Dr. Dennis W. Koch
Assistant Professor of Sports Medicine, Health & Human Performance
Director of Health & Human Performance Program
Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University
B.S., Canisius College.
Dr. Dennis Koch completed his undergraduate studies in Biology at Canisius College, with intentions of becoming a medical doctor. However, by the end of his junior year, he began to realize that medicine was not his calling. His love of sports, and running in particular, led him to pursue an exercise science minor, under the tutelage of Dr. Khalid Bibi. This sparked a passion that led him to pursue his doctorate in Physiology at Pennsylvania State University. He was awarded a graduate fellowship from the National Institute of Health to study the effects of stress on physiology at Penn State's Noll Physiological Research Center. In his doctoral research, Dr. Koch examined on the effects of age on the regulation of blood flow to exercising muscles, and his dissertation focused specifically on the control of blood flow by the sympathetic nervous system. In the Spring of 2004, Dennis was awarded a Caroline tum Suden award for outstanding student research by the American Physiological Society at the annual FASEB meeting.
Dr. Koch hasco-authored several abstracts and manuscripts. He has been published in The Journal of Physiology, The Journal of Applied Physiology, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, The Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology, The American Journal of Physiology, and Adultspan. Recently, Dr. Koch collaborated with Dr. Bibi to co-author a chapter entitled "Metabolic Calculations" in ACSM's Certification Review, Third Edition, which was published in the spring of 2009. This textbook is used by many students each year who are pursuing certification as a Certified Health Fitness Specialist (CHFS) or a Clinical Exercise Scientist (CES) through the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). In 2009, more than 7,000 copies of the book were sold.
Dr. Koch has been a faculty member at Canisius College since the Fall of 2004, and has directed the Health and Human Performance program since the Fall of 2006. He is passionate about educating his students on the many positive health benefits of exercise and proper nutrition, and looks forward to extending health promotion services to the Western New York community.
Outside of work, Dr. Koch is married and enjoys hiking, backpacking, and photography. He has been a competitive runner, cyclist, and triathlete for many years, and he began playing ice hockey in 2007.
Courses Taught
Physiology of Exercise
Physiology of Exercise Lab
Research in Physiology of Exercise
Cardiopulmonary Pathophysiology
Research Design & Methodology
Functional Conditioning
Exercise Testing & Prescription
EKG & Clinical Stress Testing
Epidemiology, Health Promotion & Disease Prevention