Borer Lecture with Dr. Bente Klarlund Pedersen on Oct. 9
The School of Kinesiology is pleased to welcome Dr. Bente Klarlund Pedersen as the 2020 speaker for the Katarina T. Borer Lecturership in Exercise Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Dr. Borer is a professor emerita of Movement Science who retired from the School of Kinesiology in 2018. The lectureship is made possible by a generous donation from Dr. Borer and her husband Dr. Paul Wenger.
Dr. Pedersen is a professor of Integrative Medicine and the director of the Centre of Inflammation & Metabolism and the Centre for Physical Activity Research at Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen. The title of her lecture is “Exercise as Medicine & the Role of Myokines: A Translational Perspective.”
“This is a great privilege and an honor,” said Pedersen. “I admire the work by Katarina Borer. She is a true role model.”
Physical inactivity is one of the leading health problems in the world. Strong epidemiological and clinical evidence demonstrate that exercise decreases the risk of more than 35 different disorders and that exercise should be prescribed as medicine for many chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, dementia, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer.
The discovery that skeletal muscle works as an endocrine organ, which can produce and secrete hundreds of myokines, will allow for crosstalk between the muscle and other organs, including brain, adipose tissue, bone, liver, gut, pancreas, vascular bed, and skin, as well as communication within the muscle itself. Myokines are cytokines or peptides synthesized and released by myocytes in muscle tissue in response to muscular contractions.
“The biological roles of myokines include effects on cognition, lipid and glucose metabolism, browning of white fat, bone formation, endothelial cell function, and tumor growth. Importantly, an anti-inflammatory environment is mediated with each bout of exercise, and long-term anti-inflammatory effects are mediated via an effect on abdominal adiposity,” Pedersen explained.
Part of her talk will focus on the anti-inflammatory effects that are partly mediated by the myokine IL-6.
The Katarina T. Borer Lectureship will take place on Friday, October 9 from 12:30–2:00pm via Zoom. It’s free and open to the public. RSVP at myumi.ch/lx2jQ.