Dr. Karl McCullagh
Lecturer in Physiology, NUI GalwayKarl's research looks at proteins associated with the dystrophin complex and he is also interested in growth and regeneration of muscle tissue.
Researcher in
Proteins associated with the dystrophin protein complex
Cell signalling and regulation of skeletal muscle fibre types
Growth and regeneration of muscle
2011 - Present
Lecturer in Physiology, Discipline of Physiology / REMEDI, NUI Galway
2008 - Present
Senior Postdoctoral Researcher
REMEDI, National University of Ireland, Galway
Cardiovascular gene therapy for muscular dystrophy and gene delivery for vascular repair
2003 - 2007
Career Development Fellow
Medical Research Council, Functional Genetics Unit, University of Oxford, UK
Dystrophin complex-linked intermediate filament protein syncoilin: function in muscle and nerve
2000 - 2003
EMBO Post-doctoral researcher
University of Padova, Italy.
Transcription factor NFAT as a nerve activity sensor in skeletal muscle fibre types
1997 - 2000
Post-doctoral researcher
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Massachussets,USA Role of calcineurin isoforms in cardiac and skeletal muscle remodelling
1994 - 1997
Ph.D in Molecular Physiology
Department of Anatomy, Trinity College Dublin (TCD) Lactate transport and transporters in muscle
1993 - 1994 Research Assistant University of Waterloo, Department of Kinesiology, Ontario, Canada
1990 - 1993 M.Sc. Kinesiology
Dalhousie University, Department of Kinesiology, Nova Scotia, Canada.
2010 - 2013
Heath Research Board Ireland Project Grant
2000 - 2002
European Molecular Biology Organization Post-doctoral Long-term Fellowship
2000 - 2003
Marie Curie Post-doctoral fellowship
1993 Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology Graduate Research Award
Publications
1. F Sharif*, S.O. Hynes*, K.J.A. McCullagh* S Ganley, Peter McHugh, U Gieser PhD, J Crowley MD, F Barry PhD, T O’Brien. Gene-eluting stents: non-viral liposome-based gene delivery of eNOS to the blood vessel wall in vivo (*joint equal authors). In re-submission Gene Therapy.
W. Thomas Clarke, Ben Edwards, Karl J. A. McCullagh, Matthew W. Kemp, Catherine Moorwood, Diane L. Sherman, Matthew Burgess, and Kay E. Davies.
J Cell Sci 2010 123 (15): 2543-2552. August 1, 2010.
Analysis of skeletal muscle function in the C57BL6/SV129 syncoilin knockout mouse
A naturally occurring calcineurin variant inhibits FoxO activity and enhances skeletal muscle regeneration
Intermediate filament-like protein syncoilin in normal and myopathic striated muscle
Utrophin upregulation in Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Muscular dystrophies related to the cytoskeleton/nuclear envelope
NFAT is a nerve activity sensor in skeletal muscle and controls activity-dependent myosin switching
Localized IGF-1 transgene expression sustains hypertrophy and regeneration in senescent skeletal muscle
Revisiting calcineurin and human heart failure.
