Principal Investigator
Originally from Sao Paulo (Brazil) and a big fan of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista soccer time (Vai Corinthians!), Wagner Dantas holds a Ph.D. in Kinesiology from the University of Sao Paulo/Cleveland Clinic. After completing his Ph.D., Wagner received his postdoctoral training with Dr. John P. Kirwan in the Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. In 2024, Wagner started the Molecular Muscle Physiology Laboratory at UO. Dr. Dantas’s research primarily revolves around understanding how mitochondrial quality control signaling and redox balance affect muscle mass and function during aging with obesity. When he’s not in the lab, Wagner stays with his family doing workouts, cooking, exploring Eugene, or annoying his wife.
Research Assistant
Born and raised in Oklahoma, Sandra Rigsby earned her master’s degree in Entomology and Plant Pathology from Oklahoma State University, where she worked with the American burying beetle. Despite her ecological based master’s, her bachelor’s degrees are in Microbiology and Plant Biology. Outside of her being the resident bug lady/spider catcher, Sandra has a crippling Starbucks addiction. In her free time, she plays video games, watches low quality reality television, and spends time with her husband and pets.