Scientific Programme
Physiology & Nutrition
IS-PN01 - New frontiers in Multi-OMIC responses to exercise across the lifespan
Date: 09.07.2026, Time: 08:30 - 09:45, Session Room: SG 1138 (EPFL)
Description
Exercise and multi-omics research provide a powerful framework for understanding how physical activity influences human health at a systems level across the lifespan. By integrating genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and epigenomics, we can capture the complex molecular responses in different tissues and organs during and after exercise. Recent cutting-edge research from our collective groups leveraged large-scale studies (e.g. MoTrPAC Study Group & Gene SMART Study) and multi-omics approaches to uncovered new genes and molecular drivers of exercise responses across multiple-tissues (Nature 2024; Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2023; Aging Cell 2024; Cell Reports 2025). This research will enable us to develop a set of exercise-related biomarkers in males and females to predict the response to exercise training across the lifespan, essential for the development and future delivery of targeted exercise programs. In this symposium, the speakers will update on recent research developments in the field of exercise multi-omics & mitigation strategies for healthy ageing. The speakers are international leaders in the field with diverse and complementary expertise in the areas of muscle exercise physiology, multi-omics, bioinformatics & healthy ageing. The proposed symposia include 2 males (Prof Eynon, A/Prof Murach) and a female speaker (Dr Lindholm) at different career stages (ECR, MCR, Senior academics), from 3 different institution and 2 different countries.
Chair(s)
Nir Eynon
Monash University, Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute
Australia
Nadège Zanou
University of Lausanne, Institute of Sport Sciences
Switzerland
Speaker A
Nir Eynon
Monash University, Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute
Australia
Read CVECSS Lausanne 2026: IS-PN01 [15405]
Multi-OMIC approach to identify exercise & ageing biomarkers in humans
Ageing represents an important health and economic burden on society. Approximately 15% of the world population are over 65, a proportion expected to rise to 22.5% by 2050. Sedentary behaviour and lack of physical activity accelerate the widespread cellular and molecular changes induced by ageing, resulting in the increased prevalence of many chronic diseases. Epigenetics (particularly DNA methylation) is one of the hallmarks of ageing. The epigenome is affecting gene & protein expression, and is particularly sensitive to exercise, and exercise training programs caused widespread DNA methylation shifts in genes that are relevant for skeletal muscle health, and ageing. My research group focuses on the development of novel, cross-tissue molecular approaches to identify sex-specific healthy ageing and exercise-related marks in humans (1-3). This approach will provide a greater understanding of the multiplicity and complexity of the cellular networks involved in exercise responses and strong translational path. The Gene SMART study, led by our group, is the first of its kind to comprehensively assess genetic and epigenetic markers that contribute to muscle health pre-and-post intense exercise (total of ~2500 human muscle & blood samples at various exercise points). Using data mining, and unique bioinformatics approaches we combined the Gene SMART cohort, data sets from international collaborators and open access datasets to perform a powerful Multi-OMIC molecular analyses to uncover robust marks of exercise & ageing in males and females. In my presentation, I will discuss some of the recent research coming from my group on how exercise mitigate the ageing molecular responses. References: 1. Voisin S, Seale K, Jacques…. Sharples AP, & Nir Eynon. Exercise is associated with younger methylome and transcriptome profiles in human muscle. Aging Cell 2: e13859, 2024. 2. Voisin S…, Horvath S, & Eynon N. Meta-analysis of genome-wide DNA methylation and integrative OMICs of age in human skeletal muscle. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle 12; 4:1064-1078, 2021. 3. Landen… Lamon & Eynon. Sex differences in muscle protein expression and DNA methylation in response to exercise training. Biol Sex Differ.5;14(1):56, 2023.
Speaker B
Malene Lindholm
Stanford, Medicine
United States
Read CVECSS Lausanne 2026: IS-PN01 [36335]
The molecular symphony of acute exercise: multi-omic responses across tissues
Multi-omic assays offer unparalleled opportunities to study how different tissues coordinately respond to various exercise modalities at the molecular level. The Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC) was established to create a comprehensive molecular map of these responses to exercise and training. In this symposium organized by Dr. Nir Eynon, Dr. Lindholm will present multi-omic data from the first MoTrPAC human cohort—sedentary adults who completed an acute bout of either endurance or resistance exercise, with comparison to non-exercise controls to account for e.g. circadian effects. The findings reveal global molecular responses across skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, and blood, with integration across multiple dimensions, including tissue type, exercise modality, time point and omic level. These analyses identify key molecular pathways and central regulators while revealing novel exerkines that may mediate exercise's multi-organ effects. To complement the human data, Dr. Lindholm will also present multi-omic responses to acute endurance exercise in rats, providing insights into organs that cannot be sampled in humans.
Speaker C
Severine Lamon
Deakin University, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences
Australia
Read CVECSS Lausanne 2026: IS-PN01 [23276]
Profiling sex differences in skeletal muscle ageing: from function to multi-omics
Skeletal muscle is one of the most sex-biased tissues yet the molecular mechanisms underlying these differences and their functional consequences across the lifespan remain poorly defined. Using the tightly controlled FAMe and MALe studies, we aimed to characterise sex-specific trajectories of human skeletal muscle ageing by integrating functional, neuromuscular, hormonal and multi-omics analyses in 177 participants. A total of 81 generally healthy males and 96 generally healthy females aged 18–80 were recruited from the community. Leg extensor strength was assessed using a leg press five-repetition maximum (5-RM), and neuromuscular function was evaluated via quadriceps maximal voluntary and evoked isometric torque and surface electromyography. Body composition was assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and peripheral quantitative CT (pQCT). Vastus lateralis muscle biopsies were analysed using transcriptomics, proteomics and immunohistochemistry, and circulating hormones were quantified using mass-spectrometry or immuno-based assays. In premenopausal females, testing and sampling were standardised to the first 7 days of the menstrual cycle. Physical activity, sleep and protein intake were recorded over 7 days to account for lifestyle confounders. Sex differences were apparent across all levels of muscle physiology and throughout ageing. Males had higher absolute muscle strength than females (β = 0.4 p < 0.001). Both sexes experienced a similar rate of strength loss with age (β = -0.008 p < 0.001), but females showed an accelerated decline in neuromuscular function around menopause (1). Males had higher lean mass than females (β = 8.6, p < 0.001), but age-related decline was steeper in males (β = -0.08, p = 0.005). Males showed lower proportion of Type I fibres (β = -0.32, p = 0.01) and higher proportion of Type IIa fibres than females (β = 0.30, p = 0.02) without an effect of ageing. Cross-sectional areas of both Type I and Type IIa were larger in males (both p < 0.001). Type IIa fibres size significantly declined with age in males (β = -0.008, p = 0.0006) but not in females. Over 800 genes were differentially expressed between sex across each decade of age, 20 of them exhibiting consistent sex-biased expression across the lifespan. Multi-omics integration was used to tease out candidate molecular drivers of sex-specific differences in muscle ageing across the lifespan. This study presents the first integrated, sex-specific atlas of human skeletal muscle ageing across the adult lifespan. Distinct ageing trajectories in males and females, marked by menopause-associated neuromuscular decline in females and steeper lean mass loss in males, identify critical sex-dependent windows of vulnerability, underscoring the need for sex-informed strategies to mitigate age-related muscle decline. References: (1) O'Bryan SJ, Critchlow A, Fuchs CJ, Hiam D, Lamon S. The contribution of age and sex hormones to female neuromuscular function acros