BIOGRAPHICAL:
Born: Pennsylvania
Citizenship: United States
Home: Little Rock, AR 72223
Languages: English, Italian
EDUCATION:
1974-1978 Engineering, B.S., United States Military Academy, West Point, NY
1982-1984 MBA, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL
1988-1991 Nutrition and Physiology, Ph.D., Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
1992-1994 Protein Metabolism and Space Physiology, Post-Doctoral Fellowship, NASA,
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
A. Personal Statement
I have been involved in human nutrition, metabolism, and physiology studies for more than 20 years. In particular, I have been involved in metabolic and outcome studies in aging populations for more than 16 yrs. These studies have addressed metabolic responses to both nutritional and pharmacological interventions. In addition, many studies have investigated these modalities on strength and functional outcome measures. Inherent in these studies was the development of expertise in the techniques to include calculations, validation and interpretation.
In my previous positions, I successfully administered many projects (e.g. staffing, research protections, budget), collaborated with other researchers, and produced several peer-reviewed publications from each project. These duties and experiences reinforced the importance of frequent communication among project members, as well as the development of research plans, timelines, and budget adherence. The current award is a logical transition and culmination of my prior work. I have a strong background in the metabolic measurements proposed, in particular, protein metabolism.
B. Positions and Honors
Positions
1978-1980 US Army, active duty: Armor Officer
1980-1984 US Army, active duty: Aviation, Pilot
1985-2003 US Army Reserve (Lieutenant Colonel; retired)
1989-1991 Graduate Teaching Assistant, Florida State University
1992-1994 NRC Resident Research Associate, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
1994-1997 Assistant Professor, Surgery, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX
1997-2002 Associate Professor, Surgery, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX
2002-2006 Professor, Surgery, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX
2006-Pres Professor, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Med Sciences, Little Rock, AR
Honors
1992-1994 NRC Resident Research Associate, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
1988-1989 College of Human Science Fellowship, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
1989, April Member, US-China Sports Delegation to Chinese Olympic Training Center, Beijing, China
C. Contribution to Science
- Much of my early work centered on the use of anabolic agents in the restoration of skeletal muscle. In particular, this work elucidated the metabolic mechanisms that lead to muscle anabolism. While anabolic agents were routinely used (misused) in the athletic populations, their ability to restore muscle mass and function in clinical populations had not been previously investigated. One of the first investigations centered on the administration of testosterone in older, hypongondal populations. We found that testosterone, and its derivatives, promoted muscle anabolism similarly in both young and older subjects by increasing the rate of muscle protein synthesis. Based upon these initial studies, we examined testosterone’s effects after long-term supplementation in the elderly. Our results demonstrated that a longer supplemental period in hypogonadal men was both safe and efficacious in promoting mass and functional improvements. Further, the study revealed that the responsible anabolic mechanism in skeletal muscle was different with short term versus longer-term administration. These studies provided the metabolic rationale for follow-on clinical trials investigating the safety and efficacy of longitudinal testosterone administration in hypongonadal men.
