Research

As a faculty member my research interests are centralized around enhancing equity of female athlete research and student experiences in the classroom.

Read about a case study examining a unique paradox of hypermobility and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) highlighting my passion of scientific inquiry and the CONNECT Program demonstrating my ability to integrate a service-learning experience within the walls of my classroom.

I still want to include the overarching goal of my graduate research which was to increase the human healthspan or the number of years we are free from an age-related chronic disease with a focus on brain and skeletal muscle aging. While I do not have an active lab I refer to this work in teaching inquiry-based lab classes and draw on experiences to enhance my scholarship.

The Paradox of Hypermobility and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport

Health Equity for Female Athletes

After accepting my faculty position at Slippery Rock University, I sought to transition back into more human research because of the real-world applicability of findings and relevance to my current students. During the final year of my doctoral studies, my intellectual curiosity led me to conduct a case-study of a female athlete who displayed some unique and unexplained injuries despite having excellent markers of health as she had recently reversed indicators of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs). The unexplained injuries appeared to align with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome symptoms. Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is a genetic connective tissue disorder that presents in numerous ways with 13 subtypes and has no cure. Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) is the most common subtype characterized by hypermobile joints, frequent dislocations, and other health problems. A recent report suggested that those who are amenorrheic (a primary indicator or REDs) experienced lower joint and ligament injury risk compared to eumenorrheic individuals who experience increased joint and ligament injury risk in the early ovulatory phase of menstrual cycle (Suzuki-Yamanaka et al., 2025, MSSE). While risk of certain injuries increases with REDs (i.e., bone stress injuries) it is possible there are others that do not follow this pattern with hormonal changes mediating this effect. My central hypothesis is that when energy availability is increased, amenorrhea, a primary indicator of REDs, is reversed and in certain individuals with genetically predisposed hypermobility it unmasks increased joint mobility and results in hEDS symptoms (figure below). I describe this as a paradox as the reversal of one negative health outcome (REDs) unmasked an underlying connective tissue problem (hEDS). Because female athletes are significantly underrepresented in Exercise Science research (Cowley at al., 2021, Women Sport Phys Act J), I felt committed to understand this line of inquiry and enhance health equity. I presented a thematic poster on this case study at the 2025 National American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting. I hope to submit this case study to the American Journal of Applied Physiology for a special call entitled “Experiments of Nature.”

CONNECT: Cultivating Opportunities for New Engagement, Communication, and Teamwork between First-Year Students and Community-Dwelling Older Adults

This project was externally funded by the PASSHE Faculty Professional Development Council - $10,000 (PI: Walsh)

Older adults comprise a large portion of healthcare patients and their proportion is expected to increase with a growing number of older adults. College of Health Professions undergraduate students at Slippery Rock University currently do not have any classroom opportunities to gain skills around intergenerational communication. Therefore, we propose the CONNECT Program which will educate university faculty to facilitate an intergenerational communication program between college freshmen and community-dwelling older adults. The program will have three phases – development, implementation, and dissemination. The development phase will include professional development programing for two faculty members who will facilitate an intergenerational program. The implementation phase will educate students on ageism, engagement, intergenerational communication, and teamwork. Then, students will be paired with a community-dwelling older adult to participate in biweekly phone calls. Finally, dissemination will include creating a framework to share the CONNECT Program with other College of Health Professions courses at Slippery Rock University.

A Model of Musculoskeletal Decline: The Hartley Guinea Pig

As a master's student in the TRACD Lab, I began studying the Dunkin Hartley guinea pig characterizing it as a model of musculoskeletal decline (see Musci and Walsh, 2020; Frontiers in Physiology). Further, we treated these Hartley guinea pigs with a Nrf2 activator to (1) delay the onset of of musculoskeletal declines in young guinea pigs and (2) attenuate the progression of musculoskeletal declines in older guinea pigs (Musci et al., 2022; Journal of Physiology).

