Anna Kahkoska, MD, PhD

About

Dr. Kahkoska’s research is focused on identifying new strategies to leverage nutrition alongside other aspects of diabetes self-care to improve the health and wellness of people who live with diabetes. Her team employs multiple scientific approaches to understand the full complexity of diabetes management and how it may change over the lifespan, with a focus on the growing population of older adults living with diabetes. Her current projects are exploring (1) the dietary practices, beliefs, and intake of older adults with type 1 diabetes; (2) novel interventions to provide older adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes with individualized training and support to learn to use diabetes technology as a part of their self-management; (3) the real-world effectiveness of diabetes technology among older adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes on outcomes relevant to diabetes care and aging; and (4) strategies to embed screening and evidence-based treatment for diabetes distress within routine type 1 diabetes care at UNC. Dr. Kahkoska has research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the American Diabetes Association, the National Academy of Medicine, the Diabetes Research Connection, the UNC Nutrition Obesity Research Center, and the North Carolina Diabetes Research Center. She was previously a scholar in the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute Gene Orringer Junior Faculty Career Development (KL2/K12) Program.

*Currently accepting doctoral students*

Anna Kahkoska in the Gillings News

Honors and Awards

K01 Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award
2024, National Institute on Aging

Pathway to Stop Diabetes® Accelerator Award
2023, American Diabetes Association

Healthy Longevity Global Competition Catalyst Award
2022, National Academy of Medicine

Gene Orringer Junior Faculty Career Development (TraCS KL2) Program Scholar
2021, North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute

Young Investigator of Excellence in Precision Health
2020, Precision Medicine Leaders’ Summit

George A. Bray Doctoral Dissertation Award
2019, The Obesity Society

Clinical Emerging Leader Award Competition, First Place
2018, American Society for Nutrition

Research Activities

• Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes
• Aging and Older Adults
• Precision Health Analytics
• Stakeholder-Engaged System Mapping
• Health Equity
• Team-Based Science

Key Publications

Nutritional Status, Dietary Intake, and Nutrition-Related Interventions Among Older Adults With Type 1 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Call for More Evidence Toward Clinical Guidelines. Diabetes Care. Cristello Sarteau A, Ercolino G, Muthukkumar R, Fruik A, Mayer-Davis EJ, Kahkoska AR (2024). Diabetes Care.
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Supporting the ‘lived expertise’of older adults with type 1 diabetes: An applied focus group analysis to characterize barriers, facilitators, and strategies for self‐management in a growing and understudied population. Cristello Sarteau A, Muthukkumar R, Smith C, Busby‐Whitehead J, Lich KH, Pratley RE, Thambuluru S, Weinstein J, Weinstock RS, Young LA, Kahkoska AR (2023). Diabetic Medicine.
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“Nothing is linear”: Characterizing the determinants and dynamics of CGM use in older adults with type 1 diabetes. Kahkoska AR, Smith C, Thambuluru S, Weinstein J, Batsis JA, Pratley R, Weinstock RS, Young LA, Lich KH. (2023). Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice.
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Association of continuous glucose monitoring use and hemoglobin A1c levels across the lifespan among individuals with type 1 diabetes in the US. Weinstein JM, Kahkoska AR (2022). JAMA Network Open, 5(7), e2223942.
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Longitudinal Phenotypes of Type 1 Diabetes in Youth Based on Weight and Glycemia and Their Association With Complications. Kahkoska AR, Nguyen CT, Adair LA, Aiello AE, Burger KS, Buse JB, Dabelea D, Dolan LM, Malik FS, Mottl AK, Pihoker C, Reboussin BA, Sauder KA, Kosorok MR, Mayer-Davis EJ (1970). J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 104(12), 6003-6016.
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Education