Orlando Laitano
Assistant Professor University of Florida
- Gainesville FL
Orlando Laitano studies skeletal muscle dysfunction, exertional heat stroke, sepsis and environmental physiology.
Biography
Areas of Expertise
Media Appearances
How Researchers Are Working to Understand and Stop Sepsis
The Physiologist Magazine online
2026-05-01
It begins with an assault to the body. Perhaps a bacterial infection: A burst appendix leaks bacteria throughout the abdominal cavity, or a urinary tract infection travels to the kidneys and enters the bloodstream. But it’s not always that clear-cut. Sometimes, the infection is viral, parasitic or fungal. Sometimes, there’s no infection at all — just an injury.
An NRL player died at training due to exertional heat stroke. What is it and what should coaches and athletes know?
The Conversation
2024-05-13
The tragic death of Manly rugby league player Keith Titmuss in 2020 due to exertional heat stroke is a reminder of the life-threatening nature of the condition. So, what is exertional heat stroke, and what should athletes and coaches know about it?
Why heatstroke is dangerous and how to prevent it
The Washington Post print
2023-07-06
Our brain works hard to coordinate and regulate our body’s temperature. But rising temperatures and humidity make us increasingly susceptible to heatstroke, especially during exercise.
Social
Articles
Interaction of Sepsis, Disuse, and Aging on Skeletal Muscle Function and Remodeling in Male and Female Mice
Acta PhysiologicaMuller, et al.
2026-03-18
Sepsis is associated with skeletal muscle weakness and atrophy, particularly in older and immobilized patients; however, how sepsis interacts with disuse, reloading, aging and biological sex remains poorly defined.
Impact of the Estrous Cycle on Loss of Consciousness and Survival in Exertional Heat Stroke in Mice
Medicine & Science in Sports & ExerciseMoraes, et al.
2025-11-01
Exertional heat stroke is the most severe manifestation of heat-related illness. We previously observed, in a mouse model of EHS, that the time to loss of consciousness was longer in females compared with males. Ovariectomy abolished this sex difference and decreased the variability in time to reach loss of consciousness in our model. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the estrous cycle phase, the rodent equivalent of the menstrual cycle in humans, would influence the time to loss of consciousness in our mouse exertional heat stroke model.
Ovariectomy aggravates the pathophysiological response to exertional heat stroke in mice
Journal of Applied PhysiologyRentería, et al.
2023-04-25
Female mice have a greater capacity for exercising in the heat than male mice, reaching greater power output and longer times of heat exposure before succumbing to exertional heat stroke. Differences in body mass, size, or testosterone do not explain these distinct sex responses. Whether the ovaries could account for the superior exercise capacity in the heat in females remains unknown. Here, we determined the influence of ovariectomy on exercise capacity in the heat, thermoregulation, intestinal damage and heat shock response in a mouse EHS model.
