Interview Questions and Answers

Researcher Interview: Girish C. Melkani PhD, SDSU - Research Assistant Professor

What is the current project that you are working on?
- Understanding of the impact of daily rhythms on cardiac and skeletal muscle physiology,
circadian rhythm, nutrition, sleep, obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic disorders.
- Another major research achievement was discerning the mechanistic basis of
proteinopathies associated with protein misfolding and aggregate accumulation in
cardiomyocytes, or cardiac amyloidosis. Huntington's disease is associated with the
expression of misfolded and aggregation-prone amyloid proteins.
- My third project goal is to gain mechanistic insights and design therapies for lamin-based
cardiac and skeletal muscle diseases. Laminopathies are a group of disorders caused by
dominant mutations in the human LMNA gene encoding A-type lamins. Over 400
mutations have been identified in the LMNA gene the highest number of mutations
discovered in a single human gene. Laminopathy patients include those with autosomal
dominant Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy, dilated
cardiomyopathy and age-linked Hutchison-Gilford progeria syndrome. The pathogenic
mechanisms of laminopathies are elusive; a greater understanding is needed for
therapeutic interventions.
How is your work benefiting everyday people (presently or in the future)?
- Employing multidisciplinary and integrated approaches, I have established Drosophila
melanogaster (commonly known as fruit fly) models for several human cardiac and
skeletal muscle diseases and validated/validating Drosophila finding in patients muscle
biopsies. An understanding of the mechanistic bases of disease etiology and progression
often supports the design of therapies to either prevent or treat disease.
What can you tell me to improve the health, function, and mobility of my Muscular System? What
techniques/tips/exercises work and dont work?
- Maintenance of daily feeding/fasting rhythms improves cardiac and skeletal muscle
function and dysregulation of metabolic rhythms is associated with obesity, diabetes, and
other metabolic disorders.
- Exercise and other physical activity also useful to keep muscular system healthy.
Are you aware of the benefits of using CRISPR?
- Yes, we use CRISPR/Cas9 approach to modify, mutate or silence the endogenous genes.

What do you hope to achieve in the future in terms of your research about the Muscular System?
What innovations do you wish to create? What are your goals?
- My long-term research interest lies in understanding how genes and lifestyle interact in
determining predisposition toward cardiac, muscle and other metabolic diseases.
- To improve span associated with age, muscular system and cardiometabolic diseases.
Athlete Interview: Bryant Westbrook, Former NFL Player (DET, DAL, GB)
How does the condition of your muscles affect your athletic ability?
I think over my whole time having strong muscles can prevent you from having injuries.
Getting in the weight room, conditioning your muscles helps prevent you from, especially
playing football, helps to prevent injuries. A lot of times, you got to consider muscles like
rubber bands, a lot of times if you dont condition those muscles, they get tight. Its just like a
rubber band. If a rubber band gets tight, you wont be able to expand it and in football, nine
times out of ten you need those muscles to be loose so you can function.
How do you train/stretch/practice to combat these muscular issues?
Well I think theres a variety of stretches that you do. Your lower extremities have different
stretches that you can do as well as your upper extremities and its just doing them on a
consistent basis. It takes a thousand reps to condition the mind. You just cant do it one day.
You have to continuously do something on a regular basis in order to help and affect your body.
You said a thousand?
Well in forced terms, if you just do it one time, it doesnt have any effect on you. You have to
constantly do something in order for it to have an effect on your body. So I just thought of a
thousand because it takes a lot of reps or a lot of stretching to get your body used to a certain
situation.
So you have to do it a certain amount of times so it practices you body in getting used to it?
Exactly you got to constantly do something for it to become a habit, to get your body
conditioned. If I just go out and stretch one day and then try and perform a task at the end of the
week, thats not going to do anything for me. I got to constantly do it every day in order for my
muscles to get used to it, my muscles to get conditioned, my body to get conditioned to perform
at a peak level.
What can you tell us about improving performance within your sport? What has been the most
important thing to remember?

I think its work ethic, it all boils down to work ethic, it all boils down to work ethic. Having a
great mindset, working hard, trying to outwork the next person Thats what gets you over the
top to success and become great at whatever you want to do. In terms of football, like I talked
about those reps and about stretching, you have to constantly work on your craft and constantly
doing what you want to become all the time so it becomes habit. Youre not thinking about this
becomes habit, your working at it. So, I played defensive tackle in the NFL and one thing that
we do is called backpedaling. And thats something I worked on each and every day so it
becomes habit. Its just like walking forward. You dont think about walking forward, but
walking, you just do it. And thats why I did become a defensive back is I constantly worked on
backpedaling so when I was in the game, it became a habit and it was natural.
In what ways does an injury restrict you from doing your best?
Well I mean it happens you from doing a lot I mean because what happens when you become
injured is sometimes you overcompensate your other body parts and it tends to create another
injury. And in my case, I tore my achilles tendon playing football started other injuries, like, I
tore my hamstring after that. So it all starts like you said with the muscle stretching, getting
limber with your body. That way it helps prevent the injuries, that way youll be able to perform
at your top level. So when you have an injury you cant perform at your best.
What is the most important thing to remember?
I think overall its work ethic. Just apply yourself to whatever you want to do, whether its
school, whether its sports, business, whatever the case may be, just having a great work ethic
and understand you got to have adversity. You got to go over those hurdles and always try to do
your best. One of my favorite quotes is, Excellence is not an action but a habit. Everything
you do you want to be excellent at, and excell at it, and thats the mindset that you have to have
in order to be great in whatever you want to do. School, football, basketball, whatever sport you
may be. You always want to excell at it, and have a great work ethic at it, and always apply
yourself.
What have you done/will you do to improve function of your muscular system moving forward?
I know that Im forty-one. I dont know that Im going to be doing anything too much, but in
my youth, like I stated earlier, just understand that your body in sports is what makes you
function, so you have to take care of it like you would take care of a car. Puting gas in it, putting
the right fuel in it, so taking care of it in any way that you can. And thats the same thing with
sports or being an athlete is you have to stretch, you have to take care of your body, you have to
get the proper rest. All those little things, you know you do the little things right, and the big
things will take care of themselves. You know you do all the little things, and the big things
become great.

Athlete Interview: Kara Goucher, Marathon Runner

How does the condition of your muscles affect your athletic ability?
- Your muscles must be strong to train well
- If your muscles are sore or not recovering, you cant train properly
- Your muscles are everything in running.
How do you train/stretch/practice to combat these muscular issues?
-

When Im in a full marathon cycle I so so much to improve my muscles and help

them recover. Daily I do short core exercise to help keep the muscles in my core
working. properly and to keep from getting injured.
Twice a week a I lift weights in a gym working strengthening my muscles.
Three days a week I get massage or some sort of physical therapy to help flush my
muscles and help them recover.
And nearly every night I do a stretching routine before I go to bed.

What can you tell us about improving performance within your sport? What has been the
most important thing to remember?
-

That it takes time. You dont become a great marathoner over night.
You need years of training. You must be patient.

In what ways does an injury restrict you from doing your best?
-

If you are injured you cant train properly. It holds you back from training the
way you need to train on a daily basis.
And racing with an injury is terrible. Your stride isnt normal so it messes up
everything and you usually end up with a compensatory injury.

What have you done or will you do about improving function of your muscular system
moving forward?
-

I continue to do strength training and take the recover piece very seriously.