PITTSBURGH - Kathryn Schmitz, Ph.D., M.P.H., exercise oncology researcher at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, has been selected by The President's Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition to receive a 2024 Lifetime Impact Award.
Schmitz is a nationally and internationally known scientist in exercise oncology. In her more than 25-year career, her evidence-based research on the value and implementation of physical activity programs as part of cancer treatment plans has helped to transform the standard of care in cancer to include exercise.
In nominating Schmitz for the award, Anantha Shekhar, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice chancellor, University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences, called her a 'scientific powerhouse.'
"Not only has Dr. Schmitz been successful at changing oncology standards to include exercise oncology, but she has played a central role in developing the 2010 and 2021 exercise guidelines for cancer survivors, which have been endorsed by 17 key professional organizations, including the American Cancer Society, American College of Sports Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Cancer Institute and Society of Behavioral Medicine," said Shekhar.
Schmitz has been awarded more than $35 million in external funding for her research, much of it from the National Cancer Institute. She has over 350 peer-reviewed publications, many appearing in top academic journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA and Journal of Clinical Oncology. Her work has been cited over 44,000 times placing her in the top 1% of scientists worldwide.
Schmitz is a professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Malignant Hematology and Medical Oncology at Pitt. She is also associate director of population sciences and co-leader of the Biobehavioral Cancer Control Program at UPMC Hillman and was recently appointed as co-lead of the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Survivorship Program.
"Since Dr. Schmitz arrived at UPMC Hillman about two years ago, we can clearly see the positive impact that her research and Moving Through Cancer Program have had on our patients," said Stanley M. Marks, M.D., chair of UPMC Hillman. "We look forward to continuing to build a program that will mean greater outcomes and survival for the patients we treat."
She currently serves as the principal investigator of three large NIH-funded trials that extend from the use of exercise for primary prevention of cancer (PA Moves), through assessing whether exercise may improve treatment tolerance in older breast cancer patients (THRIVE-65), to determining if a tablet-based supportive care platform will improve survival or quality of life in advanced cancer patients in the rural setting.
"I am so honored to be the first exercise oncology researcher to be awarded the President's Council on Fitness Lifetime Achievement Award," said Schmitz. "The benefits of exercise on cancer outcomes is clearly reaching the mainstream."
Since 1956, the President's Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition (PCSFN) has played an important role in educating people about the benefits of physical activity and healthy eating. The Council consists of athletes, physicians, fitness and nutrition professionals, and entrepreneurs who are appointed by the U.S. President and serve in an advisory capacity through the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The Lifetime Impact Award celebrates individuals whose careers have contributed to the advancement or promotion of physical activity, fitness, sports or nutrition nationwide. In addition to Schmitz, four others will be honored at the PCSFN 2024 annual meeting on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
Schmitz earned her Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota, where she also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in epidemiology. Before joining UPMC Hillman and Pitt in 2022, she served as an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where she obtained tenure and rose to the rank of full professor. She then became a distinguished professor of public health sciences at Penn State College of Medicine.
