Dr Mariasole Da Boit

I completed a PhD in 2012 looking at the effects of endurance and interval training on cardiorespiratory parameters and muscle oxygenation during exercise in healthy adults. I then moved to the University of Aberdeen to carry on a 3 year BBSRC funded project investigating the effects of fish oil supplementation and resistance training on muscle mass, muscle function and inflammatory markers in sarcopenic older people. After successful completion of the BBSRC project I was appointed as Knowledge Transfer Associate at the University of Derby and SureScreen Diagnostic Ltd where, with the use of nanotechnology, I developed a high bioavailable liposomal vitamin C product and tested its potential beneficial effects on human health. I have joined DMU in 2017 as Early Career Academic Fellow.

My main research interest lies within nutrition and exercise interventions to improve health in different populations. During my career I have developed a special interest for berries extract supplementation and its effects on cardiovascular health and exercise performance, via modulation of nitric oxide bioavailability, and fish oil supplementation and its effects on the immune system and muscle function. 

Nutrition & Metabolic health

Biomedical and Environmental Health

- Da Boit M & Santos-Merx L. Reduced-fat breakfast impact on appetite regulation in healthy adults: Views from a nutritional and psychological pilot study. Appetite, October 2020 In Press.

- Kashi DS, Shabir A, Da Boit M, Bailey SJ, Higgins MF. The Efficacy of Administering Fruit-Derived Polyphenols to Improve Health Biomarkers, Exercise Performance and Related Physiological Responses. Nutrients. 2019;11(10):2389. Published 2019 Oct 7. doi:10.3390/nu11102389

- Carru C, Da Boit M, Paliogiannis P, Zinellu A, Sotgia S, Sibson R, Meakin JR, Aspden RM, Mangoni AA, Gray SR. Markers of oxidative stress, skeletal muscle mass and function, and their responses to resistance exercise training in older adults. Exp Gerontol. 2018 Mar;103:101-106. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2017.12.024. Epub 2018 Jan 9. PMID: 29326089. 

- Tommasi S, Elliot DJ, Da Boit M, Gray SR, Lewis BC, Mangoni AA. Homoarginine and inhibition of human arginase activity: kinetic characterization and biological relevance. Sci Rep 8, 3697 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-22099-x

- Da Boit M, Tommasi S, Elliot D, et al. Sex Differences in the Associations between L-Arginine Pathway Metabolites, Skeletal Muscle Mass and Function, and their Responses to Resistance Exercise, in Old Age. J Nutr Health Aging. 2018;22(4):534-540. doi:10.1007/s12603-017-0964-6

- Da Boit M, Sibson R, Sivasubramaniam S, Meakin JR, Greig CA, Aspden RM, Thies F, Jeromson S, Hamilton DL, Speakman JR, Hambly C, Mangoni AA, Preston T, Gray SR. Sex differences in the effect of fish-oil supplementation on the adaptive response to resistance exercise training in older people: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2017 Jan;105(1):151-158. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.116.140780. Epub 2016 Nov 16. PMID: 27852617; PMCID: PMC5183731.

- Da Boit M, Sibson R, Meakin JR, et al. Sex differences in the response to resistance exercise training in older people. Physiol Rep. 2016;4(12):e12834. doi:10.14814/phy2.12834

- Da Boit M, Mastalurova I, Brazaite G, McGovern N, Thompson K, Gray SR. The Effect of Krill Oil Supplementation on Exercise Performance and Markers of Immune Function. PLoS One. 2015;10(9):e0139174. Published 2015 Sep 25. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0139174

For a full list of Dr Da Boit's publications please see Mariasole Da Boit publications

- Da Boit M & Santos-Merx L. Reduced-fat breakfast impact on appetite regulation in healthy adults: Views from a nutritional and psychological pilot study. Appetite, October 2020 In Press.

- Tommasi S, Elliot DJ, Da Boit M, Gray SR, Lewis BC, Mangoni AA. Homoarginine and inhibition of human arginase activity: kinetic characterization and biological relevance. Sci Rep 8, 3697 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-22099-x

- Da Boit M, Tommasi S, Elliot D, Zinellu A, Sotgia S, Sibson R, Meakin JR, Aspden RM, Carru C, Mangoni AA, Gray SR. Sex Differences in the Associations between L-Arginine Pathway Metabolites, Skeletal Muscle Mass and Function, and their Responses to Resistance Exercise, in Old Age. J Nutr Health Aging. 2018;22(4):534-540. doi: 10.1007/s12603-017-0964-6. PMID: 29582894.

-Da Boit M, Sibson R, Sivasubramaniam S, Meakin JR, Greig CA, Aspden RM, Thies F, Jeromson S, Hamilton DL, Speakman JR, Hambly C, Mangoni AA, Preston T, Gray SR. Sex differences in the effect of fish-oil supplementation on the adaptive response to resistance exercise training in older people: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2017 Jan;105(1):151-158. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.116.140780. Epub 2016 Nov 16. PMID: 27852617; PMCID: PMC5183731.

- Da Boit M, Bailey SJ, Callow S, Dimenna FJ, Jones AM. Effects of interval and continuous training on O2 uptake kinetics during severe-intensity exercise initiated from an elevated metabolic baseline. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2014;116(8):1068-1077. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01365.2013

Mariasole has wide ranging research interest. Her main interest is the use of nutritional and exercise interventions to improve skeltal muscle health in aging. Her second main interest is the mechanisms behind the beneficial effects of phytochemicals on endothelial dysfunction and cardiovasuclar health.

Her research expertise includes:

• Human Anatomy and Physiology (Module Lead)
• Nutrition, enviroiment and public health (Module Lead)
• Nutritional Biochemistry (Module Lead)
• Nutrition and Metabolism
• Diabetes
• Cardiovascular health
• Research projects 
• Admission tutor for Nutrition

• Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology
• MSc in Preventive and Adapted Physical Activities
• BSc in Exercise and Sport Sciences
• PGCert in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

• Medical Science (BMed Sci)
• Biomedical Science (BSc)
• Nutrition (Bsc)
• Physician Associate (MSc)

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

• The Physiological Society
• The Nutrition Society 

CMI certificate in Management and Leadership  

• Associations between L-arginine pathway metabolites, skeletal muscle mass and function, and their responses to resistance exercise, in older adults. International Conference on Frailty and Sarcopenia Research (ICFSR 2021), Miami Beach, FL, USA, March 2018;

• The effect of fish oil supplementation on the adaptive response to resistance exercise training in older adults. British Society for Research on Aging, Annual Scientific Meeting, Durham University 4-6th July 2016;

• Oxygen uptake kinetics and endurance training. ECSS Conference (Bruges) 4th-7th July 2012. 

• PhD, Joseph Festa. First supervisor 
• MRes, Vanessa Kimbell. First supervisor 
• MRes, Kinga Kwiecien. First supervisor
• PhD, Mohammed Elhag. Second supervisor
• PhD, Hesham Khodeir. Second supervisor

- Fully funded PhD scholarship 2019 - The role of berries on endothelial dysfuntcion. £45k 

- Blackcurrant extract and autophagy in HUVECs, 2018. £5k

Reviwer for various journals including: Journal of Applied Physiology; The Journals of Gerontology; Experimental Gerontology; Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes & Essential Fatty Acids; PLoS One.