Muscle Mass – The Immune System

Recent research suggests that the loss of muscle mass is associated with compromised immunity and infections.  Dr. Suzette Pereira, Ph.D., a muscle health researcher and scientist, discusses how muscle mass can impact health status and outcomes, especially amongst older, high-risk, and chronically ill patients.  She talks about the type of lifestyle changes that can be made to maintain or improve muscle mass to help strengthen the immune system, and supplements that healthcare providers can recommend when seniors can’t get the nutrition they need to support muscle growth from diet alone. 

Suzette Pereira, Ph.D., is an Associate Research Fellow at Abbott leading studies focused on muscle health and muscle loss due to aging.Her research is focused on evaluating nutritional therapies that can prevent muscle and strength declines due to sarcopenia, hospitalization and chronic diseases. She has led preclinical studies to identify key ingredients (such as HMB) that can prevent muscle wasting. Her current work is focused on translating the findings from preclinical studies to human clinical studies to help improve nutritional products for adults.

Over the last 12 years at Abbott, Suzette has led several collaborations with scientific key opinion leaders, business partners and across Abbott. She currently serves as the Abbott representative to the ‘FNIH- sarcopenia Biomarker Consortium’, a group dedicated to developing a consensus definition of sarcopenia and driving awareness.

Prior to joining Abbott, Suzette obtained her Ph.D. and carried out post-doctoral research in the Department of Microbiology at the Ohio State University. She has co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed scientific publications, and routinely presents her research at national and international scientific conferences. She is also a co-inventor on over 80 filed patents.