Staff Profile
Dr Valeria Di Leo
Research Associate in Ageing and Health
- Address: AGE Research Group,
3rd floor, Biomedical Research Building,
Campus for Ageing and Vitality,
Newcastle University Translational and Clinical Research Institute,
Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE4 5PL
Valeria is a Research Associate in the Ageing, Sarcopenia and Multimorbidity (ASM) Research Theme within the NIHR Newcastle BRC. She has a background in translational research in neuromuscular disorders, developed through her master’s project at the John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre and her PhD and post-doctoral work in the Mitochondrial Research Group.
Research Associate in Translational Medicine (Neuromuscular Disorders), Newcastle University (UK)
PhD in Translational Medicine (Neuromuscular Disorders), Newcastle University (UK)
Erasmus traineeship within the John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre, Newcastle University (UK)
Master degree in Functional Genomics, Trieste University (IT)
Bachelor degree in Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Bari University (IT)
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Valeria_Di_Leo
In the earlier stages of her career, Valeria focused on how skeletal muscle adapts to resistance exercise in people with Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 and Mitochondrial Myopathy, aiming to understand skeletal muscle responses to exercise in the context of neuromuscular disease. This work developed her broader research interests in musculoskeletal ageing, exercise adaptation, and the molecular mechanisms that shape muscle health across the life course.
In March 2026, she joined the AGE Research Group at Newcastle University, contributing to the follow‑up phase of the MASS Lifecourse Study- an observational longitudinal study central to the BRC Ageing, Sarcopenia and Multimorbidity theme. Working within an interdisciplinary environment spanning geriatric medicine, epidemiology, biology, sport science and physiology, she is expanding her research to explore healthy musculoskeletal ageing and the intersection between ageing processes and rare neuromuscular conditions.
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Articles
- Bernardino Gomes TM, Childs JB, Di Leo V, Warren C, Hudson G, Turnbull DM, Lawless C, Vincent AE. Quantifying variability of mitochondrial markers in m3243A > G myopathy. Scientific Reports 2026, 16, 3191.
- Marcangeli V, Girard-Cote L, Di Leo V, Roussel M-P, Lawless C, Charest O, Argaw A, Dulac M, Hajj-Boutros G, Morais JA, Vincent A, Gouspillou G, Leduc-Gaudet J-P, Duchesne E. A 12-Week Strength Training Improves Mitochondrial Respiration, H2O2 Emission and Skeletal Muscle Integrity in Women With Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1. Acta Physiologica 2025, 241(12), e70135.
- Topf A, Cox D, Zaharieva IT, Di Leo V, Sarparanta J, Jonson PH, Sealy IM, Smolnikov A, White RJ, Vihola A, Savarese M, Merteroglu M, Wali N, Laricchia KM, Venturini C, Vroling B, Stenton SL, Cummings BB, Harris E, Marini-Bettolo C, Diaz-Manera J, Henderson M, Barresi R, Duff J, England EM, Patrick J, Al-Husayni S, Biancalana V, Beggs AH, Bodi I, Bommireddipalli S, Bonnemann CG, Cairns A, Chiew M-T, Claeys KG, Cooper ST, Davis MR, Donkervoort S, Erasmus CE, Fassad MR, Genetti CA, Grosmann C, Jungbluth H, Kamsteeg E-J, Lornage X, Loscher WN, Malfatti E, Manzur A, Marti P, Mongini TE, Muelas N, Nishikawa A, O'Donnell-Luria A, Ogonuki N, O'Grady GL, O'Heir E, Paquay S, Phadke R, Pletcher BA, Romero NB, Schouten M, Shah S, Smuts I, Sznajer Y, Tasca G, Taylor RW, Tuite A, Van den Bergh P, VanNoy G, Voermans NC, Wanschitz JV, Wraige E, Yoshimura K, Oates EC, Nakagawa O, Nishino I, Laporte J, Vilchez JJ, MacArthur DG, Sarkozy A, Cordell HJ, Udd B, Busch-Nentwich EM, Muntoni F, Straub V. Digenic inheritance involving a muscle-specific protein kinase and the giant titin protein causes a skeletal muscle myopathy. Nature Genetics 2024, 56, 395–407.
- Vincent AE, Chen C, Gomes TB, Di Leo V, Laalo T, Pabis K, Capaldi R, Marusich MF, McDonald D, Filby A, Fuller A, Lehmann Urban D, Zierz S, Deschauer M, Turnbull D, Reeve AK, Lawless C. A stagewise response to mitochondrial dysfunction in mitochondrial DNA maintenance disorders. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Basis of Disease 2024, 1870(5), 167131.
- Di Leo V, Lawless C, Roussel MP, Gomes TB, Gorman GS, Russell OM, Tuppen HAL, Duchesne E, Vincent AE. Resistance Exercise Training Rescues Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Skeletal Muscle of Patients with Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1. Journal of Neuromuscular Diseases 2023, 10(7), 1111-1126.
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Review
- Di Leo V, Bernardino Gomes TM, Vincent AE. Interactions of mitochondrial and skeletal muscle biology in mitochondrial myopathy. Biochemical Journal 2023, 480(21), 1767-1789.