Rodrigo Fernandez Gonzalo

I am a docent (Assoc. Prof.) in Physiology and Principal Researcher at the Division of Clinical Physiology.

I am research group leader of the Space & Environmental Physiology lab.

My research focuses on understanding how skeletal muscle mass and function are regulated under different conditions and situations, and how this tissue interacts with other physiological systems of the human body. In recent years, I have focused on studying the effects of unloading, severe inactivity and microgravity on the musculoskeletal and immune systems.

In my studies, I use a wide range of methods to analyze functional, metabolic, morphological, molecular and neural adaptations to short- or long-term muscle disuse (e.g. microgravity), aging, acute and chronic exercise, disease (e.g. cerebral palsy) and athletic performance. I use clinical studies in humans, experiments in mice, and cellular models to gain a comprehensive picture of the physiological processes underlying the regulation and interaction of the musculoskeletal and immune systems.

My general competence area is human physiology, with particular expertise in skeletal muscle physiology.

Since 2018, I have been the course responsible (kursansvarig) for anatomy and physiology (distance learning) within the bachelor’s degree programme in nursing at Karolinska Institutet.

Since 2023, I have been the course responsible for Advanced Human Physiology Research as part of the Master's programme in Translational Physiology and Pharmacology, at Karolinska Institutet.

I am also involved in teaching activities in space and environmental physiology in Sweden and abroad.