Professional Interests

Dr. Jorge Kizer's research applies cardiac imaging and assessment of biochemical markers in clinical and epidemiologic settings to advance understanding of risk factors for heart disease and stroke, with the ultimate goal of improving diagnosis, risk stratification and treatment for these disorders. Key areas of interest are obesity and the aging process, and how bioactive factors secreted by adipocytes, skeletal myocytes, and cardiomyocytes, among other cell types, lead to dysregulation of homeostatic mechanisms and promote the development of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. A major focus of investigation is HIV infection, and the roles of chronic immune activation and inflammation, and associated perturbations in metabolism and adipose tissue distribution, in accelerated heart and vascular dysfunction.  

After receiving a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Kizer completed his residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He subsequently earned a master of science in epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health, and went on to complete a cardiovascular fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. He came to Montefiore Einstein from Weill Cornell Medical College, where he was Associate Professor of Medicine and Public Health.

Dr. Kizer is an investigator in several NIH-funded population-based studies, including the Cardiovascular Health Study, the Women's Interagency HIV Study, the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, and the Hispanic Community Health Study / Study of Latinos. His work has been funded by research awards from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute on Aging, and the American Heart Association.  

Selected Publications

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

• Kizer JR, Arnold AM, Benkeser D, Ix JH, Djousse L, Zieman SJ, Barzilay JI, Tracy RP, Mantzoros CS, Siscovick DS, Mukamal KJ. Total and High-Molecular-Weight Adiponectin and Risk of Incident Diabetes in Older People. Diabetes Care 2012;35:415-423.
• Karas MG, Devereux RB, Wiebers DO, Whisnant JP, Best LG, Lee ET, Howard BV, Roman MJ, Umans JG, Kizer JR. Incremental Value of Biochemical and Echocardiographic Measures in Prediction of Ischemic Stroke: The Strong Heart Study. Stroke 2012;43:720-726.
• Kizer JR, Umans JG, Zhu J, Devereux RB, Wolfert RL, Lee ET, Howard BV. Lipoprotein-Associated Phospholipase A₂ Mass and Activity and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in a Population with High Prevalences of Obesity and Diabetes: The Strong Heart Study. Diabetes Care 2012;35:840-847.
• Kizer JR, Benkeser D, Arnold AM, Mukamal KJ, Ix JH, Zieman SJ, Siscovick DS, Tracy RP, Mantzoros CS, deFilippi CR, Newman AB, Djousse L. Associations of Total and High-Molecular-Weight Adiponectin with All-cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in Older Persons: The Cardiovascular Health Study. Circulation 2012;126:2951-2961.
• Kizer JR, Benkeser D, Arnold AM, Djousse L, Zieman, SJ, Mukamal KJ, Tracy RP, Mantzoros CS, Siscovick DS, Gottdiener JS, Ix JH. Total and High-Molecular-Weight Adiponectin and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease and Ischemic Stroke in Older Adults. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013;98:255-263.
• Kizer JR. A Tangled Threesome: Adiponectin, Insulin Sensitivity and Adiposity. Can Mendelian Randomization Sort Out Causality? Diabetes 2013;62:1007-1009.
• Kizer JR. Enhancing Detection of Subclinical End-Organ Damage: Echocardiographic Left Ventricular Strain Holds Up a Mirror to the Brain. Circulation 2013;128:1045-1047.
• Karas MG, Benkeser D, Arnold AM, Bartz TM, Djousse L, Mukamal KJ, Ix JH, Zieman SJ, Siscovick DS, Tracy RP, Mantzoros CS, Gottdiener JS, deFilippi C, Kizer JR. Relations of Total and High-Molecular-Weight Adiponectin to New-Onset Heart Failure in Adults >=65 Years of Age (From the Cardiovascular Health Study). Am J Cardiol 2014;113:328-334.
• Kizer JR, Benkeser D, Arnold AM, Ix JH, Mukamal KJ, Djousse L, Tracy RP, Siscovick DS, Psaty BM, Zieman SJ. Advanced Glycation/Glycoxidation Endproduct Carboxymethyl-Lysine and Incidence of Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke in Older Adults. Atherosclerosis 2014;235:116-121.
• Kizer JR. Adiponectin, Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality: Parsing the Dual Prognostic Implications of a Complex Adipokine. Metabolism 2014;63:1079-1083.
