University of California, Davis, exercise biologist Paul Molé, whose research contributed to an understanding of how muscles function during exercise, died on Saturday, of complications following a heart attack. He was 62. Molé became ill on Jan. 8 while teaching a class. Thanks to prompt action by his teaching assistants, he was taken to Sutter Memorial Hospital and later transferred to the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. Although doctors were able to remove a blood clot from a coronary artery, his condition deteriorated, and he died early Saturday morning, Jan. 20. Molé's main research interest was in skeletal muscle metabolism, and how it responds to exercise, said UC Davis Professor Emeritus Ed Bernauer, a friend and colleague for over 40 years. "He reanalyzed much of the important documented research, and formulated a mathematical model that challenged the accepted view," said Bernauer. While the conventional view held that carbohydrate, not fat, was the primary fuel for muscles, Molé believed that fat played a greater role earlier in exercise, according to Bernauer. He then went on to test his ideas using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques. "He'll be sorely missed," said Tom Jue, a biochemist in the School of Medicine who worked closely with Molé. Using MRI technology developed in Jue's laboratory, they could look inside an athlete's limb to see how the muscles used oxygen and fuel during exercise. As a physiologist with expertise in muscles, Molé's contribution was very important in helping to develop the technology, said Jue. Eventually, the same technology might be used to study heart disease, he added. Molé was vice chair of the Department of Exercise Science and held an adjunct appointment at the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He was a faculty member of the graduate groups in exercise biology, nutrition and physiology. Molé played a pivotal role in the recent restructuring of the exercise biology program, and was actively involved in recruiting new faculty, said department chair Chuck Fuller. "We're going to miss his insight as we build for the future," said Fuller. "He was an intense and committed educator, who felt it was the obligation of the professor to bring students to the highest level of understanding," said Bernauer. "Paul was always challenging his students, always pushing them to think," said Fuller. Brought up in Jamestown, N.Y., Molé entered the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, on a football scholarship, graduating in 1960. He stayed at Illinois to complete a M.S. in physical education and a Ph.D. in physiology. He carried out postdoctoral research at Washington University, St. Louis, and held faculty appointments at Temple University, Philadelphia, and Louisiana State University, New Orleans, before joining UC Davis in 1977. Molé was a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, and a member of the American Physiology Society and the New York Academy of Science. He served as president of the Southwest chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine from 1999 to 2000. Molé loved the outdoors, whether walking in the woods, fishing or gardening, said his wife of 42 years, Patty. He was a keen amateur photographer. His parents were bakers, and he liked to bake and cook, making fresh bread every weekend, she said. He is survived by Patty; their three children, Pam, of Oklahoma, Greg, of Pittsburgh in the Bay Area, and Michael, of San Jose; and five grandchildren. In his freshman year on a football scholarship, Molé told his coach that he was marrying Patty, his high-school sweetheart. The coach told him he could either get married or play football, but not both. Molé responded by giving up football and taking up fencing, joining a team that went on to win the Midwestern Big Ten championship, an achievement that typified his determination and persistence, said Bernauer. A memorial service is scheduled for 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at the University Club. The family has requested that flowers not be sent. Donations can be made to the University of Illinois library fund.