This article below summarized some of my doctoral work examining the muscle-brain aging axis in Hartley guinea pigs and evaluating the treatment of a Nrf2a on these age-related changes. The associated manuscripts are in prep. Additionally, as mitochondrial dysfunction of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and skeletal muscle againg and AD co-exist I took it a step further an assessed how hippocampal mitochondrial respiration changed with age/disease in Hartley guinea pigs.

Could Guinea Pigs Show Us How Humans Age? - Center for Healthy AgingCSU translational researchers are bringing back the guinea pig model For years, translational scientists have studied the conditions that accompany aging through the help of animal models. Mice are the favored model when it comes to the study of human diseases conditions, but the caveat of mouse models is they do not develop conditions, like […]

CSU College of Health and Human Sciences Dean’s Fellow studying how a plant-based compound can contribute to healthy aging - College of Health and Human SciencesMaureen Walsh, a Ph.D. student in the Human Bioenergetics Program in the CSU Department of Health and Exercise Science, received the 2023-24 Dean’s Fellowship to pursue her research on how a plant-based compound could improve hallmarks of skeletal muscle and brain aging to keep people healthy longer as they age.

As a graduate student I also thought it would be fun to get creative and draw my own figures like this Hartley guinea pig!

Non‐transgenic guinea pig strains exhibit divergent age‐related changes in hippocampal mitochondrial respiration Aim Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. However, while 150+ animal models of AD exist, drug translation from preclinical models to humans for treatment usually fails. One f...

The Dunkin Hartley Guinea Pig Is a Model of Primary Osteoarthritis That Also Exhibits Early Onset Myofiber Remodeling That Resembles Human Musculoskeletal AgingSkeletal muscle dysfunction, articular cartilage degeneration, and bone loss occur essentially in parallel during aging. Mechanisms contributing to this systemic musculoskeletal decline remain incompletely understood, limiting progress toward developing effective therapeutics. Because the progression of human musculoskeletal aging is slow, researchers rely on rodent models to identify mechanisms and test interventions. The Dunkin Hartley guinea pig is an outbred strain that begins developing primary osteoarthritis by 4 months of age with a progression and pathology similar to aging humans. The purpose of this study was to determine if skeletal muscle remodeling during the progression of osteoarthritis in these guinea pigs resembles musculoskeletal aging in humans. We compared Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs to Strain 13 guinea pigs, which develop osteoarthritis much later in the lifespan. We measured myofiber type and size, muscle density, and long-term fractional protein synthesis rates of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles in 5, 9, and 15-month-old guinea pigs. There was an age-related decline in skeletal muscle density, a greater proportion of smaller myofibers, and a decline in type II concomitant with a rise in type I myofibers in the gastrocnemius muscles from Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs only. These changes were accompanied by age-related declines in myofibrillar and mitochondrial protein synthesis in the gastrocnemius and soleus. Collectively, these findings suggest Dun...

A practical perspective on how to develop, implement, execute, and reproduce high‐resolution respirometry experiments: The physiologist's guide to an Oroboros O2k<em>The FASEB Journal</em> publishes multidisciplinary basic and translational research covering biology and biomedical sciences at every level of organization.

During my graduate training I gained extensive expertise in high-resolution respirometry (or a VO2max test for your mitochondria). Over the years we learned that there was not a practical O2k cookbook to help scientists develop, implement, execute, and reproduce mitochondrial experiments. Hence, this paper was conceived. With the amazing insights from Drs. Musci, Jacobs, and Hamilton we crafted this manuscript published in FASEB.

Two SRU graduates thrust to forefront of blood pressure researchMelanie Clark and Maureen Walsh walked to class together the first morning of their freshman year in 2014 at Slippery Rock University, leaving Watson Hall to discover that they had the same physics class in North Hall.