- Urban, R.J.; Bodenburn Y.H.; Gilkison, C.; Coggan, A.R.; Wolfe R.R.; Ferrando, A.A. Testosterone administration to elderly men increases skeletal muscle strength and protein synthesis. American Journal of Physiology (Endocrinology and Metabolism) 269:E820-E826, 1995. PMID 7491931
- Ferrando, A.A.; Tipton, K.D, Doyle, D., Phillips, S.M., Cortiella, J., Wolfe, R.R. Testosterone injection stimulates protein synthesis but not tissue amino acid transport in humans. American Journal of Physiology (Endocrinology and Metabolism). 275: E864 – E871, 1998. PMID 9815007
- Sheffield-Moore, M. Urban, R.J., Wolf, S.E., Jiang, J., Catlin, D.H., Herndon, D.N., Wolfe, R.R., Ferrando, A.A. Short-term Oxandrolone administration stimulates net muscle protein synthesis in young men. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 84(8):2705-2711, 1999. PMID 10443664
- Ferrando, A.A., Sheffield-Moore, M., Yeckel, C.W., Gilkison, C., Jiang, J., Marcell, T., Achacosa, A. Lieberman, S.A., Tipton, K.D., Wolfe, R.R., Urban, R.J. Testosterone administration to older men improves muscle function: molecular and physiological mechanisms. American Journal of Physiology Endocrinology and Metabolism 282, E601-E607, 2002. PMID. 11832363
- Ferrando, A.A., Sheffield-Moore, M., Paddon-Jones, D., Wolfe, R.R., Urban, R.J. Differential anabolic effects of testosterone and amino acid feeding in older men. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 88, 358-362, 2003. PMID 12519877
- With this understanding of testosterone’s anabolic effects, investigations were extended to clinical populations of severe trauma. Testosterone, and its derivatives, was utilized in severely burned patients during their ICU stay. The studies demonstrated that the anabolic mechanism differed in the skeletal muscle of burn patients, and further, between adult and pediatric burn patients. The primary effect in adult burn patients was a decrease in skeletal muscle protein breakdown and a concomitant increase in protein synthetic efficiency. In pediatric burn patients, the stimulation of muscle protein synthesis was responsible for improved anabolism. The studies were extrapolated to long-term usage after discharge and demonstrated the benefits in recovery of pediatric burn injury. As a result of these efforts, the use of testosterone in the recovery from severe burns is now an important clinical paradigm.
- Tuvdendorj, , Chinkes, D.L., Zhang, XJ, Ferrando, A.A. Wolfe, R.R., Herndon, D.N. Adult patients are more catabolic than children during acute phase after burn injury: a retrospective analysis on muscle protein kinetics. Intensive Care Medicine 37(8):1317-22, 2011. PMID 21647721
- Ferrando, A.A., Sheffield-Moore, M., Wolf, S.E., Herndon, D.N., Wolfe, R.R. Testosterone restoration in severe burns ameliorates muscle catabolism. Crit Care Med 29 (10) 1936-1942, 2001. PMID 11588456
- Hart, D.W., Wolf, S.E., Ramzy, P.I., Chinkes, D.L., Beauford, R.B., Ferrando, A.A., Wolfe, R.R., Herndon, D.N. Anabolic effects of oxandrolone following severe burn. Annals of Surgery. 233 (4), 556-564, 2001. PMID
- Wolf, S.E., Thomas, S.J., Dasu, M.R., Ferrando, A.A., Chinkes, D.L., Wolfe, R.R., Herndon, D.N. Improved net protein balance, lean mass, and gene expression changes with oxandrolone treatment in the severely burned. Annals of Surgery 237: 801-811, 2003. PMID 11303139
- Tuvdendorj, , Chinkes, D.L., Zhang, XJ, Suman, O.E., Aarsland, A.A., Ferrando, A.A., Kulp, G.A., Wolfe, R.R., Herndon, D.N. Long-term oxandrolone treatment increases muscle protein net deposition via improving amino acid utilization in pediatric patients 6 months after burn injury. Surgery 149(5):645-53, 2011. PMID 21333314
- Though the studies on testosterone administration were beneficial, the hormonal supplementation was primarily restricted to males. Other anabolic agents such as insulin, IGF-1, and growth hormone were subsequently utilized in both pediatric and adult burn patients. While there are some differences in the affected anabolic mechanism between pediatric and adult patients, each anabolic agent was successful in ameliorating the loss of lean body/muscle mass. Again, these studies provided the foundation for routine treatment of severe injury (burn) patients with anabolic agents during their ICU stay.
