Dr. Mike Reid is the Shih-Chun Wang Professor and Chair of the Department of Physiology at the University of Kentucky. For over two decades, Dr. Reid has directed an NIH-funded research program on the biological importance of redox-active signaling molecules – reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) derivatives – as regulators of respiratory and limb skeletal muscle function. ROS and NO accelerate the weakness, physical inactivity, and premature death that occur in chronic inflammatory diseases, e.g., cancer, AIDS, emphysema, and congestive heart failure. Dr. Reid’s research focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie these problems. His research team was the first to demonstrate that skeletal muscle produces ROS, the first to identify NO as an endogenous modulator of muscle contraction, and the first to demonstrate that oxidative stress plays a causal role in human muscle fatigue. These and other contributions are published in over 100 original reports and invited review articles in peer-reviewed journals.

 

Beyond the laboratory, Dr. Reid directs an NIH-sponsored graduate training program on the muscle biology of cardiopulmonary disease. He has chaired two standing NIH study sections, was a founding investigator in NASA’s National Space Biomedical Research Institute, was associate editor of Physiological Reviews, and served on the board of directors of the American Thoracic Society. He currently sits on the editorial boards of Antioxidants and Redox Signaling and Skeletal Muscle and is a consulting editor for Journal of Applied Physiology.