The combination of NRF1 and Nrf2 activators in myoblasts stimulate mechanisms of proteostasis without changes in mitochondrial respirationPersistent oxidative stress contributes to hallmarks of aging, including impaired proteostasis and mitochondrial dysfunction, while acute oxidative ch…

1 + 2: Your NRF Activators and You

This is one of my dissertation studies examining the effects of a NRF1 activator and Nrf2 activator on muscle precursor cells stressed with an oxidative challenge of hydrogen peroxide, which was recently accepted for publication. I received the Great Minds in Research Honorable Mention Award and was selected as a 2022 Graduate Student Finalist in the 3 Minute Thesis Competition. I also tied for 1st place in the doctoral category at the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine Conference.

This was one of two studies I worked on as an Undergraduate Researcher at Slippery Rock University. Additionally, our work was showcased in a university article and a story created about my SRU experience.

Observations of the Exercise-Induced Interarm Blood... : Translational Journal of the American College of Sports Medicinets were studied on two separate occasions. On the initial visit, anthropometric measures and a V˙O2peak test were completed. On the subsequent visit, participants cycled at 50% V˙O2peak for 30 min. Heart rate and sequential bilateral BP were measured at rest; at 5, 10, 20, and 30 min of exercise; and during active recovery. Descriptive statistics are reported as mean and SEM. The value of eIAD in predicting IAD was determined using multiple linear regression analysis. Absolute values and the percent (%) change in eIAD, systolic BP (right and left arms), and heart rate during exercise were examined between both IAD− and IAD+ individuals using a repeated-measures ANOVA. Results The incidence of IAD+ at rest was 19%. Twenty-five percent of the variation in resting IAD was predicted by eIAD (P < 0.05). There were significantly different absolute and relative eIAD, and SBP responses to exercise between IAD+ and IAD−. Conclusion There is a relationship between eIAD and resting IAD that warrants further attention. The eIAD response is inherently different between IAD− and IAD+ individuals. It may be important to measure BP bilaterally during aerobic exercise. Blood pressure (BP) is used to aid in appropriate clinical decision making and monitor safe exercise participation. A large interarm difference (IAD) in systolic BP (≥10 mm Hg between arms; IAD+) at rest is associated with premature morbidity and mortality. Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise is known to influence IAD....

Publications

1. Latham AS, Weninger KN, Anderson IK, Gross CC, Walsh MA, Loetz EC, Afzali M, Greenwood B, Hamilton K, Santangelo K, Moreno JA, Investigating the Outbred Guinea pig as an in-vivo Model of Naturally Occurring Aging Neuropathology and Neurodegenerative Phenotypes. Geroscience, In Review.

2. Walsh MA, Musci RV, Andrie KA, Afzali MF, Martinez W, Zhang Q, Santangelo KS, Hamilton KL, Phytochemical compound, PB125, improves protein synthesis related to mechanisms of skeletal muscle proteostasis in a preclinical model of musculoskeletal decline. Exercise, Sport, and Movement, In Review.

3. Andrie KA, Musci RV, Bork S, Walsh MA, Valenti ZJ, Sanford J, Campbell M, Afzali MF, Miller BF, Hamilton KL, Santangelo KS, PB125 modifies histopathology, redox homeostasis, and mobility in a sex-specific manner in Hartley guinea pigs. Antioxidants, In Review.

4. Bomar MC, Ewell TR, Brown RL, Brown DM, Kwarteng BS, Abbotts KSS, Butterklee HM, Williams NNB, Wrigley SD, Walsh MA, Hamilton KL, Thomson DP, Weir TL, Bell C, Magnesium supplementation has modest detrimental effects on cycle ergometer exercise performance and skeletal muscle mitochondria, and negligible effects on the gut microbiota: A randomized crossover clinical trial. Nutrients, 2025.

5. Walsh MA, Latham, A, Zhang, Q, Jacobs, RA, Musci, RV, LaRocca, TJ, Moreno JA, Santangelo KS, Hamilton KL, Non-transgenic guinea pig strains exhibit divergent age-related changes in hippocampal mitochondrial function. Acta Physiologica, 2024.

