Houmard to receive ACSM Citation Award
Backed by decades of cutting-edge research in exercise physiology and skeletal muscle metabolism, and other studies and honors, Dr. Joe Houmard is set to receive the prestigious Citation Award from the American College of Sports Medicine.
Dr. Joe Houmard was selected to receive the Citation Award from the American College of Sports Medicine.
Houmard was nominated by fellow Department of Kinesiology faculty member Dr. Linda May, with support from Dr. Nick Broskey. May emphasized that Houmard was one of the first to work on skeletal muscle cells and satellite cells, which helped set him apart nationally as a leader and pioneer in exercise physiology research.
He will be honored during Friday’s ACSM national meeting in Atlanta. The award is granted to an individual or group who has made significant and important contributions to ACSM’s mission. The contributions may be in basic science, applied science, clinical science, allied health and/or education.
“The American College of Sports Medicine is a large and prestigious organization that encompasses many fields concerning the study of exercise and physical activity,” Houmard said. “The Citation Award is very special to me, as the list of awardees represents titans in the field who have made vital contributions to our understanding of why exercise is important. I have been a member of ACSM since 1984 and it has been my “home” organization. I appreciate the award as I was nominated by my peers at ECU and ultimately selected by me peers within the field.”
It has been a banner year for Houmard, who received the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Research and Creative Activity from ECU.
Houmard’s studies have furthered understanding of the interactions between exercise training and aspects of metabolism. He led the Human Performance Laboratory at ECU for more than 30 years and was a founding member of the East Carolina Diabetes and Obesity Institute.
Throughout his career, he has secured more than $16 million in external research funding and published more than 225 peer-reviewed articles in journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Diabetes, and Cell Metabolism.
A focus of his in recent years was studying exercise effects on the molecular level while serving as ECU site principal investigator for the multi-institutional Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC), a $170 million initiative funded through the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Houmard joined ECU in 1988 as a postdoctoral research fellow. He was hired at ECU two years later and remained with more than 30 years of service to the university, including as the Dr. LeRoy Walker Endowed Professorship of Kinesiology and he helped establish ECU’s interdisciplinary doctoral program in bioenergetics and exercise science. Houmard’s dedication to mentorship and leadership in education is supported by mentoring more than 35 master’ s students, nine doctoral candidates and three postdoctoral researchers.