Dr Jonathan Quinlan PhD, FHEA

School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences
Research Fellow

Contact details

Email: j.quinlan@bham.ac.uk

Address: School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Dr Jonathan Quinlan has over a decade of experience in applied muscle physiology and exercise interventions with a particular focus on age, ethnicity and chronic disease.

He has interests in muscle health within chronic inflammatory disease and works under the auspices of the NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre. Furthermore, he leads on innovative projects at the University of Birmingham investigating the role of ethnicity in muscle and wider health to tackle the ever-growing health inequalities seen in the UK.

His experimental skillsets lie primarily in quantitative methodologies including metabolic phenotyping, muscle physiological health and a multitude of imaging modalities relevant to sarcopenia and frailty.

Qualifications

BSc (Hons): Neuroscience – University of Nottingham 2013

PhD (Medicine and Health) – University of Nottingham 2018

PGCHE (Distinction) – University of Birmingham 2022

Biography

Dr Jonathan Quinlan graduated the University of Nottingham with a BSc in Neuroscience in 2013 before moving onto a PhD in which he investigated age-related changes to the muscle-tendon unit with a particular focus on the patellar tendon. This body of research sparked a significant interest in sarcopenia which motivated his move to the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Birmingham in 2018 as a NIHR funded postdoctoral fellow. Here, he investigated the mechanisms of secondary sarcopenia in chronic inflammatory disease such as inflammatory bowel disease, chronic liver disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

Working with colleagues at the Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre and developing new collaborations both internally and externally, Dr Quinlan expanded his research endeavors through funding from the British Medical Association, The West Midlands Health Technology Innovation Accelerator fund and Research England. Whilst his interests remain in the broader topic of musculoskeletal ageing and prevention; Dr Quinlan is particularly interested in the role ethnicity plays within muscle health, exercise engagement and the response to exercise.

Research

The age-related decline in muscle health and its implications for independence and quality of life
Mechanisms and countermeasures to muscle atrophy in chronic inflammatory disease conditions including chronic liver disease and inflammatory bowel disease.
The impact of ethnicity on muscle health across the lifespan and its role in exercise adaptation

Other activities

British Society for Research into Ageing: Scientific advisory board 2023 – present

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Deshmukh, A, Kumar, K & Quinlan, J 2025, 'Exploring barriers, motivators and facilitators for physical activity and exercise in a UK South Asian Community: a qualitative study', BMJ open, vol. 15, e097268. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-097268

Korzepa, M, Marshall, R, Rogers, L, Belfield, A, Quinlan, J, Huang, Y, Gritsas, A, Churchward-Venne, TA, Glover, EI, van Loon, LJC, Wallis, GA & Breen, L 2025, 'Postprandial plasma amino acid and appetite responses to a low protein breakfast supplemented with whey or pea protein in middle-to-older aged adults', European Journal of Nutrition, vol. 64, no. 2, 86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-025-03605-0

Goodyear, V, Randhawa, A, Adab, P, Al-Janabi, H, Fenton, S, Jones, K, Michail, M, Morrison, B, Patterson, P, Quinlan, J, Sitch, A, Twardochleb, R, Wade, M & Pallan, M 2025, 'School phone policies and their association with mental wellbeing, phone use, and social media use (SMART Schools): a cross-sectional observational study', The Lancet Regional Health - Europe. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2025.101211

Nicholson, T, Dhaliwal, A, Quinlan, JI, Allen, SL, Williams, FR, Hazeldine, J, McGee, KC, Sullivan, J, Breen, L, Elsharkawy, AM, Armstrong, MJ, Jones, SW, Greig, CA & Lord, JM 2024, 'Accelerated aging of skeletal muscle and the immune system in patients with chronic liver disease', Experimental and Molecular Medicine, vol. 56, pp. 1667–1681. https://doi.org/10.1038/s12276-024-01287-y

Williams, FR, Quinlan, J, Freer, A, Morrison, B, Sitch, A, Hockey, F, Klas, N, Towey, J, Perera, TPR, Rajoriya, N, Lord, JM & Armstrong, MJ 2024, 'Duke Activity Status Index and Liver Frailty Index predict mortality in ambulatory patients with advanced chronic liver disease: A prospective, observational study', Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, vol. 59, no. 4, pp. 547-557. https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.17834