- DebRoy, M.A., Wolf, S.E., Zhang, X.J., Chinkes, D.L., Ferrando, A.A, Wolfe, R.R., Herndon, D.N. Anabolic effects of insulin-like growth factor in combination with insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 in severely burned adults. Journal of Trauma 47: 904-911, 1999. PMID 10568720
- Herndon, D.N., Ramzy, P.I., DebRoy, M.A., Zheng, M. Ferrando, A.A, Chinkes, D.L., Barret, J.P., Wolfe, R.R., Wolf, S.E. Muscle protein catabolism after severe burn: effects of IGF-1/IGFBP3 treatment. Annals of Surgery 229 (5): 713-722, 1999. PMID 10235530
Ferrando, A.A, Chinkes, D.L., Wolf, S.E., Matin, S., Herndon, D.N., Wolfe, R.R. Submaximal dose of insulin promotes net skeletal muscle protein synthesis in patients with severe burns. Annals of Surgery 229 (1): 11-18, 1999. PMID 9923795
- Thomas, S.J., Morimoto, K., Herndon, N., Ferrando, A.A.,Wolfe, R.R., Klein, G.L., Wolf, S.E. The effect of prolonged euglycemic hyperinsulinemia on lean body mass after severe burn. Surgery 132, 341-347, 2002. PMID 12219032
- Wolf, S.E., Thomas, S.J., Dasu, M.R., Ferrando, A.A., Chinkes, D.L., Wolfe, R.R., Herndon, D.N. Improved net protein balance, lean mass, and gene expression changes with oxandrolone treatment in the severely burned. Annals of Surgery 237: 801-811, 2003. PMID 12796576
- Tuvdendorj, Chinkes, D.L., Zhang, XJ, Ferrando, A.A., Wolfe, R.R., Herndon, D.N. Adult patients are more catabolic than children during acute phase after burn injury: a retrospective analysis on muscle protein kinetics. Intensive Care Medicine 37(8):1317-22, 2011. PMID 21647721
- Our laboratory conducted the seminal work in the response of muscle and whole-body protein metabolism to prolonged inactivity. Initially conducted as ground-based analogues for space flight, our work indicated that the primary reason for the loss of muscle with inactivity was the reduction in muscle and whole-body protein synthesis. We later extrapolated this work to a more clinically relevant population and found that the mechanistic cause for the loss of body protein was consistent in older subjects. To more closely model actual clinical inactivity, subsequent efforts investigated the combined effects of inactivity and stress
- Ferrando, A.A.; Lane, H.W.; Stuart, C.S.; Davis-Street, J.; Wolfe, R.R. Prolonged bed rest decreases skeletal muscle and whole-body protein synthesis. American Journal of Physiology (Endocrinology and Metabolism) 270:E627-E633, 1996. PMID 8928769
- Kortebein, P., Ferrando, A.A., Paddon-Jones, D., Ronsen, O., Lombeida, J. Wolfe, R.R., Evans, W.J. Effect of 10 days of bed rest in healthy older men and women. Journal of American Medical Association, Apr 25;297(16):1772-4, 2007. PMID 17456818
- Ferrando, A.A, Stuart C.A., Sheffield-Moore, M., Wolfe, R.R. Inactivity amplifies the catabolic response of skeletal muscle to cortisol. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 84(10):3515-3521, 1999. PMID 10522988
- Paddon-Jones, D., Sheffield-Moore, M., Cree, M.G., Hewlings, S.J., Aarsland, A., Wolfe, R.R., Ferrando, A.A. Atrophy and impaired muscle protein synthesis during prolonged inactivity and stress. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 91:4836-4841, 2006. PMID 16984982
The following studies investigated exercise and nutritional countermeasures designed to maintain muscle during inactivity in both young and older subjects. These studies constitute foundational work on the effects of inactivity and muscle protein metabolism and have led to increased protein intake during periods of inactivity and nutritional modification in patient populations.
- Ferrando, A.A.; Tipton, K.D.; Bamman, M.M.; Wolfe, R.R. Resistance exercise maintains skeletal muscle protein synthesis during bed rest. Journal of Applied Physiology 82(3):807-810, 1997. PMID 9074967
- Paddon-Jones, D., Sheffield-Moore, M., Urban, R.J, Sanford, A.P., Aarsland, A.A. Wolfe, R.R., Ferrando, A.A. Essential amino acid and carbohydrate supplementation ameliorates muscle protein loss during 28 days bedrest. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 89: 4351-4358, 2004. PMID 15356032
- Ferrando, A.A., Paddon-Jones, D. Hays, N.P., Kortebein, P., Ronsen, O., Williams, R. McComb, A., Symons, B., Wolfe R.R., Evans, W.J. Essential amino acid supplementation to increase nitrogen intake improves muscle function during bed rest in the elderly. Clinical Nutrition 29: 18-23, 2010. PMID 19419806
- Recent work has focused on the effects of increased amino acid and/or protein intake on skeletal muscle and function in older populations. In addition to the benefits of increased amino acid intake during inactivity (see number 4 above), we have demonstrated that increasing protein/amino acid intake in older populations improves protein kinetics. The improvement in protein kinetics translates to improved functional and lean mass in older subjects. Further, we have demonstrated that increased essential amino acid intake improves muscle function during recovery from joint replacement.
