Rachele Pojednic, PhD, EdM
Associate Professor & Program Director of Exercise Science
Department of Health & Human Performance, Norwich University

Rachele Pojednic, PhD, EdM, CSCS is an Associate Professor & Program Director of Exercise Science in the Department of Health and Human Performance at Norwich University and a research associate at the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is also the Director of Scientific Research and Education at Restore Hyperwellness. For the past decade, Dr Pojednic’s work has examined nutrition, supplementation and physical activity interventions on muscle physiology, performance and recovery, as well as muscle related chronic disease. She has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the Vermont Biomedical Research Network (VBRN) an NIH IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program. She has published extensively on nutritional supplementation and the effects on skeletal muscle in health and disease, muscle physiology and aging with a focus on sarcopenia, physiologic metrics of muscle recovery in warfighters, the effects of nutrition and exercise interventions on diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, as well as educational models for healthcare professionals focused on nutrition and exercise.

Dr. Pojednic serves on the Governance Board for the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Exercise Is Medicine® (EIM) initiative, the Education Board for the MedFit Organization, and on the Scientific Advisory Board for Heali.ai. She has also served as the co-chair of the ACSM EIM Education Committee, was the Interim Executive Director for the Prescription for Activity Task Force, and The American Council on Exercise (ACE) Industry Advisory Panel. Dr Pojednic has a particular passion for science communication and has been a consultant and writer for several organizations, including Time, The Washington Post, Popular Science, Self, Shape, Women’s Health, Forbes, Runners World, and Boston Magazine. She has also been a member of the fitness community for twenty years as an indoor cycling instructor and an ambassador for Specialized and Lululemon.

Dr. Pojednic received her PhD from the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition & Exercise Physiology. She completed her postdoctoral training at The Joslin Diabetes Center and Spaulding Rehabilitation Center, Harvard Medical School. She also holds an EdM in Physical Education and Coaching from Boston University and a BS in Cardiopulmonary and Exercise Science from Northeastern University. Her research at Tufts was completed in the Nutrition, Exercise Physiology and Sarcopenia laboratory at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, where she was awarded the Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.  She holds a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certification from National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and is board certified Health Coach from the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaches (NBHWC).