Morgan, PT, Smeuninx, B, Marshall, RN, Korzepa, M, Quinlan, JI, McPhee, JS & Breen, L 2023, 'Greater myofibrillar protein synthesis following weight-bearing activity in obese old compared with non-obese old and young individuals', GeroScience. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-023-00833-2

Quinlan, JI, Dhaliwal, A, Williams, FR, Allen, SL, Choudhary, S, Rowlands, A, Breen, L, Lavery, GG, Lord, JM, Elsharkawy, AM, Armstrong, MJ & Greig, CA 2023, 'Impaired lower limb muscle mass, quality and function in end stage liver disease: A cross‐sectional study', Experimental Physiology, vol. 108, no. 8, 1066-1079. https://doi.org/10.1113/ep091157

Crossland, H, Brook, MS, Quinlan, JI, Franchi, MV, Phillips, BE, Wilkinson, DJ, Maganaris, CN, Greenhaff, PL, Szewczyk, NJ, Smith, K, Narici, MV & Atherton, PJ 2023, 'Metabolic and molecular responses of human patellar tendon to concentric- and eccentric-type exercise in youth and older age', GeroScience, vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 331-344. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-022-00636-x

Marshall, RN, Morgan, PT, Smeuninx, B, Quinlan, JI, Brook, MS, Atherton, PJ, Smith, K, Wilkinson, DJ & Breen, L 2023, 'Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis and Acute Intracellular Signaling with Elastic Band Resistance Exercise in Young and Older Men', Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, vol. 55, no. 3, pp. 398-408. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000003061

Quinlan, JI, Dhaliwal, A, Williams, F, Allen, SL, Breen, L, Greig, CA, Lord, JM, Armstrong, MJ & Elsharkawy, AM 2022, 'Feasibility, Efficacy, and Safety of Percutaneous Muscle Biopsies in Patients With Chronic Liver Disease', Frontiers in Physiology, vol. 12, 817152. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.817152

Abstract

Dhaliwal, A, Quinlan, J, Williams, F, Nicholson, T, Allen, S, Lavery, G, Jones, S, Breen, L, Greig, C, Elsharkawy, A, Armstrong, M & Lord, J 2023, 'Biological differences between clinically different muscle-wasting phenotypes in patients with decompensated ESLD undergoing assessment for liver transplantation: a UK prospective cohort UK study', Journal of Hepatology, vol. 78, no. supplement 1, pp. S231-S231. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-8278(23)00781-X

Allen, S, Dhaliwal, A, Quinlan, J, Nicholson, T, Williams, F, Armstrong, M, Elsharkawy, A, Jones, S, Greig, C, Lavery, G, Lord, J & Breen, L 2023, 'The gene expression profile of skeletal muscle in end-stage liver disease patients undergoing assessment for liver transplantation with muscle wasting', Journal of Hepatology, vol. 78, no. supplement 1, pp. S232-S233. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-8278(23)00783-3

Williams, F, Quinlan, JI, Dhaliwal, A, Rowlands, A, Allen, SL, Breen, L, Greig, CA, Elsharkawy, AM, Lord, JM & Armstrong, MJ 2022, '⋆1547 | Patients with end-stage liver disease are physically inactive and unable to sustain moderate intensity physical activity: A prospective home-based case-control UK Study', Hepatology, vol. 76, no. Suppl 1, pp. S489-S490. https://doi.org/10.1002/hep.32697

Dhaliwal, A, Quinlan, J, Williams, F, Allen, S, Nicholson, T, Choudhary, S, Breen, L, Lavery, G, Greig, C, Lord, J, Elsharkawy, A & Armstrong, M 2022, 'O13 End-stage liver disease aetiology impacts on the site and severity of muscle weakness in patients awaiting Liver Transplantation: A prospective case-control study', Gut, vol. 71, no. Suppl 3, pp. A9-A11. https://doi.org/10.1136/GUTJNL-2022-BASL.13

Comment/debate

Quinlan, JI & Viggars, MR 2024, 'Tendinopathy: A 'timely' matter', The Journal of Physiology, vol. 602, no. 23, pp. 6525-6526. https://doi.org/10.1113/JP284518

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