- Kim, Il-Young, Schutzler, S.E., Schrader, A., Spencer, H., Kortebein, P., Deutz, NEP, Wolfe, R.R., Ferrando, A.A. Quantity of dietary protein intake, but not pattern of intake, affects net protein balance primarily through differences in protein synthesis in older adults American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism 308:E21-E28, 2015. PMID 25352437
- Børsheim, E., Bui, Q-U.T., Tissier, S., Kobayashi, H.; Ferrando, A.A., Wolfe, R.R. Effect of amino acid supplementation on muscle mass, strength and physical function in elderly. Clinical Nutrition Apr 27(2): 189-95, 2008. PMID 18294740
- Ferrando, A.A., Bamman, M.M., Schutzler, S.E., Spencer, H. J., Evans, R. P., Wolfe, R. R., Increased nitrogen intake following hip arthroplasty expedites muscle strength recovery. Journal of Aging: Research and Clinical Practice 2 (4): 369, 2013. http://www.jarcp.com/about-the-journal.html
- URL to a full list of published work: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Ferrando+AA
CURRENT
NIH 1P30AG028718: Arkansas Claude Pepper Older Americans Independence Center at UAMS
09/01/2011-08/31/2016 (Program Director: Wei, JY)
- Leadership and Administration Core (LAC) (Role: Senior Faculty)
Goals: To provide institutional support for the study of older individuals, as well as the development of junior faculty pursuing the area of Geriatrics
- Pilot/Exploratory Studies Core (PESC) (Role: Co-Leader)
Goals: To provide seed funds for promising investigations in cardiac and skeletal muscle function
- Research Core 2 – Metabolism Core (RC2) (Role: Core Leader)
Goals: To provide methodological and infrastructure supports for projects focused on cardiac and skeletal muscle function in older individuals.
NIH 1R01HD084124: Overcoming TWEAK Signaling to Fully Restore Muscle Mass and Mobility Function after Total Joint Arthroplasty
04/15/2015-02/29/2020 (PI: Bamman) (Role: PI; Sub-award)
Goals: To determine the effects of hip and knee replacement surgery on muscle inflammation and recovery, with or without resistive exercise.
Substrate utilization, exercise performance, and skeletal muscle response to energy deficit and altitude acclimatization. 1/5/16 – 12/31/16
United States Army Environmental Research Institute (PI – Ferrando)
Goals: Understand substrate utilization and protein kinetics before and after adaptation to high altitude.
Nestlé
Enteral Formula Tolerance of Standard Tube Feeding Formulas
09/10/2015-ongoing (Role: PI)
Goals: Determine the effects of various TPN formulas on patient tolerance.
COMPLETED (in the last 3 years)
10/2012-12/2014 Dairy Research Institute: Diary Macronutrient Effects on the Metabolic Syndrome.
05/2013-04/2015 Dairy Research Institute: Effect of Dietary Protein Intake Pattern on Skeletal Muscle in Older Individuals.
03/2013-07/2015 Egg Nutrition Center, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Dairy Research Council: Effect of Dietary Protein Intake Distribution on Protein Metabolism and Skeletal Muscle.
08/2015-04/2016 Egg Nutrition Center: The Benefits of Egg for Breakfast.
08/2015-05/2016 Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research: A randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center, parallel group dose range finding study to assess the effect of bimagrumab on skeletal muscle strength and function in older adults with sarcopenia.