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Wendy M. Kohrt, PhD

Title: Acting EC GRECC Director; Distinguished Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine

Contact: wendy.kohrt@cuanschutz.edu

University of Colorado webpage

Personal Statement
Wendy M Kohrt, PhD, is the Acting Director of the Eastern Colorado Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC). She is a Distinguished Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine and the Nancy Anschutz Chair in Women’s Health Research at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She holds several leadership positions including Director of Research for Geriatric Medicine, Associate Director of the Ludeman Family Center for Women’s Health Research, Director of the Energy Balance Assessment Core for the Colorado Nutrition and Obesity Research Center (NORC), and Associate Director of the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI). Her research is focused on the metabolic actions of estrogens and novel factors that influence the musculoskeletal adaptations to exercise. She has received continuous funding from the NIH as a principal investigator since 1991 and has more than 280 research publications. Dr. Kohrt is currently the PI of a VA Merit Review and two NIH Center grants, including a Specialized Center of Research Excellence (SCORE) in Sex Difference co-sponsored by the National Institute on Aging and the Office of Research on Women’s Health. She serves as Chair of the Steering Committee and Executive Steering Committee for the NIH Common Fund Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC).

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Research Interest

Dr. Kohrt’s VA research is focused on the disruption of calcium homeostasis by exercise. Some athletes, such as cyclists, have bone mineral density levels that are below normal. Although it is commonly believed that this is because they participate in weight-supported exercise (as opposed to weight-bearing), the Kohrt group documented that competitive cyclists lose BMD at an accelerated rate of 1% to 2% per year. They postulate that the disruption of calcium homeostasis during exercise contributes to this loss. The working model postulates that serum calcium declines during exercise, which leads to an increase in parathyroid hormone (PTH) and the stimulation of bone resorption to mobilize calcium from bone and prevent the serum calcium level from declining to a harmful level. They demonstrated that these changes occur in young and older, trained and untrained, women and men, and that the provision of supplemental calcium before and during exercise attenuates the disruptions in PTH and bone resorption. The current VA project is investigating whether this catabolic response of bone to exercise is diminished after repeated exercise bouts (i.e., exercise training).

Dimensions profile: See publications, grant, datasets, patents and clinical trial information.

Mentoring Activities
Since 1991, I have mentored or co-mentored 39 PhD-trained and 24 MD-trained research fellows from several departments/divisions (Geriatric Medicine, General Internal Medicine, Endocrinology, Infectious Diseases, Cardiology); the majority have established independent research careers. I serve as a senior faculty mentor on the following institutional training grants: Integrative Physiology of Aging (T32 AG000279); Nutrition (T32 DK007658; Colorado Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (K12 HD057022); and Colorado WHRH Career Development Center (K12 HD001271). I have served as mentor or co-mentor for 29 postdoctoral fellows supported by a T32 award, 8 supported by an F32 award, and 21 supported by a VA CDA or NIH K award.

The following images visualize Dr. Kohrt's work. The word cloud is drawn from publication titles. The research collaboration map shows research relationships (click the image to enlarge):

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Grants & Funding

Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC) - Colorado Clinical Center

Physical activity is known to have many beneficial effects on health, but the mechanisms by which this occurs are not well understood.
In 2016, the NIH Common Fund launched MoTrPAC to address this knowledge gap. MoTrPAC consists of several components (Clinical Centers, Preclinical Animal Sites, Chemical Analysis Sites, Bioinformatics Center, Coordinating Center) that are working together to develop a compendium of the molecular responses to acute exercise and exercise training, with a long-range goal of elucidating the mechanisms by which exercise improves health.
The final product of this initiative, which will be shared with the scientific community and the public, will be the MoTrPAC DataHub, populated with multi-omic, multi-tissue, and multi-species molecular and phenotypic data characterizing responses to acute and chronic endurance and resistance exercise.
Dr. Kohrt serves as the PI of the Colorado Clinical Center and as the Chair of the MoTrPAC Steering Committee and Executive Steering Committee.
Investigator: Wendy Kohrt
Funder: National Institutes of Health
NIH website
Recruiting ↠ Find out how to participate in the MoTrPAC study.

Enhancing Skeletal Adaptation to Exercise by Attenuating the Acute Disruption of Calcium Homeostasis During Exercise

Exercise is essential for building and maintaining bone mass and strength. Still, current recommendations for achieving this need more detail on the optimal exercise prescription. Recent studies found that blood calcium level decreases during exercise and that calcium is mobilized from bone to slow the decline. If this repeatedly occurs during exercise training, it could diminish the potential benefits of exercise to improve bone health.
The proposed studies will determine whether taking supplemental calcium before exercise to minimize the decline in blood calcium levels is an effective way to improve the skeletal benefits of exercise. This research is essential for Veterans because they are at increased risk of hip fracture compared to non-Veterans. Further, because osteoporosis in men is under-recognized and under-treated, providing male (and female) Veterans with more specific exercise and nutrition guidelines can enhance bone health, reduce fracture risk, and improve quality of life.
Investigator: Wendy Kohrt
Funder: Veterans Affairs
NIH website
Recruiting ↠ The study Enhancing Skeletal Adaptations – PTH and Exercise (ESkAPE) is recruiting research subjects, click to learn more.

Bioenergetic and Metabolic Consequences of the Loss of Gonadal Function

The decline in sex hormones (estrogen and testosterone) with aging can increase the risk for certain diseases; osteoporosis is a well-known example. The loss of estrogen is significant for women’s health because it occurs during mid-life. In contrast, the loss of testosterone in men occurs much later in life.
The Colorado Specialized Center of Research Excellence on Sex Differences (CO-SCORE) will advance novel ideas for how the loss of estrogen increases fat gain in the abdominal region, which increases the risk for heart disease and diabetes, and strategies that may be effective in preventing this.
Investigator: Wendy Kohrt
Funder: National Institute on Aging
NIH website
Publications of note:
— Oxidative Stress and Inflammation Are Associated With Age-Related Endothelial Dysfunction in Men With Low Testosterone
— Sex Differences in Peripheral Artery Disease
— Body composition and cardiometabolic health across the menopause transition
— Metabolite G-Protein Coupled Receptors in Cardio-Metabolic Diseases

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Recent Publications

2022

Patterson CG, Joslin E, Gil AB, Spigle W, Nemet T, Chahine L, Christiansen CL, Melanson E, Kohrt WM, Mancini M, Josbeno D, Balfany K, Griffith G, Dunlap MK, Lamotte G, Suttman E, Larson D, Branson C, McKee KE, Goelz L, Poon C, Tilley B, Kang UJ, Tansey MG, Luthra N, Tanner CM, Haus JM, Fantuzzi G, McFarland NR, Gonzalez-Latapi P, Foroud T, Motl R, Schwarzschild MA, Simuni T, Marek K, Naito A, Lungu C, Corcos DM; SPARX3-PSG Investigators. Study in Parkinson's disease of exercise phase 3 (SPARX3): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2022 Oct 6;23(1):855. doi: 10.1186/s13063-022-06703-0. PMCID: PMC9535216.
PMID: 36203214.
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Dolan E, Dumas A, Keane KM, Bestetti G, Freitas LHM, Gualano B, Kohrt WM, Kelley GA, Pereira RMR, Sale C, Swinton PA. The Bone Biomarker Response to an Acute Bout of Exercise: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2022 Jul 23. doi: 10.1007/s40279-022-01718-8. Epub ahead of print.
PMID: 35870108.
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Babcock MC, DuBose LE, Hildreth KL, Stauffer BL, Cornwell WK 3rd, Kohrt WM, Moreau KL. Age-associated reductions in cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity are exaggerated in middle-aged and older men with low testosterone. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2022 Jun 30. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00245.2022. Epub ahead of print.
PMID: 35771224.
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Gavin KM, Sullivan TM, Maltzahn JK, Jackman MR, Libby AE, MacLean PS, Kohrt WM, Majka SM, Klemm DJ. Hematopoietic Stem Cell-Derived Adipocytes Modulate Adipose Tissue Cellularity, Leptin Production and Insulin Responsiveness in Female Mice. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022 Jun 3;13:844877. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2022.844877. PMCID: PMC9203959.
PMID: 35721743.
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Swanson CM, Shanbhag P, Tussey EJ, Rynders CA, Wright KP Jr, Kohrt WM. Bone Turnover Markers After Six Nights of Insufficient Sleep and Subsequent Recovery Sleep in Healthy Men. Calcif Tissue Int. 2022 Feb 8. doi: 10.1007/s00223-022-00950-8. Epub ahead of print.
PMID: 35133471.
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Marlatt KL, Pitynski-Miller DR, Gavin KM, Moreau KL, Melanson EL, Santoro N, Kohrt WM. Body composition and cardiometabolic health across the menopause transition. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2022 Jan;30(1):14-27. doi: 10.1002/oby.23289.
PMID: 34932890.
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2021

Wherry SJ, Swanson CM, Kohrt WM. Acute catabolic bone metabolism response to exercise in young and older adults: A narrative review. Exp Gerontol. 2021 Nov 23:111633. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2021.111633. Epub ahead of print.
PMID: 34826573.
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Babcock MC, DuBose LE, Witten TL, Stauffer BL, Hildreth KL, Schwartz RS, Kohrt WM, Moreau KL. Oxidative stress and inflammation are associated with age-related endothelial dysfunction in men with low testosterone. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2021 Oct 1:dgab715. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgab715. Epub ahead of print.
PMID: 34597384.
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Gillman AS, Helmuth T, Koljack CE, Hutchison KE, Kohrt WM, Bryan AD. The Effects of Exercise Duration and Intensity on Breast Cancer-Related DNA Methylation: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Cancers (Basel). 2021 Aug 17;13(16):4128. doi: 10.3390/cancers13164128. PMCID: PMC8394212.
PMID: 34439282.
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Gavin KM, Sullivan TM, Maltzahn JK, Rahkola JT, Acosta AS, Kohrt WM, Majka SM, Klemm DJ. Hematopoietic stem cells produce intermediate lineage adipocyte progenitors that simultaneously express both myeloid and mesenchymal lineage markers in adipose tissue. Adipocyte. 2021 Dec;10(1):394-407. doi: 10.1080/21623945.2021.1957290.
PMID: 34404315.
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Hamilton BR, Staines KA, Kelley GA, Kelley KS, Kohrt WM, Pitsiladis Y, Guppy FM. The Effects of Exercise on Bone Mineral Density in Men: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials. Calcif Tissue Int. 2021 Aug 11. doi: 10.1007/s00223-021-00893-6. Epub ahead of print.
PMID: 34382100.
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Wherry SJ, Blatchford PJ, Swanson CM, Wellington T, Boxer RS, Kohrt WM. Maintaining Serum Ionized Calcium during Brisk Walking Attenuates the Increase in Bone Resorption in Older Adults. Bone. 2021 Jul 9:116108. doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2021.116108. Epub ahead of print.
PMID: 34252605.
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Depner CM, Rice JD, Tussey EJ, Eckel RH, Bergman BC, Higgins JA, Melanson EL, Kohrt WM, Wright K Jr, Swanson CM. Bone turnover marker responses to sleep restriction and weekend recovery sleep. Bone. 2021 Jun 30:116096. doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2021.116096. Epub ahead of print.
PMID: 34216838.
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Mijakovac A, Jurić J, Kohrt WM, Krištić J, Kifer D, Gavin KM, Miškec K, Frkatović A, Vučković F, Pezer M, Vojta A, Nigrović PA, Zoldoš V, Lauc G. Effects of Estradiol on Immunoglobulin G Glycosylation: Mapping of the Downstream Signaling Mechanism. Front Immunol. 2021 May 25;12:680227. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.680227. PMCID: PMC8186398.
PMID: 34113353.
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Wherry SJ, Wolfe P, Schwartz RS, Kohrt WM, Jankowski CM. Ibuprofen taken before exercise blunts the IL-6 response in older adults but does not alter bone alkaline phosphatase or c-telopeptide. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2021 Apr 19. doi: 10.1007/s00421-021-04691-8. Epub ahead of print.
PMID: 33876259.
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Park YM, Jankowski CM, Swanson CM, Hildreth KL, Kohrt WM, Moreau KL. Bone Mineral Density in Different Menopause Stages is Associated with Follicle Stimulating Hormone Levels in Healthy Women. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jan 29;18(3):1200. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18031200.
PMID: 33572819.
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Sailer C, Edelmann H, Buchanan C, Giro P, Babcock M, Swanson C, Spotts M, Schulte M, Pratt-Cordova A, Coe G, Beindorff M, Page RL 2nd, Ambardekar AV, Pal JD, Kohrt W, Wolfel E, Lawley JS, Tarumi T, Cornwell WK 3rd. Impairments in Blood Pressure Regulation and Cardiac Baroreceptor Sensitivity Among Patients With Heart Failure Supported With Continuous-Flow Left Ventricular Assist Devices. Circ Heart Fail. 2021 Jan;14(1):e007448. doi: 10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.120.007448. Epub 2021 Jan 19. PMCID: PMC7818348.
PMID: 33464953.
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