Kinesiology
Karen M. Mustian, PhD, M.S., MPH, ACSM, FSBM., received a Ph.D. in Exercise Sport Science at UNCG in 2003. She is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Surgery, Radiation Oncology and Public Health Sciences at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC).
Dr. Mustian is Director of the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center (JPWCC) Integrative Oncology Supportive Care Center of Excellence, Director of the URMC PEAK Human Performance Clinical Research Core Lab, and Deputy Director of the JPWCC National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded Community Clinical Oncology Program Research Base.
She also serves as a member of the URMC Clinical and Translational Science Institute Administrative Committee and a member of the URMC Medical Faculty Council. Internationally and nationally, Dr. Mustian is a Distinguished Research Fellow in the National Society of Behavioral Medicine, Chair of the NCI’s Symptom Management and Quality of Life Steering Committee and Chair of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer International Fatigue Study Group.
She is appointed to the NCI Community Oncology and Prevention Trials Research Group’s Community Oncology Cardiotoxicity Task Force, the NCI Cancer-Related Fatigue Working Group and the NCI Disease Steering Committee Chairs’ Group. She is also a member of the NIH National Exercise Clinical Trials Network (NExTNet). Dr. Mustian helped establish the mission and guidelines for the inaugural American Cancer Society Palliative Care Initiative and Review Committee, the American College of Sports Medicine Oncology Exercise Specialist Certification, and the American College of Sports Medicine Exercise Guidelines for Cancer Patients and Survivors.
Dr. Mustian is an international leader in the fields of Cancer Control and Survivorship, Exercise Oncology, Behavioral Oncology, Exercise Physiology and Exercise Psychology. Dr. Mustian’s research is in the area of cancer control and survivorship with primary foci on investigating the influence of physical activity and exercise on toxicities and side effects (acute, chronic and late) stemming from cancer and its treatments including translational foci investigating psychoneuroimmunological (e.g., cytokines and circadian rhythm) and genetic (nuclear and mitochondrial) mechanistic pathways.
Currently, Dr. Mustian has $27.9M in funding through NCI, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, the Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine, the National Institute of Nursing Research, the Department of Defense, the American Cancer Society (ACS), the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Mustian has authored over 82 articles and book chapters in the field of exercise oncology, and she also serves on editorial boards and reviews for many excellent peer-reviewed professional journals.
She serves on grant review committees for the NCI, ACS, PCORI and others. Dr. Mustian has been recognized locally, nationally and internationally for her excellence and leadership with more than 37 distinguished research awards from groups such as the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer. In addition, Dr. Mustian’s excellence in teaching and mentoring was honored with the University of Rochester Medical Center Rubin-Mitchell Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring Award.
Most recently, Dr. Mustian received the 2013 Drew/Butterfield Distinguished Visiting Professorship by Princess Margaret Cancer Center in Toronto, Canada, and a 2014 Society of Behavioral Medicine Outstanding Research Citation Award.