• Barzilay JI, Mukamal KJ, Kizer JR. Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in Older Adults with Diabetes Mellitus. Clin Geriatr Med 2015;31:29-39.
• Macheret F, Bartz TM, Djousse L, Ix JH, Mukamal KJ, Zieman SJ, Siscovick DS, Tracy RP, Heckbert SR, Psaty BM, Kizer JR. Higher Circulating Adiponectin Levels are Associated with Increased Risk of Atrial Fibrillation in Older Adults. Heart 2015;101:1368-1374.
• Ix JH, Biggs ML, Mukamal KJ, Djousse L, Siscovick DS, Tracy RP, Katz R, Delaney JA, Chaves P, Rifkin DE, Hughes-Austin J, Garimella P, Sarnak M, Shlipak MG, Kizer JR. Urine Collagen Fragments and CKD Progression: The Cardiovascular Health Study. J Am Soc Nephrol 2015;26:2494-2503.
• Brutsaert EF, Shitole S, Biggs ML, Mukamal KJ, de Boer IH, Thacker EL, Barzilay JI, Djoussé L, Ix JH, Smith NL, Kaplan RC, Siscovick DS, Psaty BM, Kizer JR. Relations of Post-load and Fasting Glucose with Incident Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality Late in Life: The Cardiovascular Health Study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2016;71:370-377.
• Kaplan RC, Hanna DB, Kizer JR. Recent Insights Into Cardiovascular Disease Risk Among HIV-Infected Adults. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep 2016;13:44-52.
• Shitole SG, Kayo N, Srinivas V, Alapati V, Nordin C, Southern W, Christia P, Faillace RT, Scheuer J, Kizer JR. Clinical Profile, Acute Care and Middle-Term Outcomes of Cocaine-Associated ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction in an Inner City Community. Am J Cardiol 2016;117:1224-1230.
• Karas MG, Yee LM, Biggs ML, Djoussé L, Mukamal KJ, Ix JH, Zieman SJ, Siscovick DS, Gottdiener JS, Rosenberg MA, Kronmal RA, Heckbert SR, Kizer JR. Measures of Body Size and Composition and Risk of Incident Atrial Fibrillation in Older People: The Cardiovascular Health Study. Am J Epidemiol 2016;183:998-1007.
• Bortnick AE, Bartz TM, Ix JH, Chonchol M, Reiner A, Cushman M, Owens D, Barasch E, Siscovick DS, Gottdiener JS, Kizer JR. Association of Inflammatory, Lipid and Mineral Markers with Cardiac Calcification in Older Adults. Heart 2016;102:1826-1834.
• Beheshtian A, Shitole SG, Segal AZ, Leifer D, Tracy RP, Rader DJ, Devereux RB, Kizer JR. Lipoprotein (a) Level, Apolipoprotein (a) Size, and Risk of Unexplained Stroke in Young and Middle-Aged Adults. Atherosclerosis 2016;253:47-53.
• Brutsaert EF, Biggs ML, Delaney JA, Djoussé L, Gottdiener JS, Ix JH, Kim F, Mukamal KJ, Siscovick DS, Tracy RP, de Boer IH, deFilippi CR, Kizer JR. Longitudinal Assessment of N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide and Risk of Diabetes in Older Adults: The Cardiovascular Health Study. Metabolism 2016;65:1489-1497.
• Zhang L, Segal AZ, Leifer D, Silverstein RL, Gerber LM, Devereux RB, Kizer JR. Circulating Protein Z Concentration, PROZ Variants, and Unexplained Cerebral Infarction in Young and Middle-Aged Adults. Thromb Haemost 2017;117:149-157.
• Maurer M, Koh WJH, Bartz TM, Vullaganti S, Barasch E, Gardin JM, Gottdiener JS, Psaty BM, Kizer JR. Relation of the Myocardial Contraction Fraction, as Calculated form M-Mode Echocardiography, with Incident Heart Failure, Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality (Results from the Cardiovascular Health Study). Am J Cardiol 2017;119:123-128.
• Fohtung R, Brown D, Koh WJH, Bartz T, Carbone L, Civitelli R, Stein P, Chaves P, Kestenbaum B, Kizer JR. Bone Mineral Density and Risk of Heart Failure in Older Adults: The Cardiovascular Health Study. J Am Heart Assoc 2017;6:e004344.
• Hanna DB, Xu S, Melamed ML, Gonzalez F, Allison MA, Blisker MS, Hurwitz BE, Kansal MM, Schneiderman N, Shah SJ, Kaplan RC, Rodriguez CJ, Kizer JR. Association of Albuminuria with Cardiac Dysfunction in U.S. Hispanics/Latinos. Am J Cardiol 2017;119:2073-2080.
• Massera D, Xu S, Bartz TM, Bortnick AE, Ix JH, Chonchol M, Owens DS, Barasch E, Gardin J, Gottdiener JS, Robbins JR, Siscovick DS, Kizer JR. Relationship of Bone Mineral Density with Valvular and Annular Calcification in Community-Dwelling Older People: The Cardiovascular Health Study. Arch Osteoporos 2017;12:52.
• Huck DM, Hanna DB, Rubin LH, Maki P, Valcour V, Springer G, Xue X, Lazar J, Hodis H, Anastos K, Kaplan RC, Kizer JR. Carotid Artery Stiffness and Cognitive Decline Among Women with or at Risk for HIV Infection. J Acquir Immune Def Syndr 2018;78:338-347.
• Massera D, Biggs ML, Walker MD, Mukamal KJ, Ix JH, Djousse L, Valderrabano RJ, Siscovick DS, Tracy RP, Xue X, Kizer JR. Biochemical Markers of Bone Turnover and Risk of Incident Diabetes in Older Women: The Cardiovascular Health Study. Diabetes Care (In press.)