Dariush Mozaffarian

Last updated
Dariush Mozaffarian
Born (1969-08-19) August 19, 1969 (age 55)
Portland, Maine
NationalityAmerican Iranian
Education
Awards
  • The World's Most Influential Scientific Minds, Thomson Reuters, 2016 [1]
  • Chanchlani Global Health Award, McMaster University, 2017 [2]
  • Walker Prize, Museum of Science, