職員

It is remarkable and beautiful how exercise remodels chromatin, alters gene expression, regulates molecular pathways in numerous numbers and types of cells, and, finally and most importantly, revitalizes our bodies and minds. Dr. Bjorn Tam has always enjoyed doing exercise ever since he was a little boy and, in later years, been fascinated by the science behind it. Tam completed his doctoral training at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Following the completion of his PhD Tam was a visiting scholar in three entirely different organizations. Firstly, at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, he investigated how adipokines and exercise-induced myokines affect the tumor microenvironment. Secondly, Tam studied how mutations in adaptor proteins affect skeletal muscle and adipose tissue metabolism at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Finally, he delineated the fundamental differences between childhood-onset obesity and adulthood-onset obesity at PERFORM Centre, Concordia University. Tam’s research on exercise, metabolism, and the prevention of chronic disease has been recognized with a number of research achievement awards/ training fellowships from different universities, research institutes, and professional societies (please refer to the Honours/ Awards section).
    
It is no question that exercise is medicine, but which exercise modality to use and what dose to use for a specific disease in a particular population is the question. Tam and his team are eager to discover novel therapeutic strategies that prevent chronic disease and improve patient well-being.

MAT lab (mat-lab.org) is actively recruiting enthusiastic graduate students, research personnel and postdocs from different disciplines (i.e. exercise science/ biomedical science/ chemistry/ computer science).

Please refer to mat-lab.org for more information. 

• Explore mechanisms underlying the relationship between physical activity and dysregulated metabolism
• Examine the effects of lifestyle interventions on inflammatory profile and physiological well-being of individuals with dysregulated metabolism
• Develop effective exercise modalities to prevent as well as manage chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cancer and psychiatric disorders

• Siu PM, Yu AP, Tam BT, Yu DS, Chung DF, Hui SS, Woo J, Fong DY, Lee PH, Wei GX, Irwin MR. Tai chi alleviates insomnia in older adults: a comparative efficacy randomized controlled trial. JAMA Open Network. 2021; 4(2): e2037199 (IF: 13.35, Top 4% in General Medicine)
  
  
• Murphy J, Delaney KZ, Dam V, Tam BT, Khor N, Tsoukas MA, Morais JA, Santosa S. Sex affects regional variations in subcutaneous adipose tissue T cells but not macrophages in adults with obesity. Obesity. 2020; 28(12): 2310-2314 (IF: 9.29, Top 10% in Endocrinology & Metabolism)
  
  
• Tam BT, Murphy J, Khor N, Morais JA and Santosa S. Acetyl-CoA Regulation, OXPHOS Integrity and Leptin Levels Are Different in Females with Childhood vs Adulthood Onset of Obesity. Endocrinology. 2020:161;1-15 (IF: 5.05, Top 20% in Endocrinology)
  
  
• Tam BT, Morais JA, Santosa S. Obesity and ageing: Two sides of the same coin. Obesity Review. 2020;21(4):e12991 (IF: 10.86, Top 6% in Endocrinology & Metabolism)
  
  
• Liu H, He J, Koh SP, Zhong YP, Liu ZQ, Wang ZQ, Li ZW, Tam BT, Lin P, Young K, Amini B, Starbuck M, Lee HC, Navone N, Davis R, Tong Q, Bergsagel P, Hou J, Yi Q, Orlowski RZ, Gagel R, and Yang J. Reprogrammed marrow adipocytes: an unexpected role in the genesis of myeloma-induced bone disease. Science Translational Medicine. 2019;11(294): eaau9087 (IF: 19.32, Top 2% in General Medicine)
  
  
• Yu AP*, Tam BT* (Co-first author), Lai CW, Yu DS, Woo J, Chung KF, Hui SS, Liu JY, Wei GX, and Siu PM. Revealing the Neural Mechanisms Underlying the Beneficial Effects of Tai Chi: A Neuroimaging Perspective. American Journal of Chinese Medicine. 2018;46(2):231-59. (IF: 6, Top 2% in Complementary and Alternative Medicine)

• Sin TK, Tam BT, Yu AP, Yip SP, Yung BY, Chan LW, Wong CS, Rudd JA, and Siu PM. Acute Treatment of Resveratrol Alleviates Doxorubicin-Induced Myotoxicity in Aged Skeletal Muscle Through SIRT1-Dependent Mechanisms. The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. 2016;71(6):730-9 (IF: 6.59, Top 4% in Geriatrics and Gerontology)
  
  
• Tam BT, Pei XM, Yung BY, Yip SP, Chan LW, Wong CS, and Siu PM. Unacylated ghrelin restores insulin and autophagic signaling in skeletal muscle of diabetic mice. Pflügers Archiv - European Journal of Physiology. 2015;467(12):2555-69 (IF: 4.46, Top 25% in Physiology)
  
  
• Tam BT, Pei XM, Yu AP, Sin TK, Leung KK, Au KK, Chong JT, Yung BY, Yip SP, Chan LW, Wong CS, and Siu PM. Autophagic adaptation is associated with exercise-induced fibre-type shifting in skeletal muscle. Acta Physiologica (Oxf). 2015;214(2):221-36 (IF: 7.52, Top 10% in Physiology)

• Tam BT and Siu PM. Autophagic cellular responses to physical exercise in skeletal muscle. Sports Medicine. 2014;44(5):625-40 (IF: 11.93 , Top 1% in Orthopedics and Sports Medicine)

Nil.

PERM3025  Kinesiology

• Postdoctoral Fellowship Top-up Award, Concordia University, QC Canada
• PERFORM Postdoctoral Fellowship in Preventive Health Research, PERFORM Centre, QC Canada
• Postdoctoral Travel Award for Experimental Biology, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, MD United States
• Horizon Postdoctoral Fellowship, Concordia University, QC Canada
• Finalist – Acta Physiologica Award, Scandinavian Physiological Society
• Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cancer Metabolism, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, TX United States
• Faculty Distinguished Thesis Award, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

Nil.

Nil.