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Dr Aivaras Ratkevicius

Aivaras

Senior Lecturer - Sports and Exercise Medicine

Centre: Sports and Exercise Medicine

Email: a.ratkevicius@qmul.ac.uk

Profile

ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4737-5817 

Dr. Aivaras Ratkevicius got his PhD in Biology from the Joint Programme of Doctorial Studies coordinated by the Lithuanian Sports University and Lithuanian University of Health Sciences in 1996. He was Guest Researcher at the Copenhagen Muscle Research Centre (University of Copenhagen) from 1993 to 1998. He worked as Assistant Professor at the University of Copenhagen where he did research and teaching in Exercise Biochemistry and Metabolism from 1998 to 2002. Aferwards, he moved to UK and worked as a Senior Lecturer in Sports and Exercise Science at the University of Sunderland. In 2005, Dr. Aivaras Ratkevicius started working as a Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen where he did research and teaching in Sports Science and Molecular Exercise Physiology. In 2016, he was appointed as a Professor at the Lithuanian Sports University where he lead research in the area of Muscles, Motor Control and Health Promotion. He is now a Senior Lecturer in Sports Medicine at Queen Mary University of London. 

Research

Dr. Aivaras Ratkevicius has studied human muscle metabolism using P31-NMR spectroscopy at the University of Copenhagen. He later worked on the role of mitochondrial citrate synthase in metabolism using cell cultures and mouse models. He also did research on the functional role of myostatin in ageing-related muscle weakness and adaptations to exercise training. His research also focused on adaptations of skeletal muscles to caloric restriction and dietary factors. He is now interested in effects of exercise interventions on resting metabolic rate and patterns of leisure time physical activity. 

Publications

  • (publicationYear). Effects of Aging in Combination with High-Fat or Ketogenic Diet on Skeletal Muscle Atrophy Following Denervation in C57BL/6J Mice. nameOfConference


    QMRO: qmroHref
  • (publicationYear). Myostatin in Obesity: A Molecular Link Between Metabolic Dysfunction and Musculotendinous Remodeling. nameOfConference


    QMRO: qmroHref
  • Velickiene D, Szymczak-Pajor I, Ratkevicius A (publicationYear). Editorial: Is insulin resistance the Eminence Grise of aging and non-communicable chronic diseases?. nameOfConference


    QMRO: qmroHref
  • Cesanelli L, Minderis P, Fokin A et al. (2025). Myostatin deficiency blunts mechanical adaptation of soleus muscle to overload. nameOfConference


    QMRO: qmroHref
  • Cesanelli L, Ylaite B, Brazaitis M et al. (2025). Metabolic stress and muscle mechanics: Acute response of isolated soleus and EDL muscles to prolonged fasting in mice with distinct muscle phenotypes. nameOfConference


    QMRO: qmroHref
  • Littlewood K, Gegic J, Hickman M et al. (2025). Metabolic dysfunction over a life course key to healthy ageing inequality. nameOfConference


  • L. C, P. M, I. B et al. (2025). Obesity-driven musculotendinous remodeling impairs tissue resilience to mechanical damage. nameOfConference


    QMRO: qmroHref
  • Baumert P, Mäntyselkä S, Schönfelder M et al. (2024). Skeletal muscle hypertrophy rewires glucose metabolism: An experimental investigation and systematic review. nameOfConference


  • Minderis P, Fokin A, Povilonis T et al. (publicationYear). Effects of Diet Macronutrient Composition on Weight Loss during Caloric Restriction and Subsequent Weight Regain during Refeeding in Aging Mice. nameOfConference


  • Lionikas A, Cordero AIH, Kilikevicius A et al. (2023). Stanniocalcin‐2 inhibits skeletal muscle growth and is upregulated in functional overload‐induced hypertrophy. nameOfConference


View profile publication page

Sponsors

  • Research Council of Lithuania
  • European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD)
  • NHS Grampian Endowment fund
  • Kosterlitz Center for Therapeutics, University of Aberdeen
  • TMRC Collaboration between Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Scottish medical universities

Collaborators

  • Prof. Stuart R. Gray (Stuart. Gray@glasgow.ac.uk), School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health. University of Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.
  • Dr. Arimantas Lionikas (a.lionikas@abdn.ac.uk), School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, U.K.
  • Prof. Henning Wackerhage (henning.wackerhage@tum.de), School of Sport and Health Science, Technical University of Munich, Germany.
  • Dr. Petras Minderis (petras.minderis@lsu.lt), Institute of Sport Science and Innovations, Lithuanian Sports University, Kaunas, Lithuania

Teaching

Dr. Aivaras Ratkevicius is a Course Coordinator for MSc modules WHR7038 - Applied Exercise Physiology and WHR7081 - Nutrition for Exercise and Health. He is also supervising iBSc and MSc research projects in the area of physical activity and heath. 

Intercalated BSc in Sports and Exercise Medicine, Queen Mary University of London

MSc in Sports and Exercise Medicine, Queen Mary University of London

Disclosures

No disclosures.

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