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. 

Publications

• Baumert P, Mäntyselkä S, Schönfelder M et al. (2024). Skeletal muscle hypertrophy rewires glucose metabolism: An experimental investigation and systematic review.

  
  

  DOI: 10.1002/jcsm.13468

  
  

  QMRO: https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/97019
• Minderis P, Fokin A, Povilonis T et al. . Effects of Diet Macronutrient Composition on Weight Loss during Caloric Restriction and Subsequent Weight Regain during Refeeding in Aging Mice.

  
  

  DOI: 10.3390/nu15224836

  
  

  QMRO: https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/92736
• Lionikas A, Cordero AIH, Kilikevicius A et al. (2023). Stanniocalcin‐2 inhibits skeletal muscle growth and is upregulated in functional overload‐induced hypertrophy.

  
  

  DOI: 10.14814/phy2.15793

  
  

  QMRO: https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/97072
• Minderis P, Fokin A, Dirmontas M et al. . Caloric Restriction per se Rather Than Dietary Macronutrient Distribution Plays a Primary Role in Metabolic Health and Body Composition Improvements in Obese Mice.

  
  

  DOI: 10.3390/nu13093004

  
  

  QMRO: https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/97073
• Lapinskas E, Krusnauskas R, Ratkevicius A (2021). Effect of repeated bouts of fasting and refeeding on body composition and proteolysis gene expression in skeletal muscles and liver of C57BL/6J mice.

  
  

  DOI: 10.1007/s11756-021-00873-z

  
  

  QMRO:
• Lapinskas E, Krusnauskas R, Cekanauskaite A et al. (2020). Effect of fasting on body composition and proteolysis gene expression in skeletal muscles and liver of BEH+/+ and BEL mice.

  
  

  DOI: 10.1080/08977194.2021.1960831

  
  

  QMRO:
• Kvedaras M, Minderis P, Cesanelli L et al. (2021). Effects of fasting on skeletal muscles and body fat of adult and old C57BL/6J mice.

  
  

  DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2021.111474

  
  

  QMRO:
• Kvedaras M, Minderis P, Krusnauskas R et al. (2020). Effects of ten-week 30% caloric restriction on metabolic health and skeletal muscles of adult and old C57BL/6J mice.

  
  

  DOI: 10.1016/j.mad.2020.111320

  
  

  QMRO:
• Minderis P, Fokin A, Dirmontas M et al. (2020). Hypocaloric Low‐Carbohydrate and Low‐Fat Diets with Fixed Protein Lead to Similar Health Outcomes in Obese Mice.

  
  

  DOI: 10.1002/oby.22872

  
  

  QMRO:
• Gedmantaite A, Celis-Morales CA, Ho F et al. (2020). Associations between diet and handgrip strength: a cross-sectional study from UK Biobank.

  
  

  DOI: 10.1016/j.mad.2020.111269

  
  

  QMRO:

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.