Dr Aivaras Ratkevicius

Profile

ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4737-5817 

Dr. Aivaras Ratkevicius got his PhD in Biology from the Joint Programme of Doctorial Studies coordinated by the Lithuanian Sports University and Lithuanian University of Health Sciences in 1996. He was Guest Researcher at the Copenhagen Muscle Research Centre (University of Copenhagen) from 1993 to 1998. He worked as Assistant Professor at the University of Copenhagen where he did research and teaching in Exercise Biochemistry and Metabolism from 1998 to 2002. Aferwards, he moved to UK and worked as a Senior Lecturer in Sports and Exercise Science at the University of Sunderland. In 2005, Dr. Aivaras Ratkevicius started working as a Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen where he did research and teaching in Sports Science and Molecular Exercise Physiology. In 2016, he was appointed as a Professor at the Lithuanian Sports University where he lead research in the area of Muscles, Motor Control and Health Promotion. He is now a Senior Lecturer in Sports Medicine at Queen Mary University of London. 

Research

Dr. Aivaras Ratkevicius has studied human muscle metabolism using P31-NMR spectroscopy at the University of Copenhagen. He later worked on the role of mitochondrial citrate synthase in metabolism using cell cultures and mouse models. He also did research on the functional role of myostatin in ageing-related muscle weakness and adaptations to exercise training. His research also focused on adaptations of skeletal muscles to caloric restriction and dietary factors. He is now interested in effects of exercise interventions on resting metabolic rate and patterns of leisure time physical activity. 

Key Publications

• Minderis P, Fokin A, Dirmontas M, Kvedaras M, Ratkevicius A. Caloric restriction per se rather than dietary macronutrient distribution plays a primary role in metabolic health and body composition improvements in obese Mice. Nutrients. 2021 Aug 28;13(9):3004. doi: 10.3390/nu13093004.
• Kvedaras M, Minderis P, Cesanelli L, Cekanauskaite A, Ratkevicius A. Effects of fasting on skeletal muscles and body fat of adult and old C57BL/6J mice. Exp Gerontol. 2021 Sep;152:111474. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2021.111474.
• Kvedaras M, Minderis P, Krusnauskas R, Lionikas A, Ratkevicius A. Myostatin dysfunction is associated with lower physical activity and reduced improvements in glucose tolerance in response to caloric restriction in Berlin high mice. Exp Gerontol. 2019 Dec;128:110751. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2019.110751.
• Gabriel BM, Al-Tarrah M, Alhindi Y, Kilikevicius A, Venckunas T, Gray SR, Lionikas A, Ratkevicius A. H55N polymorphism is associated with low citrate synthase activity which regulates lipid metabolism in mouse muscle cells. PLoS One. 2017 Nov 2;12(11):e0185789. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185789.
• Ratkevicius A, Joyson A, Selmer I, Dhanani T, Grierson C, Tommasi AM, DeVries A, Rauchhaus P, Crowther D, Alesci S, Yaworsky P, Gilbert F, Redpath TW, Brady J, Fearon KC, Reid DM, Greig CA, Wackerhage H. Serum concentrations of myostatin and myostatin-interacting proteins do not differ between young and sarcopenic elderly men. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2011 Jun;66(6):620-6. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glr025.
• Ratkevicius A, Carroll AM, Kilikevicius A, Venckunas T, McDermott KT, Gray SR, Wackerhage H, Lionikas A. H55N polymorphism as a likely cause of variation in citrate synthase activity of mouse skeletal muscle. Physiol Genomics. 2010 Oct;42A(2):96-102. doi: 10.1152/physiolgenomics.00066.2010.
• Ratkevicius A, Quistorff B. Metabolic costs of force generation for constant-frequency and catchlike-inducing electrical stimulation in human tibialis anterior muscle. Muscle Nerve. 2002 Mar;25(3):419-26. doi: 10.1002/mus.10064.
• Ratkevicius A, Mizuno M, Povilonis E, Quistorff B. Energy metabolism of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles during isometric voluntary and electrically induced contractions in man. J Physiol. 1998 Mar 1;507 ( Pt 2)(Pt 2):593-602. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7793.1998.593bt.x.

Collaborators

• Prof. Stuart R. Gray (Stuart. Gray@glasgow.ac.uk), School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health. University of Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.
• Dr. Arimantas Lionikas (a.lionikas@abdn.ac.uk), School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, U.K.
• Prof. Henning Wackerhage (henning.wackerhage@tum.de), School of Sport and Health Science, Technical University of Munich, Germany.
• Dr. Petras Minderis (petras.minderis@lsu.lt), Institute of Sport Science and Innovations, Lithuanian Sports University, Kaunas, Lithuania

Teaching

Dr. Aivaras Ratkevicius is a Course Coordinator for MSc modules WHR7038 - Applied Exercise Physiology and WHR7081 - Nutrition for Exercise and Health. He is also supervising iBSc and MSc research projects in the area of physical activity and heath. 

Disclosures

No disclosures.