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Nancy Rehrer image 2021BA(Duke) MSc(Clemson) PhD(Maastricht) FACSM
Tel +64 3 479 9128
Email nancy.rehrer@otago.ac.nz

Background

Nancy Rehrer is an Associate Professor in the School of Physical Education, Sport & Exercise Sciences. She studied Environmental Biology at Duke University as an undergraduate and then completed a Master's in Nutrition at Clemson University and a PhD in Exercise Metabolism/ Nutritional Physiology at Maastricht University.

Dr Rehrer won The Dutch Prize for Sports Medicine in 1991 for her PhD thesis 'Limits to Fluid Availability During Exercise'. She is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and a member of the European College of Sport Science. Dr Rehrer is also a member of The Nutrition Society (British).

She has spent research leave time (2001) with colleagues at the Laboratory for Human Environmental Physiology at the Ames Research Ctr./NASA and at The Centre for Nutrition Research in Lyon (2013) and the Knight Lab, University of California San Diego (2023).

She is on the editorial board of Nutrients and The International Journal of Sports Medicine and is a reviewer for most of the major journals in Exercise Physiology and Sports Nutrition (eg. J. Appl. Physiol, Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Int. J. Sports Nutr. Exerc. Metab., etc.). She also has been an invited member of the expert panel to develop the consensus statement on exercise associated hyponatraemia 2008 and 2015.

Teaching

  • Programme Leader – BSc Exercise & Sport Science

Teaching co-ordination

  • SPEX 303 Bioenergetics and Physiology of Exercise
  • SPEX 309 Active Living and Environment

Teaching contributions

  • SPEX 102 Principles of Exercise for Health and Performance
  • SPEX 203 Exercise Physiology
  • SPEX 303 Bioenergetics and Physiology of Exercise
  • SPEX 309 Active Living and Environment
  • SPEX 401 Research Methods in Sport, Exercise and Health
  • SPEX 440 Advanced Topics in Physical Activity and Health
  • SPEX 450 Advanced Topics in Exercise & Sport Science
  • MICN 301 Medicine Third Year

Research

Dr Rehrer's major interests include understanding how metabolism is altered at rest and during exercise and mechanisms that limit human performance. Some of the research is sport performance based and some is related to health and general knowledge of human function in relation to the environment. Specific areas of recognised expertise include substrate metabolism,  gastrointestinal function, fluid & electrolyte balance and impacts of exercise thereupon.

Recent projects

  • Dr Rehrer has an interest in exercise-nutrient interactions. Recent work includes:
    • effects of protein and training in women on insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and training adaptations
    • effects of protein and training in women on the gut microbiome

Other research projects include:

  • Being part of an interdisciplinary team evaluating effects of varying dietary polysaccharides, and sources thereof, on short chain fatty acid production by the gut microbiota
  • Evaluating effects activities of daily life and different exercise modes on energy and substrate utilisation, and health parameters
  • Using 13C isotopically labelled glucose and doubly labelled water to assess substrate and energy metabolism during exercise
  • Evaluating effects of sodium intake on fluid and sodium balance during exercise
  • Exploring the role of the environment on physical activity

Publications

Murray, M., Vlietstra, L., Best, A. M. D., Sims, S. T., Loehr, J. A., & Rehrer, N. J. (2025). Post-exercise whey protein supplementation: Effects on of IGF-1, strength, and body composition in pre-menopausal women, a randomised controlled trial. Nutrients, 17, 2033. doi: 10.3390/nu17122033 Journal - Research Article

Novis, B. J., Hargreaves, E. A., Jowett, T., & Rehrer, N. J. (2025). Effects of commuter cycling on physical activity, cardiometabolic health and body composition. European Journal of Sport Science, 25, e12289. doi: 10.1002/ejsc.12289 Journal - Research Article

Rehrer, N. J., McLay-Cooke, R. T., & Sims, S. T. (2023). Nutritional strategies and sex hormone interactions in women. In A. C. Hackney (Ed.), Sex hormones, exercise and women: Scientific and clinical aspects. (2nd ed.) (pp. 259-301). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-21881-1_12 Chapter in Book - Research

McLay, R. T., Thomson, C. D., Williams, S. M., & Rehrer, N. J. (2007). Carbohydrate loading and female endurance athletes: Effect of menstrual-cycle phase. International Journal of Sport Nutrition & Exercise Metabolism, 17, 189-205. Journal - Research Article

Parr, E. B., Cotter, J. D., Frew, R. D., & Rehrer, N. J. (2015). Muscle glycogen dominates females fuel usage in moderately intensive endurance exercise even in the cold. Annals of Sports Medicine & Research, 2(3), 1021. Journal - Research Article

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