Using elite athletes as a model for genetic research

Citation

Moran C, Williams A & Wang G (2019) Using elite athletes as a model for genetic research. In: Lightfoot JT, Hubal M & Roth S (eds.) Routledge Handbook of Sport and Exercise Systems Genetics. 1st ed. Routledge International Handbooks. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 357-371.

Abstract
Technological advances over the last two decades have placed genetic research at the forefront of sport and exercise science. It provides potential answers to some of contemporary sport and exercise’s defining issues and throws up some of the area’s most challenging ethical questions, but to date, it has rested on a fragmented and disparate literature base. The Routledge Handbook of Sport and Exercise Systems Genetics constitutes the most authoritative and comprehensive reference in this critical area of study, consolidating knowledge and providing a framework for interpreting future research findings. Taking an approach which covers single gene variations, through genomics, epigenetics, and proteomics, to environmental and dietary influences on genetic mechanisms, the book is divided into seven sections. It examines state-of-the-art genetic methods, applies its approach to physical activity, exercise endurance, muscle strength, and sports performance, and discusses the ethical considerations associated with genetic research in sport and exercise. Made up of contributions from some of the world’s leading sport and exercise scientists and including chapters on important topical issues such as gene doping, gender testing, predicting sport performance and injury risk, and using genetic information to inform physical activity and health debates, the handbook is a vital addition to the sport and exercise literature. It is an important reference for any upper-level student, researcher, or practitioner working in the genetics of sport and exercise or exercise physiology, and crucial reading for any social scientist interested in the ethics of sport.

Notes
About the Editors J. Timothy Lightfoot is the Omar Smith Endowed Chair in Kinesiology and the Director of the Sydney and JL Huffines Institute for Sports Medicine and Human Performance at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas (USA), and holds the rank of Professor of joint appointments on the Texas A&M Genetics Faculty and the Texas A&M Institute for Genome Sciences and Society. His research focus has been the genetic factors that regulate daily physical activity. He is an Associate Editor of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. He was a founding member of the National Exercise Clinical Trials Network and is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. Monica J. Hubal is an Associate Professor of Kinesiology at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, USA. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, a research scientist in the Diabetes Translational Research Center and is affiliated with the Indiana Center for Musculoskeletal Health at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on understanding the systems biology of emergent cardiometabolic disease and the mechanisms driving response to various interventions. She was a principal investigator in the Research Center for Genetic Medicine at the Children’s National Medical Center. She is an Associate Editor for Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise and Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews and is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. Stephen M. Roth is a Professor of Kinesiology and Associate Dean at the University of Maryland in College Park, USA. He has researched the genetic aspects of exercise and sport for over 15 years. He is an author or co-author of over 90 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and books. He served as an Associate Editor for Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise and Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Kinesiology and the American College of Sports Medicine.