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University of Connecticut Neag School of Education Department of Kinesiology


Photo of William Kraemer

William J. Kraemer

  • Professor of Kinesiology
  • Professor of Physiology and Neurobiology
  • Professor of Medicine
Dr. William J. Kraemer is a full professor in the Department of Kinesiology in the Neag School of Education working in the Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT since 2001.  He also holds and an appointment as a full professor in the Department of Physiology and Neurobiology along with an appointment as a Professor of Medicine at the UCONN Health Center/School of Medicine with with the Center on Aging..  He also worked as Director of Research for three years in the Neag School of Education.  He is also an affliliate with the UConn Center for Health, Intervention, and Prevention.   a  Internationally, Dr Kraemer holds an adjunct professor appointments in the School of Exercise, Biomedical, and Health Sciences and with the Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences at Edith Cowan University, in Joondalup Australia and also with the Department of Biology of Physical Activity at the University of Jyväskylä, in Jyväskylä, Finland 

From 1998 until June of 2001, Dr. Kraemer held the John and Janice Fisher Endowed Chair in Exercise Physiology and full Professor at Ball State University in Muncie, IN, where he was director of the Human Performance Laboratory as well as the head of the graduate programs in Bioenergetics.   Additionally, he was a full Professor of Physiology and Biophysics at the Indiana University School of Medicine.  

Prior to his 1998 appointment at Ball State University he held the rank of a full Professor of Applied Physiology at the Pennsylvania State University.  At Penn State he had served from 1989-1998 as Director of the Laboratory for Sports Medicine and was Director of Research for the Center for Sports Medicine on the University Park campus which was a collaborative endeavor with the College of Medicine, the College of Health and Human Development and Intercollegiate Athletics at Penn State.  Dr Kraemer also held an appointment in the Department of Orthopedics in the College of Medicine at Penn State's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey PA.  He also served as the Associate Director for the Center for Cell Research at Penn State and helped to coordinate the Center’s programs for the commercial development of space.  As an investigator he participated in a diverse cellular research program including research projects on two space shuttle missions for NASA.  He also held a primary appointment in the Department of Kinesiology, along with other joint appointments in the Inter-college Program in Physiology where he acted as a course coordinator, Noll Physiological Research Center,  and an original member of the university’s Gerontology Center . He was a prime contributor to research coordination and collaborative research initiatives as Penn State.  In addition he was a founding participant in the PSU Applied Research Laboratory's Non-lethal Warfare Institute.   

Prior to his appointment at Penn State, Dr Kraemer had started his academic career as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sport, Leisure and Exercise Sciences at the University of Connecticut from 1987-1989 working in the Human Performance Laboratory and heading up the Athletic Training Program in the days of time related certifications.  Prior to his appointment at the University of Connecticut, he was a commissioned officer (Captain) in the U.S. Army’s Medical Service Corp and was stationed at the U.S. Army's Research Institute of Environmental Medicine in Natick, Massachusetts working in military R @ D where he conducted research related to soldier fitness, stress physiology, soldier combat demands, environmental physiology resistance training, and ergonomics.  As a research physiologist and biochemist he was the head of the Exercise Biochemistry Laboratory within Exercise Physiology Division.  He also held an appointment as an adjunct Professor at Boston University.  


Dr. Kraemer received his doctoral degree from the University of Wyoming in 1984 in the Department of Zoology and Physiology with his major fields of study being physiology and biochemistry with a minor in biostatistics. He received a master’s degree from the University of Wyoming in exercise physiology in the School of Allied Health.  

After his masters degree he taught and coached at Carroll College and was an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Education and the Department of Biology.  He also served as the Carroll College’s head wrestling coach setting a school record for season dual meet wins, a member of the football staff as an assistant coach, and was the head strength and conditioning coach and one of the first members of the National Strength and Conditioning Association in 1978 then called the National Strength Coaches Association.  His work in the department spanned from heading up student teaching supervisions in physical education to supervising the sports medicine program and supervising the health education program.  

Prior to his college, university, and scientific career, Dr. Kraemer also taught health and physical education and coached football, wrestling and track and field along with serving as a strength coach in the secondary school systems in Minnesota and Wisconsin.  

Dr. Kraemer received his undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin – LaCrosse where he was a four year letterman in football earning conference honors while majoring in both Physical Education and Health Education.  

Dr. Kraemer is currently a member and Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine and has served as a member of the ACSM's Board of Trustees and Administrative Council.  He is a past president of the National Strength and Conditioning Association.  He was also among the first group of members inducted as Fellows in the NSCA in 2007.  Dr. Kraemer is also a Fellow in the International Society of Sports Nutrition and the American College of Nutrition.  He is a member of the American Physiological Society and the Endocrine Society.  In addition, Dr. Kraemer serves on numerous scientific journal editorial boards and is the current Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, an Editor for the European Journal of Applied Physiology and an Associate Editor for Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise and is on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Applied Physiology.  Dr. Kraemer has also been a sport science liaison for the United States Olympic Committee to USA tennis, team handball, basketball, wrestling, and soccer.  He has also served three different terms as a member of the United States Tennis Association's (USTA) Sport Science Committee.  He has authored and co-authored over 360 peer reviewed manuscripts in the scientific literature related to sports medicine, endocrinology of exercise, nutritional supplementation, exercise, military fitness, sports science, and resistance exercise and training.  

Dr Kraemer recently (2012 copyright) published with Dr. Steven Fleck and Dr. Michael Deschenes (UConn Alumnus) a new textbook in Exercise Physiology: Integrating Theory and Application.

