Anne Schafer, MD
Professor
Medicine
School of Medicine

One of her research emphases is osteoporosis treatment and the assessment of response to osteoporosis therapy. She also studies the relationships between bone, fat, and glucose metabolism, including the effects of obesity and diabetes on bone, and the skeletal regulation of energy metabolism. This research program includes investigations of the effects of bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery) on calcium metabolism and skeletal health. Dr. Schafer's research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the US Department of Veterans Affairs, and the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

• Consensus Statement on Vitamin D Status Assessment and Supplementation: Whys, Whens, and Hows.
  Endocrine reviews 2024 Giustina A, Bilezikian JP, Adler RA, Banfi G, Bikle DD, Binkley NC, Bollerslev J, Bouillon R, Brandi ML, Casanueva FF, di Filippo L, Donini LM, Ebeling PR, Fuleihan GE, Fassio A, Frara S, Jones G, …
• Skeletal effects of sleeve gastrectomy, by sex and menopausal status and in comparison to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery.
  medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences 2024 Wu KC, Wu PH, Kazakia G, Patel S, Black DM, Lang TF, Kim TY, King NJ, Hoffman TJ, Chang H, Linfield G, Palilla S, Rogers SJ, Carter JT, Posselt AM, Schafer AL
• Epidemiology of fractures in adults of African ancestry with diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
  Bone 2024 Zhang SC, Makebeh T, Mesinovic J, Djopseu K, Martin C, Lui LY, Cawthon PM, Schneider ALC, Zmuda JM, Strotmeyer ES, Schafer A, Ebeling PR, Zebaze RM
• Alteration in the gut microbiome is associated with changes in bone metabolism after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2024 Wu KC, McCauley KE, Lynch SV, Nayak RR, King NJ, Patel S, Kim TY, Condra K, Fadrosh D, Nguyen D, Lin DL, Lynch K, Rogers SJ, Carter JT, Posselt AM, Stewart L, Schafer AL
• Microvascular disease not type 2 diabetes is associated with increased cortical porosity: A study of cortical bone microstructure and intracortical vessel characteristics.
  Bone reports 2024 Löffler MT, Wu PH, Pirmoazen AM, Joseph GB, Stewart JM, Saeed I, Liu J, Schafer AL, Schwartz AV, Link TM, Kazakia GJ
• Bone Marrow Adiposity Alterations in Type 2 Diabetes Are Sex-Specific and Associated with Serum Lipid Levels.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2023 Wu PH, Joseph G, Saeed I, Pirmoazen AM, Kenny K, Kim TY, Schafer AL, Schwartz AV, Li X, Link TM, Kazakia GJ
• Vitamin D status and supplementation before and after Bariatric Surgery: Recommendations based on a systematic review and meta-analysis.
  Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders 2023 Giustina A, di Filippo L, Facciorusso A, Adler RA, Binkley N, Bollerslev J, Bouillon R, Casanueva FF, Cavestro GM, Chakhtoura M, Conte C, Donini LM, Ebeling PR, Fassio A, Frara S, Gagnon C, Latella G,…
• Bariatric Surgery Negatively Impacts Bone Health in Adolescents.
  Radiology 2023 Link TM, Schafer AL
• Intestinal Calcium Absorption Decreases After Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy Despite Optimization of Vitamin D Status.
  The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 2023 Wu KC, Cao S, Weaver CM, King NJ, Patel S, Kim TY, Black DM, Kingman H, Shafer MM, Rogers SJ, Stewart L, Carter JT, Posselt AM, Schafer AL
• Prevalence of osteoporosis in older male veterans receiving hip-containing computed tomography scans: opportunistic use of biomechanical computed tomography analysis (BCT).
  Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA 2022 Teng PF, Chiang JM, Schafer AL, Sukerkar PA, Keaveny TM, Bikle D
• Interpretation of Bone Mineral Density Z-Scores by Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry in Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth Prior to Gender-Affirming Medical Therapy.
  Journal of clinical densitometry : the official journal of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry 2022 Lee JY, Fan B, Montenegro G, Long RK, Sanda S, Capodanno G, Schafer AL, Burghardt AJ, Rosenthal SM, Fung EB
• Evaluation of competency-driven training for facilitators delivering a psychological intervention for children in Lebanon: a proof-of-concept study.
  Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences 2022 Jordans MJD, Steen F, Koppenol-Gonzalez GV, El Masri R, Coetzee AR, Chamate S, Ghatasheh M, Pedersen GA, Itani M, El Chammay R, Schafer A, Kohrt BA
• Bone marrow adipose tissue composition and glycemic improvements after gastric bypass surgery.
  Bone reports 2022 Kim TY, Schwartz AV, Li X, Xu K, Kazakia GJ, Grunfeld C, Nissenson RA, Shoback DM, Schafer AL
• Prebiotic to Improve Calcium Absorption in Postmenopausal Women After Gastric Bypass: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
  The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 2022 Wu KC, Cao S, Weaver CM, King NJ, Patel S, Kingman H, Sellmeyer DE, McCauley K, Li D, Lynch SV, Kim TY, Black DM, Shafer MM, Özçam M, Lin DL, Rogers SJ, Stewart L, Carter JT, Posselt AM, Schafer AL
• No Evidence of Association Between Undercarboxylated Osteocalcin and Incident Type 2 Diabetes.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2022 Babey ME, Ewing SK, Strotmeyer ES, Napoli N, Schafer AL, Vittinghoff E, Gundberg CM, Schwartz AV
• Cortical Bone Loss Following Gastric Bypass Surgery Is Not Primarily Endocortical.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2022 Sadoughi S, Pasco C, Joseph GB, Wu PH, Schafer AL, Kazakia GJ
• Saturated and Unsaturated Bone Marrow Lipids Have Distinct Effects on Bone Density and Fracture Risk in Older Adults.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2022 Woods GN, Ewing SK, Schafer AL, Gudnason V, Sigurdsson S, Lang T, Hue TF, Kado DM, Vittinghoff E, Rosen C, Li X, Schwartz AV
• The Interaction of Acute-Phase Reaction and Efficacy for Osteoporosis After Zoledronic Acid: HORIZON Pivotal Fracture Trial.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2021 Black DM, Reid IR, Napoli N, Ewing SK, Shiraki M, Nakamura T, Takeuchi Y, Schafer AL, Kim TY, Cauley JA
• FSH Level and Changes in Bone Mass and Body Composition in Older Women and Men.
  The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 2021 Wu KC, Ewing SK, Li X, Sigurðsson S, Guðnason V, Kado DM, Hue TF, Woods GN, Veldhuis-Vlug AG, Vittinghoff E, Zaidi M, Rosen CJ, Lang T, Kim TY, Schwartz AV, Schafer AL
• A Distinction Without a Difference-Does It Matter Whether Fractures Are Nontraumatic or Traumatic?
  JAMA internal medicine 2021 Schafer AL, Shoback DM
• Serum FSH Is Associated With BMD, Bone Marrow Adiposity, and Body Composition in the AGES-Reykjavik Study of Older Adults.
  The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 2021 Veldhuis-Vlug AG, Woods GN, Sigurdsson S, Ewing SK, Le PT, Hue TF, Vittinghoff E, Xu K, Gudnason V, Sigurdsson G, Kado DM, Eiriksdottir G, Harris T, Schafer AL, Li X, Zaidi M, Rosen CJ, Schwartz AV
• Soft tissue variations influence HR-pQCT density measurements in a spatially dependent manner.
  Bone 2020 Wu PH, Gupta T, Chang H, Petrenko D, Schafer A, Kazakia G
• Increases in PYY and uncoupling of bone turnover are associated with loss of bone mass after gastric bypass surgery.
  Bone 2019 Kim TY, Shoback DM, Black DM, Rogers SJ, Stewart L, Carter JT, Posselt AM, King NJ, Schafer AL
• Commercial Laboratory Reproducibility of Serum CTX in Clinical Practice.
  JBMR plus 2019 Hindi SM, Vittinghoff E, Schafer AL, Silverman S, Bauer DC
• Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is a safe and effective option that improves major Co-Morbidities associated with obesity in an older, veteran population.
  American journal of surgery 2019 Lyo V, Schafer AL, Stewart L
• Bone Quality Sleuths: Uncovering Tissue-Level Mechanisms of Bone Fragility in Human Type 2 Diabetes.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2019 Alliston T, Schafer A
• High dose vitamin D supplementation does not rescue bone loss following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in female rats.
