Charlotte A. Peterson

Charlotte A. Peterson, PhD

Joseph Hamburg Endowed Professor, CMB Director
Center for Muscle Biology Physical Therapy
University of Kentucky

Email: cpete4@uky.edu

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Biography

Charlotte A. Peterson, Ph.D. is the Joseph Hamburg Endowed Professor and Director of the Center for Muscle Biology.  She recently stepped down as Associate Dean for Research in the College, a position she served from 2006-2016, to pursue a new opportunity through an Intergovernmental Personnel Appointment at the NIH. She will provide scientific oversite to a new NIH initiative through the Office of the Director’s Common Fund entitled “Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium” (MoTrPAC).   MoTrPAC is a multi-institutional consortium that includes pre-clinical animal studies, clinical trials, and analyses and bioinformatics centers with the goal of discovering the molecules and pathways responsible for physical activity’s benefits for human health.  She will also continue to oversee her extramurally-funded research program in the College.

Dr. Peterson’s research focuses on elucidation of cellular and molecular mechanisms controlling skeletal muscle structure and function. She is currently funded by the NIH and by the Department of Defense to study the role of adult stem cells in muscle maintenance and adaptation; the influence of obesity and inflammation on muscle function; muscle changes in response to blast injuries resulting in retained metal in muscle; interventions to maintain muscle health in the face of chronic disease and during aging; and strategies to improve exercise outcomes in the elderly. Her long term goal is to develop new strategies to prevent frailty and loss of functional independence.

Projects