Skip to main content.

Anna M. Gorczyca, PhD

Anna Gorczyca portrait
Research Assistant Professor, Physical Activity & Weight Management
agorczyca@kumc.edu

Professional Background

Dr. Anna M. Gorczyca is a Research Assistant Professor within the Division of Physical Activity and Weight Management in the Department of Internal Medicine. Dr. Gorczyca also has a secondary appointment within the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition. Dr. Gorczyca completed a summer fellowship at NICHD in the division of Reproductive Epidemiology in 2014 and received her PhD from Indiana University in Physical Activity Epidemiology in 2016. This was followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in weight management and physical activity interventions at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She has been on faculty since July 2019.

Education and Training
  • BS, Exercise science, Adelphi University, Garden City, New York
  • MS, Exercise physiology, Adelphi University, Garden City, New York
  • PhD, Epidemiology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
  • Post Doctoral Fellowship, Weight management , University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas

Research

Overview

During her postdoctoral training at KUMC, Dr. Gorczyca's research focused on the delivery of weight management in rural communities using telemedicine to decrease barriers to access of evidence based programs. Additionally, she is investigating the impact of physical activity and weight management for the prevention of chronic disease (cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dementia, etc.) in other underserved populations such as women with PCOS, adults with mobility related disabilities and adults with cognitive dysfunction.

Furthermore, Dr. Gorczyca is a Co-I for the International Weight Control Registry (IWCR) (NCT04907396) that was launched in 2020 in conjunction with Tufts University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Colorado Denver, KUMC and Pennington Biomedical Research Center to better understand the opportunities and barriers to weight management in a more diverse (race, ethnicity, age, rurality, etc.) sample of participants than was sampled for the National Weight Control Registry (primarily white, middle-aged females). In October 2020, Dr. Gorczyca was one of four junior faculty selected at KUMC to serve as a research project leader for a Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) application on Obesity and Metabolism. The Kansas Center for Metabolism and Obesity REsearch (KC-MORE) was funded in April 2022 and Dr. Gorczyca is exploring the effectiveness and implementation of the National Diabetes Prevention Program through her partnership with K-State Research and Extension.

Current Research and Grants
  • Weight management for adults with mobility related disabilities, NIDDK
  • A Dyadic Approach for a Remote Physical Activity Intervention in Adults with Alzheimer's Disease and their Caregivers, NIA
  • The Promotion of Physical Activity for the Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease in Adults with Down Syndrome, NIA
Publications
  • Gorczyca, A., M, Washburn, R., A, Smith, P, Montgomery, R., N, Koon, L., M, Hastert, M, Suire, K., B, Donnelly, J., E. 2022. Feasibility and Comparative Effectiveness for the Delivery of the National Diabetes Prevention Program through Cooperative Extension in Rural Communities.. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19 (16)
  • Gorczyca, A., M, Steger, F., L, Ptomey, L., T, Montgomery, R., N, Mickelsen, R, Smith, P, Donnelly, J., E, Marsh, C., A. 2022. The impact of a group based, remotely delivered weight loss intervention in women with polycystic ovary syndrome on ovulation, quality of life and body composition.. Frontiers in reproductive health, 4, 940945
  • Gorczyca, A., M, Washburn, R., A, Ptomey, L, Mayo, M., S, Sullivan, D., K, Gibson, C., A, Lee, R, Stolte, S, Donnelly, J., E. 2018. Weight management in rural health clinics: The Midwest diet and exercise trial.. Contemporary clinical trials, 67, 37-46
  • Gorczyca, A., M, Sjaarda, L., A, Mitchell, E., M, Perkins, N., J, Schliep, K., C, Wactawski-Wende, J, Mumford, S., L. 2016. Changes in macronutrient, micronutrient, and food group intakes throughout the menstrual cycle in healthy, premenopausal women.. European journal of nutrition, 55 (3), 1181-8
  • Gorczyca, A., M, Eaton, C., B, LaMonte, M., J, Manson, J., E, Johnston, J., D, Bidulescu, A, Waring, M., E, Manini, T, Martin, L., W, Stefanick, M., L, He, K, Chomistek, A., K. 2017. Change in Physical Activity and Sitting Time After Myocardial Infarction and Mortality Among Postmenopausal Women in the Women's Health Initiative-Observational Study.. Journal of the American Heart Association, 6 (5)
  • Washburn, R., A, Ptomey, L., T, Gorczyca, A., M, Smith, P., R, Mayo, M., S, Lee, R, Donnelly, J., E. 2020. Weight management for adults with mobility related disabilities: Rationale and design for an 18-month randomized trial.. Contemporary clinical trials, 96, 106098