Education
B.S., Exercise Physiology and Nutrition, University of Glasgow, Scotland
Ph.D., Nutritional Biochemistry, University of Nottingham in England
Biography
From studying the role of carnitine availability in the integration of skeletal muscle carbohydrate and fat oxidation in graduate school, Dr. Porter took up a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas Medical Branch where he developed an interest in the mitochondrion, spending much of his time studying the role that these organelles play in the metabolic stress response to severe burn injuries. He moved then to the University of Texas Medical Branch, where he was an Associate Professor within the Department of Surgery and the Director of the Metabolism Unit at Shriners Hospitals for Children – Galveston, before joining the Faculty at ACNC.
Research Interests
Dr. Porter’s research program seeks to better understand the role of the mitochondrion in health and disease. Areas of focus include studying the role of mitochondrial proton leaks in the regulation of metabolic rate, as well as studying the impact of lifestyle (i.e. diet/exercise) and pharmacological interventions on bioenergetics in several settings including developmental programming, obesity and trauma. With a strong focus on metabolic physiology, his team uses a wide range of techniques such as respiratory gas exchange and stable isotope approaches to determine metabolic rate and substrate metabolism at a whole body level, as well as laboratory techniques including high-resolution respirometry, fluorometry and spectrophotometry to assay tissue and cell mitochondrial function.