Paul Schaeffer, PhD

Post-Doctoral Fellow in Molecular Endocrinology

Washington University, 2006

Ph.D. in Zoology

Northern Arizona University, 2000

M.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

University of Arizona, 1995

B.S. in Biology

Northern Arizona University, 1993

Associate Professor of Biology

Miami University, 2014 - present

Director, Center for the Study of Integrative Metabolism

Miami University, 2020 - present

Visiting Scholar

Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior, 2015 - present

Associate Professor of Global & Intercultural Studies

Miami University, 2014 - present

Assistant Professor of Biology,

Northern Arizona University, 2006 - 2014

Assistant Professor of Global & Intercultural Studies

Miami University, 2010 - 2014

1.       Schaeffer PJ, Conley KE, Lindstedt SL. Structural correlates of speed and endurance in skeletal muscle: the rattlesnake tailshaker muscle. J Exp Biol, 199: 351-356, 1996.

2.       Schaeffer PJ. The development of the ventilatory response to cold in very young rats. Comp Biochem Physiol, 119A: 407-414, 1998.

3.       Schaeffer PJ, Wells DJ, Hokanson JF, Lindstedt SL. Cold exposure increases running  in goats. Am J Physiol, 280: R42-R47, 2001.

4.       Lindstedt SL, Schaeffer PJ. Use of allometry in predicting anatomical and physiological parameters of mammals. Lab Animals, 36: 1-19, 2002.

5.       Schaeffer PJ, Pierotti D. A transcutaneous wire interface for small mammals using an expanded PTFE patch. J Neurosci Methods, 114: 81-85, 2002.

6.       Schaeffer PJ, Villarin JJ, Lindstedt SL. Chronic cold exposure increases skeletal muscle oxidative structure and function in Monodelphis domestica, a marsupial lacking brown adipose tissue. Physiol Biochem Zool, 76: 877-887, 2003.

7.       Villarin JJ, Schaeffer PJ, Markle RA, Lindstedt SL. Chronic cold exposure increases liver oxidative capacity in the marsupial Monodelphis domestica. Comp Biochem Physiol A, 136: 621-630, 2003.

8.       Schaeffer PJ, Wende AR, Magee CJ, Neilsen JR, Leone TC, Chen F, Kelly DP. Calcineurin and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase activate distinct metabolic gene regulatory programs in cardiac muscle. J Biol Chem, 279: 39593-39603, 2004.

9.       Leone TC, Lehman JJ, Finck BN, Schaeffer PJ, Wende AR, Boudina S, Courtois M, Wozniak DF, Sambandam N, Bernal-Mizrachi C, Chen Z, Holloszy JO, Medeiros DM, Schmidt RE, Saffitz JE, Abel ED, Semenkovich CF, Kelly DP. PGC-1α deficiency causes multi-system energy metabolic derangements: Muscle dysfunction, abnormal weight control and hepatic steatosis. PLoS Biol, 3: e101, 2005.

10.   Schaeffer PJ, Villarin JJ, Pierotti DJ, Kelly DP, Lindstedt SL. Cost of Transport is Increased after Cold Exposure in Monodelphis domestica: Training for Inefficiency. J Exp Biol, 208: 3159-3167, 2005.

11.   Wende AR, Huss JM, Schaeffer PJ, Giguere V, Kelly DP. PGC-1α coactivates PDK4 gene expression via the orphan nuclear receptor ERRα: a mechanism for transcriptional control of muscle glucose metabolism. Mol Cell Biol, 25: 10684-10694, 2005.

12.   Schaeffer PJ, Nichols SD, Lindstedt SL. Chronic electrical stimulation drives mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle of a lizard, Varanus exanthematicus.  J Exp Biol, 210: 3356-3360, 2007.

13.   Wende AR, Schaeffer PJ, Parker GJ, Zechner C, Han DH, Chen MM, Hancock CR, Lehman JJ, Huss JM, McClain DA, Holloszy JO, Kelly DP. A role for the transcriptional coactivator PGC-1α in muscle refueling. J Biol Chem, 282: 36642-36651, 2007.

14.   Lai L, Leone TC, Zechner C, Schaeffer PJ, Kelly SM, Flanagan DP, Medeiros DM, Kovacs A, Kelly DP.  Transcriptional coactivators PGC-1α and PGC-1β control overlapping programs required for perinatal maturation of the heart. Genes Dev, 22: 1948-1961, 2008.

