Diego Montiel Rojas
Diego Montiel Rojas Position: Lecturer School/office: School of Health SciencesEmail: ZGllZ28ubW9udGllbDtvcnUuc2U=
Phone: +46 19 303733
Room: G2109
About Diego Montiel Rojas
Diego Montiel Rojas is a lecturer in exercise physiology at Örebro University's School of Health Sciences, Division of Sports Science. He is a member of the Exercise Physiology and Sports Medicine (EPSM) research group and manages the Sport Science Platform Laboratory.
He holds a degree in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences from the University of Granada (2007), with a specialization in high-performance sport, and an MSc in Sports Physiology and Medicine from Örebro University (2016). He completed his PhD at Örebro University in 2022, focusing on diet and sarcopenia risk in older adults.
Research
Diego's primary research interests center on recovery strategies and fatigue monitoring in sport, with a particular focus on female athletes. He leads a postdoctoral project aimed at developing monitoring tools for fatigue and recovery in female hybrid athletes, and is actively involved in the “Recovery in Sports” project, which investigates interventions to enhance post-exercise recovery and long-term training adaptations. His work takes an integrative approach, combining assessments from the cellular to the systemic level.
He has also conducted research on skeletal muscle aging and the impact of modifiable lifestyle factors, such as physical activity and nutrition, on the prevention and management of sarcopenia.
Teaching
Diego teaches across a range of subjects, including physiological and molecular assessment methods, recovery strategies, training and periodization, statistics, and research methodology. He supervises students at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels, and serves as Programme Coordinator for the BSc Coaching Programme (Tränarprogrammet, 180hp), which prepares students for careers in health, fitness, and high-performance sport.
Research projects
Active projects
- Prevention with Precision: a personalized approach for health promotion at work
- Pathophysiology and physical activity
- The role of spleen and lung volumes in artistic swimming
- Recovery in sports
Completed projects
- Exercise therapy in facioscapulohumeral dystrophy - Integration of physical training in lifestyle to induce functional, tissue and quality of life benefits.
- Physiological responses and adaptations to exercise
- Dietary habits and physical activity for health and wellbeing
- New dietary strategies addressing the specific needs of elderly population for an healthy ageing in Europe
- Physical activity and diabetes in young adults
- TWH 65-70 A randomized controlled trial of health effects of training & dietary intervention in elderly women
Research groups
Publications
Articles in journals
- Gustafsson, J. , Montiel Rojas, D. , Romare, M. G. A. , Johansson, E. , Folkesson, M. , Pernigoni, M. , Frolova, A. , Brazaitis, M. & et al. (2025). Cold- and hot-water immersion are not more effective than placebo for the recovery of physical performance and training adaptations in national level soccer players. European Journal of Applied Physiology. [BibTeX]
- Horwath, O. , Montiel Rojas, D. , Ponsot, E. , Féasson, L. & Kadi, F. (2025). Increased muscle satellite cell content and preserved telomere length in response to combined exercise training in patients with FSHD. Journal of Physiology, 603 (5), 1057-1069. [BibTeX]
- Veen, J. , Montiel Rojas, D. , Kadi, F. & Nilsson, A. (2022). Effects of Reallocating Time Spent in Different Physical Activity Intensities on Sarcopenia Risk in Older Adults: An Isotemporal Substitution Analysis. Biology, 11 (1). [BibTeX]
- Kamandulis, S. , Mickevicius, M. , Snieckus, A. , Streckis, V. , Montiel Rojas, D. , Chaillou, T. , Westerblad, H. & Venckunas, T. (2022). Increasing the resting time between drop jumps lessens delayed-onset muscle soreness and limits the extent of prolonged low-frequency force depression in human knee extensor muscles. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 122 (1), 255-266. [BibTeX]
- Veen, J. , Montiel Rojas, D. , Nilsson, A. & Kadi, F. (2021). Engagement in Muscle-Strengthening Activities Lowers Sarcopenia Risk in Older Adults Already Adhering to the Aerobic Physical Activity Guidelines. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18 (3). [BibTeX]
- Montiel Rojas, D. , Santoro, A. , Nilsson, A. , Franceschi, C. , Capri, M. , Bazzocchi, A. , Battista, G. , de Groot, L. C. P. G. M. & et al. (2020). Beneficial Role of Replacing Dietary Saturated Fatty Acids with Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in the Prevention of Sarcopenia: Findings from the NU-AGE Cohort. Nutrients, 12 (10). [BibTeX]
- Montiel Rojas, D. , Nilsson, A. , Santoro, A. , Franceschi, C. , Bazzocchi, A. , Battista, G. , de Groot, L. C. P. G. M. , Feskens, E. J. M. & et al. (2020). Dietary Fibre May Mitigate Sarcopenia Risk: Findings from the NU-AGE Cohort of Older European Adults. Nutrients, 12 (4). [BibTeX]
- Montiel Rojas, D. , Nilsson, A. , Santoro, A. , Bazzocchi, A. , de Groot, L. C. P. G. M. , Feskens, E. J. M. , Berendsen, A. A. M. , Madej, D. & et al. (2020). Fighting Sarcopenia in Ageing European Adults: The Importance of the Amount and Source of Dietary Proteins. Nutrients, 12 (12). [BibTeX]
- Bergens, O. , Veen, J. , Montiel Rojas, D. , Edholm, P. , Kadi, F. & Nilsson, A. (2020). Impact of healthy diet and physical activity on metabolic health in men and women: Study Protocol Clinical Trial (SPIRIT Compliant). Medicine, 99 (16). [BibTeX]
- Nilsson, A. , Montiel Rojas, D. & Kadi, F. (2018). Impact of Meeting Different Guidelines for Protein Intake on Muscle Mass and Physical Function in Physically Active Older Women. Nutrients, 10 (9). [BibTeX]
- Montiel Rojas, D. , Nilsson, A. , Ponsot, E. , Brummer, R. J. , Fairweather-Tait, S. , Jennings, A. , de Groot, L. C. P. G. M. , Berendsen, A. & et al. (2018). Short Telomere Length Is Related to Limitations in Physical Function in Elderly European Adults. Frontiers in Physiology, 9. [BibTeX]
Articles, reviews/surveys
- Chaillou, T. & Montiel Rojas, D. (2023). Does the blunted stimulation of skeletal muscle protein synthesis by aging in response to mechanical load result from impaired ribosome biogenesis?. Frontiers in aging, 4. [BibTeX]
Doctoral theses, comprehensive summaries
- Montiel Rojas, D. (2022). Diet and sarcopenia risk in community-dwelling older European adults. (Doctoral dissertation). (Comprehensive summary) Örebro: Örebro University. [BibTeX]
Manuscripts
- Montiel-Rojas, D. , Nilsson, A. , Kadi, F. , Santoro, A. , Franceschi, C. , de Groot, L. C. , Feskens, E. J. M. , Berendsen, A. A. & et al. Mediterranean-style diet and muscle health in commuity-dwelling older european adults : results of the NU-AGE one-year multi-centre RCT. [BibTeX]