6. Siripoksup P, Cao G, Cluntun AA, Maschek JA, Pearce Q, Lang MJ, Eshima H, Ferrara PJ, Opurum PC, Mahmassani ZS, Peterlin AD, Watanabe S, Walsh MA, Taylor EB, Cox JE, Drummond MJ, Rutter J, Funai K, Sedentary behavior induces metabolic inflexibility by decreasing mitochondrial phosphatidylethanolamine to suppress skeletal muscle pyruvate metabolism. Journal of Clincial Investigation, 2024.

7. Andrie KM, Palmer DR, Wahl O, Bork S, Campbell M, Walsh MA, Sanford J, Musci R, Hamilton KL, Puttlitz C, Treatment with PB125® Increases Femoral Long Bone Strength in 15-month-old Female Hartley Guinea Pigs. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 2023.

8. Walsh MA, Musci RV, Jacobs RA, Hamilton KL, A practical perspective on how to develop, implement, execute, and reproduce high-resolution respirometry experiments: The physiologist’s guide to an Oroboros O2K. FASEB Journal, 2023.

9. Li J, Richmond B, Bia R, Walsh MA, Shaw K, Symons JD, Franklin S, Rutter J, Funai K, Shaw RM, Hong T, Effect of Cardiomyocyte Membrane Microdomains on Diabetic Hearts and Blood Glucose Levels. Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight, 2023.

10. Szulik MW, Valdez S, Walsh MA, Bia R, Davis K, Horiuchi E, O’Very S, Laxman A, Miller M, Wang L, Garcia-Llano J, Tracy C, Drakos S, Funai K, Chaudhuri D, Boudina S, Franklin S, SMYD1a protects the heart from ischemic injury by regulating OPA1 mediated cristae remodeling and supercomplex formation, Basic Research in Cardiology, 2023.

11. Musci, RV, Andrie KM, Walsh MA, Valenti Z, Afzali MF, Bork S, Campbell M, Johnson T, Kail TE, Martinez R, Nguyen, T, Sanford J, Wist S, Murrell MD, McCord JM, Hybertson BM, Zhang Q, Javors MA, Santangelo KS, Hamilton KL, Phytochemical Nrf2 activator attenuates skeletal muscle mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired proteostasis in a preclinical model of musculoskeletal aging, Journal of Physiology, 2022.

12. Walsh MA, Zhang Q, Musci RV, Hamilton KH, The combination of NRF1and Nrf2 activators stimulate mechanisms of mitochondrial proteostasis and alter mitochondrial energetics in myoblasts. Redox in Muscle Physiology, Exercise, Sport, 2022.

13. Wahl D, Monero J, Santangelo KS, Zhang Q, Musci RV, Walsh MA, Cavalier AN, Hamilton, KL, LaRocca TJ, Non-Transgenic guinea pig strains exhibit hallmarks of human brain aging and Alzheimer’s Disease. Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences, 2022.

14. Eberhardt A, Lee S, Yin X, Balynas A, Rekate E, Kraiss J, Lang M, Walsh MA, Streiff M, Corbin A, Funai K, Sachse F, Chadhuri D, EFHD1 ablation inhibits cardiac mitoflash activation and protects cardiomyocytes from ischemia. Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, 2022.

15. Walsh MA*, Musci RV*, Konopka AR, Wolff CA, Peelor FF, Reiser RR, Miller BF, Santangelo KS, Hamilton KL Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs are characterized by early onset myofiber remodeling that resembles human skeletal muscle aging. Frontiers in Physiology Striated Skeletal Muscle Physiology, 2020. *denotes co-first authorship

16. Walsh MA, Clarke MM, Allen SR, Lin Y, Holmstrup ME, Jensen BT. Observations and implications of the exercise-induced inter-arm blood pressure difference. Translational Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, 2020.

17. Zhang Q, Walsh MA, Linden MA, Hamilton KL, Understanding the importance of proteostasis in maximizing healthspan: Challenges and connections with the other pillars of aging. Encyclopedia of Biomedical Gerontology, 2020.

18. Walsh MA, Kuhn TA, Holmstrup ME, Jensen BT, Miscuffing results in blood pressure measurement error and misclassification. Keystone Journal of Undergraduate Research, 2017.

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