  Bone 2019 Niu A, Carpenter TO, Grams JM, Bozorgmehri S, Tommasini SM, Schafer AL, Canales BK
• Changes in Lean Mass, Absolute and Relative Muscle Strength, and Physical Performance After Gastric Bypass Surgery.
  The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 2019 Alba DL, Wu L, Cawthon PM, Mulligan K, Lang T, Patel S, King NJ, Carter JT, Rogers SJ, Posselt AM, Stewart L, Shoback DM, Schafer AL
• Leptinemia is Associated With Peripheral Artery Disease.
  The Journal of surgical research 2019 Zahner GJ, Ramirez JL, Spaulding KA, Khetani SA, Gasper WJ, Grunfeld C, Hills NK, Schafer AL, Grenon SM
• Comparison of BMD Changes and Bone Formation Marker Levels 3 Years After Bisphosphonate Discontinuation: FLEX and HORIZON-PFT Extension I Trials.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2019 Kim TY, Bauer DC, McNabb BL, Schafer AL, Cosman F, Black DM, Eastell R
• Trunk Muscle Composition 2 Months After Hip Fracture: Findings From the Baltimore Hip Studies.
  Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation 2018 Hicks GE, Shardell MD, Miller RR, Eastlack M, Orwig DL, Goodpaster BH, Chomentowski PJ, Hochberg MC, Rathbun AM, Cauley JA, Harris T, Satterfield S, Schafer AL, Magaziner J
• Serum resistin is associated with impaired endothelial function and a higher rate of adverse cardiac events in patients with peripheral artery disease.
  Journal of vascular surgery 2018 Ramirez JL, Khetani SA, Zahner GJ, Spaulding KA, Schaller MS, Gasper WJ, Hills NK, Schafer AL, Grenon SM
• Hypocalcemia.
  Primer on the Metabolic Bone Diseases and Disorders of Mineral Metabolism 2018 Anne L. Schafer, Dolores M. Shoback
• Subcutaneous Fat Fibrosis Links Obesity to Insulin Resistance in Chinese Americans.
  The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 2018 Alba DL, Farooq JA, Lin MYC, Schafer AL, Shepherd J, Koliwad SK
• PC128. Serum Resistin Is Associated With Impaired Endothelial Function and Poor Outcomes in Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease.
  Journal of Vascular Surgery 2018 Joel L. Ramirez, Sukaynah A. Khetani, Greg J. Zahner, Melinda S. Schaller, Warren J. Gasper, Nancy K. Hills, Anne L. Schafer, S. Marlene Grenon
• Bone Health After Bariatric Surgery.
  JBMR plus 2018 Gagnon C, Schafer AL
• Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 is Associated With Adiposity in Patients Receiving Hemodialysis: Possible Cross Talk Between Bone and Adipose Tissue.
  Journal of renal nutrition : the official journal of the Council on Renal Nutrition of the National Kidney Foundation 2018 Chiang JM, Kaysen GA, Schafer AL, Delgado C, Johansen KL
• Effects of Gastric Bypass Surgery on Bone Mass and Microarchitecture Occur Early and Particularly Impact Postmenopausal Women.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2018 Schafer AL, Kazakia GJ, Vittinghoff E, Stewart L, Rogers SJ, Kim TY, Carter JT, Posselt AM, Pasco C, Shoback DM, Black DM
• Vertebral Fracture Risk in Diabetic Elderly Men: The MrOS Study.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2017 Napoli N, Schwartz AV, Schafer AL, Vittinghoff E, Cawthon PM, Parimi N, Orwoll E, Strotmeyer ES, Hoffman AR, Barrett-Connor E, Black DM, Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study Research Group
• Sex differences in response to targeted kyphosis specific exercise and posture training in community-dwelling older adults: a randomized controlled trial.
  BMC musculoskeletal disorders 2017 Katzman WB, Parimi N, Gladin A, Poltavskiy EA, Schafer AL, Long RK, Fan B, Wong SS, Lane NE
• Bone Marrow Fat Changes After Gastric Bypass Surgery Are Associated With Loss of Bone Mass.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2017 Kim TY, Schwartz AV, Li X, Xu K, Black DM, Petrenko DM, Stewart L, Rogers SJ, Posselt AM, Carter JT, Shoback DM, Schafer AL
• Targeted spine strengthening exercise and posture training program to reduce hyperkyphosis in older adults: results from the study of hyperkyphosis, exercise, and function (SHEAF) randomized controlled trial.
  Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA 2017 Katzman WB, Vittinghoff E, Lin F, Schafer A, Long RK, Wong S, Gladin A, Fan B, Allaire B, Kado DM, Lane NE
• SEX DIFFERENCES IN RESPONSE TO A TARGETED KYPHOSIS SPECIFIC EXERCISE PROGRAM.
  Innovation in Aging 2017 W.B. Katzman, N. Parimi, A. Schafer, R. Long, S. Wong, N. Lane
• Vitamin D and intestinal calcium transport after bariatric surgery.
  The Journal of steroid biochemistry and molecular biology 2016 Schafer AL
• Diabetes and Bone Marrow Adiposity.
  Current osteoporosis reports 2016 Kim TY, Schafer AL
• Bone microstructure in men assessed by HR-pQCT: Associations with risk factors and differences between men with normal, low, and osteoporosis-range areal BMD.
  Bone reports 2016 Okazaki N, Burghardt AJ, Chiba K, Schafer AL, Majumdar S
• Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and incident type 2 diabetes in older men, the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) study.
  Bone 2016 Napoli N, Schafer AL, Lui LY, Cauley JA, Strotmeyer ES, Le Blanc ES, Hoffman AR, Lee CG, Black DM, Schwartz AV
• Variability in DXA Reporting and Other Challenges in Osteoporosis Evaluation.
  JAMA internal medicine 2016 Kim TY, Schafer AL
• Decline in Bone Mass During Weight Loss: A Cause for Concern?
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2016 Schafer AL
• Intestinal Calcium Absorption and Skeletal Health After Bariatric Surgery.
  Nutritional Influences on Bone Health 2016 Anne L. Schafer
• Study of Hyperkyphosis, Exercise and Function (SHEAF) Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Multimodal Spine-Strengthening Exercise in Older Adults With Hyperkyphosis.
  Physical therapy 2015 Katzman WB, Vittinghoff E, Kado DM, Schafer AL, Wong SS, Gladin A, Lane NE
• Intestinal Calcium Absorption Decreases Dramatically After Gastric Bypass Surgery Despite Optimization of Vitamin D Status.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2015 Schafer AL, Weaver CM, Black DM, Wheeler AL, Chang H, Szefc GV, Stewart L, Rogers SJ, Carter JT, Posselt AM, Shoback DM, Sellmeyer DE
• Changes in vertebral bone marrow fat and bone mass after gastric bypass surgery: A pilot study.
  Bone 2015 Schafer AL, Li X, Schwartz AV, Tufts LS, Wheeler AL, Grunfeld C, Stewart L, Rogers SJ, Carter JT, Posselt AM, Black DM, Shoback DM
• Teriparatide treatment of osteoporosis in an HIV-infected man: a case report and literature review.
  AIDS (London, England) 2015 Wheeler AL, Tien PC, Grunfeld C, Schafer AL
• Importance of nutrition visits after gastric bypass surgery for American veterans, San Francisco, 2004-2010.
  Preventing chronic disease 2014 Win AZ, Ceresa C, Schafer AL, Mak P, Stewart L
• Income, food insecurity, and osteoporosis among older adults in the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
  Journal of health care for the poor and underserved 2014 Lyles CR, Schafer AL, Seligman HK
• Panostotic expansile bone disease with massive jaw tumor formation and a novel mutation in the signal peptide of RANK.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2014 Schafer AL, Mumm S, El-Sayed I, McAlister WH, Horvai AE, Tom AM, Hsiao EC, Schaefer FV, Collins MT, Anderson MS, Whyte MP, Shoback DM
• Gastric bypass in obese rats causes bone loss, vitamin D deficiency, metabolic acidosis, and elevated peptide YY.
  Surgery for obesity and related diseases : official journal of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery 2014 Canales BK, Schafer AL, Shoback DM, Carpenter TO
• Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration does not independently predict incident diabetes in older women.
  Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association 2014 Schafer AL, Napoli N, Lui L, Schwartz AV, Black DM, Study of Osteoporotic Fractures
• The search for the optimal anabolic osteoporosis therapy.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2013 Black DM, Schafer AL
• Hypocalcemia: Definition, Etiology, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Management.
  Primer on the Metabolic Bone Diseases and Disorders of Mineral Metabolism 2013 Anne L. Schafer, Dolores Shoback
• Effects of antiresorptive therapies on glucose metabolism: results from the FIT, HORIZON-PFT, and FREEDOM trials.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2013 Schwartz AV, Schafer AL, Grey A, Vittinghoff E, Palermo L, Lui LY, Wallace RB, Cummings SR, Black DM, Bauer DC, Reid IR
• Postmenopausal women treated with combination parathyroid hormone (1-84) and ibandronate demonstrate different microstructural changes at the radius vs. tibia: the PTH and Ibandronate Combination Study (PICS).
  Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA 2013 Schafer AL, Burghardt AJ, Sellmeyer DE, Palermo L, Shoback DM, Majumdar S, Black DM
• Urine calcium excretion, cardiovascular events, and mortality in outpatients with stable coronary artery disease (from the Heart and Soul study).
  The American journal of cardiology 2012 Welles CC, Schafer AL, Vittinghoff E, Shlipak MG, Whooley MA, Ix JH
• Six months of parathyroid Hormone (1-84) administered concurrently versus sequentially with monthly ibandronate over two years: the PTH and ibandronate combination study (PICS) randomized trial.
  The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 2012 Schafer AL, Sellmeyer DE, Palermo L, Hietpas J, Eastell R, Shoback DM, Black DM
• Abstract P363: Association of Twenty-Four Hour Urine Calcium Excretion with Cardiovascular Events and Mortality: Data from the Heart and Soul Study.
  Circulation 2012 Christine C Welles, Anne L Schafer, Eric Vittinghoff, Michael G Shlipak, Mary A Whooley, Joachim H Ix
• Change in undercarboxylated osteocalcin is associated with changes in body weight, fat mass, and adiponectin: parathyroid hormone (1-84) or alendronate therapy in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis (the PaTH study).
  The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 2011 Schafer AL, Sellmeyer DE, Schwartz AV, Rosen CJ, Vittinghoff E, Palermo L, Bilezikian JP, Shoback DM, Black DM
• Quantification of vertebral bone marrow fat content using 3 Tesla MR spectroscopy: reproducibility, vertebral variation, and applications in osteoporosis.
  Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI 2011 Li X, Kuo D, Schafer AL, Porzig A, Link TM, Black D, Schwartz AV
• Consistency of bone turnover marker and calcium responses to parathyroid hormone (1-84) therapy in postmenopausal osteoporosis.
  Journal of clinical densitometry : the official journal of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry 2010 Schafer AL, Palermo L, Bauer DC, Bilezikian JP, Sellmeyer DE, Black DM
• Fat infiltration of muscle, diabetes, and clinical fracture risk in older adults.
  The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 2010 Schafer AL, Vittinghoff E, Lang TF, Sellmeyer DE, Harris TB, Kanaya AM, Strotmeyer ES, Cawthon PM, Cummings SR, Tylavsky FA, Scherzinger AL, Schwartz AV, Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health …
• Mild positive hCG in a perimenopausal female: normal, malignancy, or phantom?
  Lab Medicine 2009 Wu AHB, Branch J, Schafer A, Murphy E
• Laboratory reproducibility of biochemical markers of bone turnover in clinical practice.
  Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA 2009 Schafer AL, Vittinghoff E, Ramachandran R, Mahmoudi N, Bauer DC
• Interventions to improve treatment of osteoporosis following fracture
  J Clin Outcomes Manag 2008 Schafer AL, Sellmeyer DS
• High prevalence of anti-alpha-crystallin antibodies in multiple sclerosis: correlation with severity and activity of disease.
  Acta neurologica Scandinavica 1999 Agius MA, Kirvan CA, Schafer AL, Gudipati E, Zhu S
• Rapsyn antibodies in myasthenia gravis.
  Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1998 Agius MA, Zhu S, Kirvan CA, Schafer AL, Lin MY, Fairclough RH, Oger JJ, Aziz T, Aarli JA