15.   Schaeffer PJ, Desantiago J, Yang J, Flagg TP, Kovacs A, Weinheimer CJ, Courtois M, Leone TC, Nichols CG, Bers DM, Kelly DP. Impaired contractile function and calcium handling in hearts of cardiac-specific calcineurin b1-deficient mice. Am J Physiol, 297: H1263-1273, 2009.

16.   Wells ME, Schaeffer PJ. Seasonality of peak metabolic rate in non-migrant tropical birds. J Av Biol, 43: 481-485, 2012.

17.   Mineo PM, Cassell EA, Roberts ME, Schaeffer PJ. Chronic cold acclimation increases thermogenic capacity, non-shivering thermogenesis and muscle citrate synthase activity in both wild-type and brown adipose tissue deficient mice. Comp Biochem Physiol A, 161: 395-400, 2012.

18.   Sgueo C, Wells ME, Russell DR, Schaeffer PJ. Acclimatization of seasonal energetics in Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) through plasticity of metabolic rates and ceilings. J Exp Biol, 215: 2418-2424, 2012.

19.   Schaeffer PJ, Lindstedt SL. How animals move: Comparative lessons on animal locomotion. Compr Physiol, 3: 289-314, 2013.

20.   Wagner DN, Mineo PM, Sgueo C, Wikelski M, Schaeffer PJ. Does low daily energy expenditure drive low metabolic capacity in the tropical robin, Turdus grayi? J Comp Physiol B, 183: 833–841, 2013.

21.   Lindstedt SL, Mineo PM, Schaeffer PJ. Animal galloping and human hopping: an energetics and biomechanics laboratory exercise. Adv Physiol Educ, 37: 377-383, 2013.

22.   Mineo PM, Schaeffer PJ. The thermal plasticity of locomotor performance has diverged between northern and southern populations of the eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens). J Comp Physiol B, 185: 103-110, 2015

23.   Mineo PM, Schaeffer PJ. Does the thermal plasticity of metabolic enzymes underlie thermal compensation of locomotor performance in the eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens)? J Exp Zool, 323A: 52-59, 2015.

24.   Corder KR, Schaeffer PJ. Summit metabolic rate exhibits phenotypic flexibility with migration, but not latitude in a Neotropical migrant, Parkesia noveboracensis. J Ornithol, 156: 547-550, 2015.

25.   Schaeffer PJ, Komer MC, Corder KR. Energy savings due to the use of shallow body temperature reduction in overwintering Northern Cardinals. Anim Biotelemetry, 3: 34, 2015.

26.   Callahan ZJ, Oxendine M, Wheatley JL, Menke C, Cassell EA, Bartos A, Geiger PC, Schaeffer PJ. Compensatory responses of the insulin signaling pathway restore muscle glucose uptake following long-term inactivity. Physiol Rep, 3: e12359, 2015.

27.   Gray KT, Escobar AM, Schaeffer PJ, Mineo PM, Berner NJ. Thermal acclimatization in over-wintering tadpoles of the green frog, Lithobates clamitans (Latreille, 1801). J Exp Zool, 325A: 285-293, 2016.

28.   Corder KR, DeMoranville KJ, Russell DR, Huss JM, Schaeffer PJ. Annual life-stage regulation of lipid metabolism and storage by PPARs in the migrant species gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis). J Exp Biol, 219: 3391-3398, 2016.

29.   Callahan ZJ, Oxendine M, Schaeffer PJ. Intramuscular triglyceride content precedes impaired glucose metabolism, but not mitochondrial function during early development of a diabetic phenotype. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 42: 936-942, 2017.

30.   Parlin AF, Dougherty JK, Stevens MHH, do Amaral JP, Schaeffer PJ. Thermoregulatory performance and habitat selection of the eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina). Cons Physiol, 5: 1-15, 2017.

31.   Parlin AF, Nardone J, Kelly Dougherty J, Rebein M, Safi K, Schaeffer PJ. Activity and movement of free-living box turtles are largely independent of ambient and thermal conditions. Move Ecol, 6: 12, 2018.

32.   Hamilton A, Ly J, Robinson JR, Corder KR, DeMoranville KJ, Schaeffer PJ, Huss JM. Conserved role of avian PPARs in regulating lipid metabolism: a mechanistic basis for metabolic plasticity in migratory birds. Gen Comp Endocrinol, 268: 110-120, 2018.

