MY STORY
“Research matters to me not only for what we discover, but also for what people can learn from it.”
Szczepan Olszewski
Szczepan. It looks harder than it sounds,
just say SHCHEH-pan ol-SHEF-skee
PhD CANDIDATE, UW-MADISON
And how exercise can help us stay strong for longer
I'm Szczepan Olszewski. My research connects skeletal muscle biology, exercise physiology, and healthy aging.
I write The Reserve, a newsletter bringing muscle and aging research beyond the laboratory.
MY STORY
“Research matters to me not only for what we discover, but also for what people can learn from it.”
RESEARCH PATH
How does skeletal muscle change with age, and what can we do to preserve its function?
Today, I study how exercise and pharmacological interventions affect skeletal muscle, combining preclinical experiments with physiological testing in older adults.
2017 to 2023
Gdańsk, Poland
In Poland, I worked in the Division of Bioenergetics and Physiology of Exercise at GUMed, on both clinical and preclinical research.
Where it started
2021 to 2022
Europe
I wanted to understand how the body adapts under stress, from the acute extremes of demanding environments to the slow, chronic strain of aging.
Training that widened how I think about aging and human performance
2022 to 2023
Oklahoma City, OK
Studied muscle fibrosis, hypertrophy, disuse atrophy, and mTORC1 inhibition in aging.
The year I decided muscle biology of aging was the question to follow
2023 to present
Madison, WI
My dissertation tests how resistance exercise affects skeletal muscle during and after semaglutide treatment in mice. In the EVERLAST clinical trial of selective mTORC1 inhibition in older adults, I work on physical function testing.
Where I am now
Behind every project is one practical question: how do we stay strong enough to live the way we want, for decades to come?
WHY MUSCLE
Skeletal muscle does more than move us. It supports mobility, physical independence, and our ability to respond to the demands of everyday life.
With age, muscle strength and power can decline faster than muscle mass. Yet skeletal muscle remains responsive to exercise, even later in life.
Approximate trajectories from sarcopenia literature: Janssen (2000), Mitchell (2012), Reid & Fielding (2012).
FROM SCIENCE TO PRACTICE
From aging biology to human performance
Consulting & Collaboration
Selected projects involving human performance, aging science, exercise interventions, scientific communication, and speaking.
Coaching
Evidence-informed exercise and lifestyle strategies tailored to individual goals, health, and performance.
CONTACT
Send me a few lines about what you have in mind.