James Betts

Dr Betts joined the University of Bath in 2005 having completed a PhD in Human Muscle Metabolism at Loughborough University and is now a senior lecturer in nutrition, metabolism & statistics.

Dietary nutrients and physical exercise both have the potential to substantially alter metabolism and are therefore useful stimuli with which to study how certain metabolic processes may relate to various whole-body outcomes. My research employs this approach from two perspectives: firstly, to better understand how skeletal muscle metabolism is regulated during exercise, with specific reference to any nutritional strategies which can potentially impact upon those aspects of metabolism that limit human performance.

In contrast, the parallel strand of my research involves the examination of how dietary manipulation can be used to favourably modify resting metabolism for the purposes of improved health. This latter perspective focuses partly on dietary facilitation of weight management but also directly addresses the molecular and cellular basis of certain metabolic disorders (e.g. type II diabetes), again with a view to exploring any nutritional interventions which may influence relevant metabolic processes.