33.   Parlin AF, Schaeffer PJ. Plastron-mounted Loggers Predict Box Turtle Body Temperature better than Carapace-mounted Loggers. Wildl Soc Bull, 43: 152-158, 2019.

34.   Mineo PM, Waldrup C, Berner NJ, Schaeffer PJ. Differential plasticity of membrane fatty acids in northern and southern populations of the eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens). J Comp Physiol B, 2: 249-260, 2019.

35.   Demoranville KJ, Corder KR, Hamilton A, Russell DE, Huss JH, Schaeffer PJ. PPAR regulation of muscle hypertrophy and metabolism in preparation for fall migration in the Gray Catbird, Dumetella carolinensis. J Exp Biol, 222: jeb198028. doi:10.1242/jeb.198028, 2019.

36.   Flack A, Schaeffer PJ, Taylor J, Müller I, Wikelski M, Fiedler W. Daily energy expenditure in white storks is lower after fledging than in the nest. J Exp Biol, 223: jeb219337, 2020.

37.   Schaeffer PJ, O’Mara T, Breiholz J, Keicher L, Lazaro J, Muturi M, Dechmann DKN. Metabolic rate in common shrews is unaffected by seasonal temperature, leading to reduction of energetic costs through size reduction. Roy Soc Open Sci, 7:191989, 2020.

38.   Parlin AF, Schaeffer PJ, Jezkova T. Modeling the effect of environmental temperatures, microhabitat, and behavioral thermoregulation on activity patterns in populations of a desert lizard across its thermally diverse distribution. J Biogeogr, 10.1111/jbi.13936, 2020.

39. Burns MPA, O’Connell MJ, Schaeffer PJ, Berg DJ. Elevated salinity and temperature associated with climate change threaten the survival and conservation of desert spring amphipods. Aquatic Conserv: Mar Freshw Ecosyst, 2021: 1-9, 2021. doi: 10.1002/aqc.3752

40. Parlin AF, Schaeffer PJ. Cardiovascular contributions and energetic costs of thermoregulation in ectothermic vertebrates. J Exp Biol, 225: jeb243095, 225, 2022. doi:10.1242/jeb.243095

41. Keicher L, Shipley J, Komar E, Ruczyński I, Schaeffer PJ, Dechmann DKN. High resolution heart rate data reveal novel energy saving strategies in female temperate-zone bats. J Comp Physiol B, 192: 805-814, 2022. doi: 10.1007/s00360-022-01452-7

42. Burns MPA, Schaeffer PJ, Berg DJ. Metabolic rate and osmoregulation in desert spring amphipods. Can J Zool, 101: 52-56, 2023. doi: 10.1139/cjz-2021-0195

43. Keicher L, Shipley JR, Schaeffer PJ, Dechmann DKN. Contrasting torpor use by reproductive male common noctule bats in the laboratory and in the field. Int Comp Biol, 2023. doi.org/10.1093/icb/icad040

44. Valachovic AC, Chaves J, DeMoranville KJ, Garbenis T, Nguyen BMH, Hughes M, Huss JM, Schaeffer PJ. Photoperiod induces fat storage, but not fat mobilization in a migratory songbird. In Press at: J Comp Physiol B, 193: 569-580, 2023. doi.org/10.1007/s00360-023-01508-2

I have served as a Manuscript Reviewer for:

Advances in Physiological Education, The African Journal of Biotechnology, Aging Cell, American Journal of Physiology, Asian Herpetological Research, The Auk, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Ecology , Endocrine Connections, Exercise and Sport Science Reviews, Experimental Biology and Medicine, Experimental , Physiology, Functional Ecology, Journal of Animal Ecology, Journal of Applied Physiology, Journal of Comparative Physiology B, Journal of Experimental Biology, Mammalian Biology, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Movement Ecology, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Royal Society Open Science, Wilson Journal of Ornithology.

I have reviewed Grant Applications for:

National Science Foundation (of the USA), National Institutes of Health (USA), National Research Foundation (Germany), Air Force Research Foundation (USA).

I have received Grant Funding from:

National Science Foundation (US), National Institutes of Health (US), American Heart Association (USA), Howard Hughes Medical Institute (USA), Linnaean Society (UK), Gore Inc. (private), Sigma Xi (private) and several other private organizations.

I am Assistant Editor for:

Integrative and Comparative Biology