human Biosciences as a Lecturer in 2010. He has a long-standing interest in muscle physiology, and currently investigates pathways associated with inflammation and how these can be manipulated to treat musculoskeletal pathologies.

Teaching Units

  • HBS1HBA Human Biosciences A

  • HBS2PTA & HBS2PTB Human Physiology Theory A & B

  • HBS2PPA & HBS2PPB Human Physiology Practical A & B

  • HBS3APA & HBS3APB Advanced Physiology A & B (co-cordinator HBS3APB)

  • HBS4HPA Human Physiology & Anatomy Honours

Recent Publications

Journal Articles

Gehrig SM, van der Poel C, Sayer TA, Schertzer JD, Henstridge DC, Church JE, Lamon S, Russell AP, Davies KE, Febbraio MA, Lynch GS. (2012). Hsp72 preserves muscle function and slows progression of severe muscular dystrophy. Nature. 484(7394):394-8.

Gehrig SM*, van der Poel C*, Hoeflich A, Naim T, Lynch GS, Metzger F. (2012). Therapeutic potential of PEGylated insulin-like growth factor I for skeletal muscle disease evaluated in two murine models of muscular dystrophy. Growth Horm IGF Res. 22(2):69-75. * denotes equal author contribution.

van der Poel C, Gosselin LE, Schertzer JD, Ryall JG, Swiderski K, Wondemaghen M, Lynch GS. (2011). Ageing prolongs inflammatory marker expression in regenerating rat skeletal muscles after injury. J Inflamm. 8(1):41.

Metzger F, Sajid W, Saenger S, Staudenmaier C, van der Poel C, Sobottka B, Schuler A, Sawitzky M, Poirier R, Tuerck D, Schick E, Schaubmar A, Hesse F, Amrein K, Loetscher H, Lynch GS, Hoeflich A, De Meyts P, Schoenfeld HJ. (2011). Separation of fast from slow anabolism by site-specific PEGylation of insulin-like growth factor I. J Biol Chem. 286(22):19501-10.

 Huijsman E, van de Par C, Economou C, van der Poel C, Lynch GS, Schoiswohl G, Haemmerle G, Zechner R, Watt MJ. (2009). Adipose triacylglycerol lipase deletion alters whole body energy metabolism and impairs exercise performance in mice. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 297(2):E505-13.

Vlahovich N, Kee AJ, van der Poel C, Kettle E, Hernandez-Deviez D, Lucas C, Lynch GS, Parton RG, Gunning PW, Hardeman EC. (2009). Cytoskeletal tropomyosin Tm5NM1 is required for normal excitation-contraction coupling in skeletal muscle. Mol Biol Cell. 20(1):400-9.

van der Poel C, Edwards JN, Macdonald WA, Stephenson DG. (2008) Effect of temperature-induced reactive oxygen species production on excitation-contraction coupling in mammalian skeletal muscle. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 35(12):1482-7

Schertzer JD*, van der Poel C*, Shavlakadze T, Grounds MD, Lynch GS. (2008). Muscle-specific overexpression of IGF-I improves E-C coupling in skeletal muscle fibers from dystrophic mdx mice. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 294(1):C161-8. * denotes equal author contribution.

Edwards JN, Macdonald WA, van der Poel C, Stephenson DG. (2007). O2(*-) production at 37 degrees C plays a critical role in depressing tetanic force of isolated rat and mouse skeletal muscle. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 293(2):C650-60.

van der Poel C, Stephenson DG. (2007). Effects of elevated physiological temperatures on sarcoplasmic reticulum function in mechanically skinned muscle fibers of the rat. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 293(1):C133-41.

van der Poel C, Edwards JN, Macdonald WA, Stephenson DG. (2007). Mitochondrial superoxide production in skeletal muscle fibers of the rat and decreased fiber excitability. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 292(4):C1353-60.

van der Poel C, Stephenson DG. (2002). Reversible changes in Ca(2+)-activation properties of rat skeletal muscle exposed to elevated physiological temperatures. J Physiol. 544(Pt 3):765-76.

Conferences Presentations

C. van der Poel, and GS. Lynch. (2009). Using mechanically skinned muscle fibres to evaluate malignant hyperthermia. Symposium on new tools for clinical diagnosis of malignant hyperthermia. European Malignant Hyperthermia group (EMHG) 2009 Annual meeting.  

C. van der Poel, JG. Ryall, JD. Schertzer, LE. Gosselin, and GS. Lynch. (2008). Ageing alters the inflamatory response in rat skeletal muscles after injury. 74th meeting of the Australian Physiological Society (Melbourne, VIC, Australia). Proceeding of the Australian Physiological Society 39, 120p.

C. van der Poel, and DG. Stephenson. (2008). Isolated skeletal muscle contraction at physiological temperatures: Influence of ROS on excitation-contraction coupling. Reactive Oxygen Symposium. Australian Association for Exercise and Sports Science (AAEES), 6th Sports Dieticians Australia update.

Research projects

- Regulation of the antioxidant system in skeletal muscle to improve the dystrophic pathology

- Determining the origin and effect of muscle inflammation on muscle function and walking pattern in knee osteoarthritis

- The influence of traumatic brain injury on musculoskeletal physiology