Adam Kuchnia, PhD, RDN

he/him

Assistant Professor of Nutritional Sciences

Muscle and protein metabolism, nutritional management in clinical populations

kuchnia@wisc.edu

(608) 263-4316

Website

Type: Faculty, MANTP Trainer

Assistant Professor of Nutritional Sciences
Ph.D. 2017, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, R.D.

Automated CT-Based Muscle Density Predicts Mortality Regardless of Muscle Area

Adam J Kuchnia, Glen M Blake, Matthew H Lee, Jevin Lortie, Rachel Fenske, John W Garrett, Perry J Pickhardt

Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle. 2026 April 2. pmid:41925083, pmc:PMC13045369, doi:10.1002/jcsm.70268
Estimating proton density fat fraction using computed tomography attenuation in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue in a prospective clinical cohort

Rachel J Fenske, Jevin Lortie, Luke M Vander Kooy, Tim P Szczykutowicz, John W Garrett, Scott B Reeder, Perry J Pickhardt, Adam J Kuchnia

The American journal of clinical nutrition. 2026 March 9. pmid:41802496, pmc:PMC13141692, doi:10.1016/j.ajcnut.2026.101260
Tumor-Derived Polyamines Initiate Fat Wasting in Cancer Cachexia

Matias Fabregat, Rachel J Fenske, Julia K Hansen, Cameron J Kaminsky, Jevin Lortie, Alexander Nassar, Kayla Kressin, Annie Jen, Lucia Cilloni, Katherine Overmeyer, Caroline M Alexander, John W Garrett, Perry J Pickhardt, Joshua J Coon, Costas A Lyssiotis, Marina Pasca di Magliano, Lingjun Li, Adam J Kuchnia, Andrea Galmozzi

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology. 2026 February 16. pmid:41694618, pmc:PMC12900250, doi:10.64898/2025.12.01.691597
Novel DXA body composition approaches: comparison with traditional total body scans

Diane Krueger, Gretta Borchardt, Lucas Andersen, Benjamin Rush, Jevin Lortie, Adam J Kuchnia, Jennifer Sanfilippo, Neil Binkley

Journal of clinical densitometry : the official journal of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry. 2026 February 5. pmid:41643475, doi:10.1016/j.jocd.2026.101668
Automated CT-based visceral fat density predicts mortality regardless of visceral fat area

Adam J Kuchnia, Glen M Blake, Matthew H Lee, Jevin Lortie, John W Garrett, Perry J Pickhardt

The British journal of radiology. 2026 January 13. pmid:41527259, pmc:PMC13016999, doi:10.1093/bjr/tqag001
Ratio of visceral-to-subcutaneous fat area improves long-term mortality prediction over either measure alone: automated CT-based AI measures with longitudinal follow-up in a large adult cohort

Daniel Liu, Adam J Kuchnia, Glen M Blake, Matthew H Lee, John W Garrett, Perry J Pickhardt

Abdominal radiology (New York). 2025 August 11. pmid:40788576, pmc:PMC12971800, doi:10.1007/s00261-025-05149-7
Automated abdominal CT imaging biomarkers and clinical frailty measures associated with postoperative deceased-donor liver transplant outcomes

Daniel Liu, David Ji, John W Garrett, Ryan Zea, Adam Kuchnia, Ronald M Summers, Joshua D Mezrich, Perry J Pickhardt

European radiology. 2025 March 23. pmid:40121592, doi:10.1007/s00330-025-11523-2
CT-Based Body Composition Measures and Systemic Disease: A Population-Level Analysis Using Artificial Intelligence Tools in Over 100,000 Patients

B Dustin Pooler, John W Garrett, Matthew H Lee, Benjamin E Rush, Adam J Kuchnia, Ronald M Summers, Perry J Pickhardt

AJR. American journal of roentgenology. 2025 January 8. pmid:39772583, doi:10.2214/AJR.24.32216
Validating a Practical Correction for Intravenous Contrast on Computed Tomography-Based Muscle Density

Jevin Lortie, Deborah Ufearo, Scott Hetzel, Perry J Pickhardt, Timothy P Szczykutowicz, Adam J Kuchnia

Journal of computer assisted tomography. 2025 January 6. pmid:39761492, pmc:PMC12071502, doi:10.1097/RCT.0000000000001682
Correcting Posterior Paraspinal Muscle Computed Tomography Density for Intravenous Contrast Material Independent of Sex and Vascular Phase

Jevin Lortie, Benjamin Rush, Grace Gage, Ravi Dhingra, Scott Hetzel, Perry J Pickhardt, Timothy P Szczykutowicz, Adam J Kuchnia

Journal of thoracic imaging. 2023 September 21. pmid:37732694, pmc:PMC10950837, doi:10.1097/RTI.0000000000000743

Focuses on clinical nutrition, in vivo muscle imaging, and ex vivo measures of mitochondria function to assess muscle quality and energetics. We are particularly interested in novel applications to refine protein recommendations with the goal of preserving muscle mass and muscle quality, while preventing the negative consequences of aging and disease. Our research also aims to develop novel, noninvasive methods to accurately detect muscle wasting and monitor changes in skeletal muscle while optimizing therapeutic intervention throughout medical treatment and surgery, including chemotherapy and transplantation. Our lab expertise in body composition techniques, with specific training using numerous imaging modalities to characterize muscle wasting and muscle quality using various ultrasound techniques, bioimpedance spectroscopy, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance techniques in healthy and clinical populations.