Unlocking the Value of Muscle & Nutrition for Improved Health Outcomes

Josep M. Argilés, PhD

Professor, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology of Cancer 
Universitat de Barcelona 
Barcelona, Spain

Professor Josep M. Argilés was born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, and completed his undergraduate studies in Biology at the University of Barcelona, graduating with a First Class Honours Degree and Special Prize for the best B.Sc. He received his Doctorate in Biochemistry from the same university with Cum Laude, obtaining the Prize for the best doctorate of that year. He then became a Lecturer in Biochemistry and carried out postdoctoral work on acetone metabolism in mammals. He undertook further postdoctoral training in the Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Biology at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. He later became a full professor of biochemistry and molecular biology of cancer at the Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, where he led a research group interested in cancer cachexia. His main contribution to the field of cancer research concerns the mechanisms associated with cancer cachexia.

José Manuel García Almeida, MD

Nutrition Unit, Virgen de la Victoria Hospital in Málaga 
Head of Endocrinology & Nutrition Services, 
Hospital Quirónsalud Málaga 
Associate Professor, University of Málaga
Málaga, Spain

José Manuel García Almeida, MD is an endocrinologist at Virgen de la Victoria Hospital in Málaga. In addition, he is the head of Endocrinology and Nutrition Services at the Hospital Quirónsalud Málaga and an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine and Dermatology at the University of Málaga. José Manuel García Almeida has over 90 publications and is a speaker at national and international congresses.

Katherine Ford, PhD, MSc, RD

Postdoctoral Fellow 
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Katherine is a Registered Dietitian and a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)-Mitacs Health System Impact Fellow with the Canadian Nutrition Society. Dr Katherine Ford joined the Nutrition & Aging Lab in September 2022 as a postdoctoral fellow. During her fellowship, Katherine supports the Canadian Malnutrition Task Force by integrating a malnutrition care standard in Canadian hospitals. Advancing Malnutrition Care Phase I is an innovative program that uses a mentor-champion model to implement and sustain best practices from the Integrated Nutrition Pathway for Acute Care (INPAC).

Prior to joining the Nutrition & Aging lab, Katherine completed a PhD at the University of Alberta, where she investigated the determinants of protein intake and the role of a high-protein diet in maintaining muscle mass during chemotherapy treatment for colorectal cancer. She also holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Saskatchewan and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree from the University of Prince Edward Island. Katherine utilizes her experience as a Dietitian to bring a clinical perspective to her research. She is interested in better understanding the impact of nutritional assessment and interventions on patient-oriented outcomes and how to spread and scale effective interventions.