Diego Montiel Rojas
Diego Montiel Rojas Position: Lecturer School/office: School of Health SciencesEmail: ZGllZ28ubW9udGllbDtvcnUuc2U=
Phone: +46 19 303733
Room: G2109
About Diego Montiel Rojas
Diego Montiel Rojas is a lecturer in exercise physiology in the School of Health Sciences, at the Division of Sports Science. He belongs to the research group EPSM (Exercise Physiology and Sport Medicine).
He earned his Degree in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (EQF level 7), with a specialisation in sport high performance in 2007 at the University of Granada (Spain). He is also knowledgeable in sport management and a qualified physical education teacher. He obtained his research-orientated MSc in Sports Physiology and Medicine in 2016 at Örebro University (Sweden) with a thesis entitled “The effect of 1-year resistance training on the exercise-induced changes in the gene expression of telomere regulatory factors in skeletal muscle of healthy old men”. In 2022, he obtained his PhD (University of Örebro, Sweden) with a thesis entitled “Diet and sarcopenia risk in community-dwelling older European adults”.
Research
His main research interest focuses on the biology of skeletal muscle ageing and the role of modifiable lifestyle factors, such as healthy diet and physical activity, in the prevention and management of sarcopenia. He is also involved in studies addressing adaptations to exercise in the context of health and sport performance (exercise interventions, recovery strategies, etc.) using an integrative approach, i.e. from physical function to molecular and cellular mechanisms, which has broadened his range of scientific and technical expertise over the years.
He is the laboratory manager of the Sport Science Platform (exercise physiology, performance and molecular assessments).
Teaching
His teaching primarily focuses on physiological and molecular assessment methods, statistics, research methods in sport sciences, training planning and periodisation, and sport nutrition. He also supervises students at bachelor, master and doctoral levels.
Diego is also the Programme Coordinator for the Training program 180 credits, where the students are trained to work in diverse areas of health and fitness, from recreational training to high-performance sport.
Research projects
Active projects
- Prevention with Precision: a personalized approach for health promotion at work
- Pathophysiology and physical activity
- The role of spleen and lung volumes in artistic swimming
- Recovery in sports
Completed projects
- Exercise therapy in facioscapulohumeral dystrophy - Integration of physical training in lifestyle to induce functional, tissue and quality of life benefits.
- Physiological responses and adaptations to exercise
- Dietary habits and physical activity for health and wellbeing
- New dietary strategies addressing the specific needs of elderly population for an healthy ageing in Europe
- Physical activity and diabetes in young adults
- TWH 65-70 A randomized controlled trial of health effects of training & dietary intervention in elderly women
Research groups
Publications
Articles in journals
- Horwath, O. , Montiel Rojas, D. , Ponsot, E. , Féasson, L. & Kadi, F. (2025). Increased muscle satellite cell content and preserved telomere length in response to combined exercise training in patients with FSHD. Journal of Physiology. [BibTeX]
- Horwath, O. , Montiel Rojas, D. , Ponsot, E. , Féasson, L. & Kadi, F. (2025). Increased muscle satellite cell content and preserved telomere length in response to combined exercise training in patients with FSHD. Journal of Physiology, 603 (5), 1057-1069. [BibTeX]
- Veen, J. , Montiel Rojas, D. , Kadi, F. & Nilsson, A. (2022). Effects of Reallocating Time Spent in Different Physical Activity Intensities on Sarcopenia Risk in Older Adults: An Isotemporal Substitution Analysis. Biology, 11 (1). [BibTeX]
- Kamandulis, S. , Mickevicius, M. , Snieckus, A. , Streckis, V. , Montiel Rojas, D. , Chaillou, T. , Westerblad, H. & Venckunas, T. (2022). Increasing the resting time between drop jumps lessens delayed-onset muscle soreness and limits the extent of prolonged low-frequency force depression in human knee extensor muscles. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 122 (1), 255-266. [BibTeX]
- Veen, J. , Montiel Rojas, D. , Nilsson, A. & Kadi, F. (2021). Engagement in Muscle-Strengthening Activities Lowers Sarcopenia Risk in Older Adults Already Adhering to the Aerobic Physical Activity Guidelines. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18 (3). [BibTeX]
- Montiel Rojas, D. , Santoro, A. , Nilsson, A. , Franceschi, C. , Capri, M. , Bazzocchi, A. , Battista, G. , de Groot, L. C. P. G. M. & et al. (2020). Beneficial Role of Replacing Dietary Saturated Fatty Acids with Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in the Prevention of Sarcopenia: Findings from the NU-AGE Cohort. Nutrients, 12 (10). [BibTeX]
- Montiel Rojas, D. , Nilsson, A. , Santoro, A. , Franceschi, C. , Bazzocchi, A. , Battista, G. , de Groot, L. C. P. G. M. , Feskens, E. J. M. & et al. (2020). Dietary Fibre May Mitigate Sarcopenia Risk: Findings from the NU-AGE Cohort of Older European Adults. Nutrients, 12 (4). [BibTeX]
- Montiel Rojas, D. , Nilsson, A. , Santoro, A. , Bazzocchi, A. , de Groot, L. C. P. G. M. , Feskens, E. J. M. , Berendsen, A. A. M. , Madej, D. & et al. (2020). Fighting Sarcopenia in Ageing European Adults: The Importance of the Amount and Source of Dietary Proteins. Nutrients, 12 (12). [BibTeX]
- Bergens, O. , Veen, J. , Montiel Rojas, D. , Edholm, P. , Kadi, F. & Nilsson, A. (2020). Impact of healthy diet and physical activity on metabolic health in men and women: Study Protocol Clinical Trial (SPIRIT Compliant). Medicine, 99 (16). [BibTeX]
- Nilsson, A. , Montiel Rojas, D. & Kadi, F. (2018). Impact of Meeting Different Guidelines for Protein Intake on Muscle Mass and Physical Function in Physically Active Older Women. Nutrients, 10 (9). [BibTeX]
- Montiel Rojas, D. , Nilsson, A. , Ponsot, E. , Brummer, R. J. , Fairweather-Tait, S. , Jennings, A. , de Groot, L. C. P. G. M. , Berendsen, A. & et al. (2018). Short Telomere Length Is Related to Limitations in Physical Function in Elderly European Adults. Frontiers in Physiology, 9. [BibTeX]
Articles, reviews/surveys
- Chaillou, T. & Montiel Rojas, D. (2023). Does the blunted stimulation of skeletal muscle protein synthesis by aging in response to mechanical load result from impaired ribosome biogenesis?. Frontiers in aging, 4. [BibTeX]
Doctoral theses, comprehensive summaries
- Montiel Rojas, D. (2022). Diet and sarcopenia risk in community-dwelling older European adults. (Doctoral dissertation). (Comprehensive summary) Örebro: Örebro University. [BibTeX]
Manuscripts
- Montiel-Rojas, D. , Nilsson, A. , Kadi, F. , Santoro, A. , Franceschi, C. , de Groot, L. C. , Feskens, E. J. M. , Berendsen, A. A. & et al. Mediterranean-style diet and muscle health in commuity-dwelling older european adults : results of the NU-AGE one-year multi-centre RCT. [BibTeX]