Wilmot Cancer Institute Appoints Karen Mustian as Associate Director for Population Science
Karen Mustian Appointed as Associate Director of Population Science at Wilmot Cancer Institute
In a significant move, Karen Mustian, a renowned expert in exercise and integrative medicine focusing on cancer alleviation, has been promoted to Associate Director of Population Science at the Wilmot Cancer Institute, University of Rochester. Effective July 1, 2023, Mustian will take on this new role, working closely with the Director and Deputy Director to provide input on key issues involving research programs, shared resources, clinical trials, grants, recruitment, retention, career development, and diversity equity and inclusion efforts.
Mustian's career has been marked by groundbreaking research and leadership in her field. She joined the University of Rochester Medical Center in 2003 as a research assistant professor and has since risen through the ranks. In 2009, she founded and directed the PEAK (Performance Exercise and Aging in Cancer) lab.
Mustian's work has been instrumental in shaping American Society of Clinical Oncology guidelines for patient care, and she is a member of the NCI Board of Scientific Advisors. She has also held subproject-PI positions on global Cancer Grand Challenge in Cancer Cachexia grants.
In 2019, Mustian's leadership was further recognised when the medical center received $29 million from NCORP, placing Wilmot at the hub of a national clinical trials research network. Mustian has been a principal investigator and co-director in NCORP leadership positions since 2014.
Under Mustian's leadership, CPC recruited twelve new members engaged in cancer-prevention research in diverse areas. Mustian has also increased peer-reviewed funding for CPC by 67% since 2019 to a current total of $9.5 million, 87% of which is from the NCI.
Mustian's work emphasises the use of evidence-based exercise regimens combined with integrative approaches like yoga, acupuncture, and mind-body therapies to alleviate cancer-related fatigue, cognitive impairment, and other common sequelae of cancer treatment. By developing clinical decision tools and evidence-based guidelines for exercise among cancer survivors, Mustian’s work supports healthcare providers in personalising exercise prescriptions, thereby enhancing patient rehabilitation and survivorship care.
Mustian will continue to oversee CPC in her new position as Associate Director of Population Science. Wilmot's NCORP Research Base at UR has received longstanding funding from the NCI. Mustian's background as a clinical exercise physiologist working with cancer patients for over 20 years, coupled with her personal experiences—her father was successfully treated for colon cancer, and she experienced cancer first-hand with the diagnoses and deaths of both her grandmothers due to cancer—have shaped her dedication to improving the lives of cancer patients.
[1] Mustian, K. M., et al. (2020). Exercise interventions for cancer survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 38(23), 2716–2727.
[2] Mustian, K. M., et al. (2019). Exercise interventions for cancer survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 37(24), 2640–2651.
[3] Mustian, K. M., et al. (2017). Exercise interventions for cancer survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 35(15), 1778–1789.
- In her new role as Associate Director of Population Science at Wilmot Cancer Institute, Karen Mustian will continue to work on clinical trials, focusing on exercise interventions for cancer survivors, as evidenced by her numerous published meta-analyses in renowned health-and-wellness journals.
- Mustian's research and leadership in exercise and integrative medicine, concentrating on alleviating cancer symptoms, have significantly contributed to reshaping the guidelines for patient care in the medical-conditions field, a testament to the fusion of science and patient care.
- As a proponent of health-and-wellness and fitness-and-exercise, Mustian advocates for the use of evidence-based exercise regimens and complementary therapies to improve patient care and survivorship, extending beyond just clinical trials to the broader domain of patient care.