IGF-1 induces skeletal myocyte hypertrophy through calcineurin in association with GATA-2 and NF-ATc1
McCullagh KJ, Edwards B, Kemp MW, Giles LC, Burgess M, Davies KE. Analysis of skeletal muscle function in the C57BL6/SV129 syncoilin knockout mouse. Mamm Genome. 2008 May;19(5):339-51. Epub 2008 Jul 2. PMID:18594912
McCullagh KJ, Edwards B, Poon E, Lovering RM, Paulin D, Davies KE. Intermediate filament-like protein syncoilin in normal and myopathic striated muscle. Neuromuscul Disord. 2007 Dec;17(11-12):970-9. Epub 2007 Jul 12. PMID:17629480
Karl JA McCullagh, Ben Edwards, Richard M. Lovering, Ellen Poon, Denise Paulin and Kay E Davies. Intermediate filament-like protein syncoilin in normal and myopathic striated muscle. Neuromuscular Disorders. Neuromuscular Disorders. 2007 Dec; 17(11-12): 970-979 (Impact factor:2.98)
McCullagh KJ, Calabria E, Pallafacchina G, Ciciliot S, Serrano AL, Argentini C, Kalhovde JM, Lomo T, Schiaffino S. NFAT is a nerve activity sensor in skeletal muscle and controls activity-dependent myosin switching. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Jul 20;101(29):10590-5. (Impact factor 9.4)
Musaro, A., McCullagh, K., Paul, A., Houghton, L., Dobrowolny, G., Molinaro, M., Barton, E.R., Sweeney, H.L. & Rosenthal, N. Localized IGF-1 transgene expression sustains hypertrophy and regeneration in senescent skeletal muscle. Nature Genetics (2001) Feb;27(2):195-200. (Impact factor 34.3)
Musarò, Antonio, Karl J.A. McCullagh, Frank Naya, Eric N.Olson and Nadia Rosenthal (1999). IGF-1 induces skeletal myocyte hypertrophy through calcineurin in association with GATA-2 and NF-ATc1. Nature 400(6744): 581-585. (Impact factor 34.5)
Bonen, A., K. J. A. McCullagh, C. T. Putman, E. Hultman, N. L. Jones, G. J. F. Heigenhauser. (1998). Short-term training increases human muscle MCT1 and femoral venous lactate in relation to muscle lactate. American Journal of Physiology (Endocrinol. Metab.) 274: E102-107.
Baker, S.K., McCullagh, K.J.A., Bonen, A. (1998). Training intensity dependent and tissue specific increases in lactate uptake and MCT1 in heart and muscle. Journal of Applied Physiology, 84: 987-994.
McCullagh, K. J. A., Poole, R. C., Halestrap, A. P., Tipton, K. F., O'Brien, M., & Bonen, A. (1997). Chronic electrical stimulation increases MCT1 and lactate uptake in red and white skeletal muscle. American Journal of Physiology, (Endocrinol. Metab.) 273: E239-246. (Impact factor: 4.4)
Johannsson, E.,Nagelhus, E. A., McCullagh, K. J. A., Sejersted, O. M.,Blackstad, T.W.,Bonen, A., & Ottersen, O. P. (1997). Cellular and subcellular expression of the monocarboxylate transporter MCT1 in rat heart. Circulation Research, 80, 400-407.
Johannsson, E., McCullagh, K. J. A., Han, X. X., Fernando, P. K., Jensen, J., Dahl, H. A. & Bonen, A. (1996). Effect of overexpressing GLUT-1 and GLUT-4 on insulin- and contraction-stimulated glucose transport in muscle. American Journal of Physiology 271 (Endocrinol. Metab. 34), E547-E555.
McCullagh, K. J. A., Poole, R. C., Halestrap, A. P., O'Brien, M. & Bonen, A. (1996). The role of the lactate transporter (MCT1) in skeletal muscles. American Journal of Physiology.(Endocrinol. Metab. 34). 271, E143-E150.
Handberg, A., Megeney, L. A., McCullagh, K. J. A., Kayser, L. & Bonen, A. (1996). Reciprocal GLUT1 and GLUT4 expression and glucose transport in denervated muscles. American Journal of Physiology. 271 (Endocrinol. Metab. 34), E50-E57
McCullagh, K. J. A., Juel, C., O'Brien, M. & Bonen, A. (1996). Chronic muscle stimulation increases lactate transport in rat skeletal muscle. Molecular Cellular Biochemistry. 156, 51-57
McCullagh, K. J. A. & Bonen, A. (1995). Reduced lactate transport in denervated rat skeletal muscle. American Journal of Physiology 268 (Reg. Integ. Comp. Physiol. 37), R884-R888
Posters/Presentations
2010 TERMIS EU 2010- Galway,Ireland~ Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine Society
2009 EMBO Advances in Stem Cell Research, Cambridge, UK
2004 New Directions in Biology and disease of skeletal muscle; San Diego, California, USA.
2003 Oral Presentation, EMBO Fellows Meeting, EMBL Heidelberg, Germany.
