On today’s episode, I’m talking with Dr. Kate Ackerman, a Sports Medicine Physician and Endocrinologist and the medical director of the Female Athlete Program in the Sports Medicine Division at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Kate has a BA from Cornell in government and biology where she also started rowing. After graduation, Kate balanced training to make the national team in lightweight rowing with getting her MD from Johns Hopkins. She then went on to get an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Penn. Kate completed two fellowships, one in Sports Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital, and one in Endocrinology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Kate is an incredible force in sports medicine research, specifically helping to close the gap in knowledge on female athletes. She has 17 articles published this year (so far!) and presents her research nationally and internationally.
As the director of the Female Athlete Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, Kate’s research includes work on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) and bone health. In addition to doing her own research, she is course director for the Female Athlete Conference, held biennially at Boston Children’s Hospital.
With her background, research, and expertise, Dr. Ackerman was selected to be a member of the leadership council for the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance. This incredible Alliance has the goal of transforming human health through the science of peak performance.
Kate continues to be involved in the world of rowing and now serves as a team doctor for USRowing, is the chair of the USRowing Medical Commission, and is a member of the World Rowing Medical Commission.
We talk about:
- Going against the norm
- Communicating your vision to help get others on board
- Having hard conversations for the health of an athlete
- Building support systems for the times you feel like you’re in it alone
- The gap in knowledge on female athletes and their health
- Finding inspiration in travel
- How years spent training are worth it if you’re interested in your work
For more information about Dr. Kate Ackerman, you can find her on social:
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