He has also authored or co-authored 10 other books in the areas of strength training and physiology of exercise and is preparing to work with his colleague, Dr Steven Fleck on a historic 4th Edition of their classic text book, Designing Resistance Training Programs.  He was selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to edit (Dr. Kraemer and Dr Keijo Häkkinen’s) the Medical Commission’s book on “Strength Training for Athletes” which was published in 2002 and is also was an editor (Dr. Kraemer and Dr. Alan Rogol) for the IOC’s Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine’s Endocrinology of Exercise and Sport which was published in 2005.  Considered by many to be one of the world’s preeminent scholars in the physiology and endocrinology of resistance training, Dr Kraemer’s work has spanned from the cell to the whole human being in the quest for greater understanding and knowledge in the area of exercise and sport science.  



Notes:

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Dr. Kraemer was also honored by the NSCA by having the Outstanding Sport Scientist Award named in his honor in 2006. 

Now the...... 

"William J. Kraemer Outstanding Sports Scientist Award".  

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During Dr Kraemer's sabbatical in the Spring of 2009, in the Department of Biology of Physical Activity at the University of Jyväskylä, in Jyväskylä, Finland, for collaborative work with the department and university spanning over 18 years, he was awarded the University Medal for his contributions.  He was the first non-citizen of Finland to be awarded this prestigious award previously awarded to such people as former Presidents of Finland.  
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In  April, 2009, Dr Kraemer was awared the University of Connecticut, Neag School of Education's Outstanding Research Award, given to a senior faculty member each year for their career accomplishments in research.  

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In the fall of 2009, Dr Kraemer was inducted into the Marshfield High School Athletic Hall of Fame for his accomplishments as a high school athlete in football, wrestling and track and field.  (Marshfield, Wisconsin).  

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Dr. Kraemer was also awarded in the Fall of 2009, the UConn Alumni Association’s Faculty Research Excellence Award (SCIENCES) given to one faculty member at the University each year for their prolific career records of scholarship, grant work and publications.  

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Other Selected Honors and Awards are noted below:  









  • Educational Background:
    • Ph.D., Physiology and Biochemistry, Minor: Biostatistics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY
    • M. S., Exercise Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY
    • B.S., Health Education and Physical Education, University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, LaCrosse, WI
  • Selected Publications/Presentations:
    • Kraemer WJ, Joseph MF, Volek JS, Hoffman JR, Ratamess NA, Newton RU, Fragala MS, French DN, Rubin MA, Scheett TP, McGuigan MR, Thomas GA, Gomez AL, Häkkinen K, Maresh CM. Endogenous opioid peptide responses to opioid and anti-inflammatory medications following eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage. Peptides. 2010 Jan;31(1):88-93.
    • Vingren JL, Kraemer WJ, Hatfield DL, Volek JS, Ratamess NA, Anderson JM, Häkkinen K, Ahtiainen J, Fragala MS, Thomas GA, Ho JY, Maresh CM. Effect of resistance exercise on muscle steroid receptor protein content in strength-trained men and women. Steroids. 2009 Nov-Dec;74(13-14):1033-9.
    • Ahtiainen JP, Hulmi JJ, Kraemer WJ, Lehti M, Pakarinen A, Mero AA, Karavirta L, Sillanpää E, Selänne H, Alen M, Komulainen J, Kovanen V, Nyman K, Häkkinen K Stength, endurance or combined training elicit diverse skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain isoform proportion but unaltered androgen receptor concentration in older men. Int J Sports Med. 2009 Dec;30(12):879-87.
    • Spiering BA, Kraemer WJ, Vingren JL, Ratamess NA, Anderson JM, Armstrong LE, Nindl BC, Volek JS, Häkkinen K, Maresh CM Elevated endogenous testosterone concentrations potentiate muscle androgen receptor responses to resistance exercise. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2009 Apr;114(3-5):195-9.
    • Schuenke MD, Reed DW, Kraemer WJ, Staron RS, Volek JS, Hymer WC, Gordon S, Perry Koziris L. Effects of 14 days of microgravity on fast hindlimb and diaphragm muscles of the rat. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2009 Aug;106(6):885-92.
    • Karl JP, Alemany JA, Koenig C, Kraemer WJ, Frystyk J, Flyvbjerg A, Young AJ, Nindl BC. Diet, body composition, and physical fitness influences on IGF-I bioactivity in women. Growth Horm IGF Res. 2009 Dec;19(6):491-6
    • Kraemer WJ, Hatfield DL, Volek JS, Fragala MS, Vingren JL, Anderson JM, Spiering BA, Thomas GA, Ho JY, Quann EE, Izquierdo M, Häkkinen K, Maresh CM Effects of amino acids supplement on physiological adaptations to resistance training. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009 May;41(5):1111-21.
    • Joseph M, Maresh CM, McCarthy MB, Kraemer WJ, Ledgard F, Arciero CL, Anderson JM, Nindl BC, Mazzocca AD Histological and molecular analysis of the biceps tendon long head post-tenotomy. J Orthop Res. 2009 Oct;27(10):1379-85
    • McCullough AS, Kraemer WJ, Volek JS, Solomon-Hill GF Jr, Hatfield DL, Vingren JL, Ho JY, Fragala MS, Thomas GA, Häkkinen K, Maresh CM. Factors affecting flutter kicking speed in women who are competitive and recreational swimmers. J Strength Cond Res. 2009 Oct;23(7):2130-6.
    • Kraemer WJ and Fleck SJ, Optimizing Strength Training - Designing Nonlinear Periodization Workouts, Human Kinetics Publishers, Champaign, IL 2007
  • Funded Research:
    • Endocrinology/Muscle Physiology
    • Women's Exercise and Health Issues
    • Aging
    • Nutritional Supplements
    • Special Populations
    • Diet Programs
    • Military Fitness and Demands
    • Sports Medicine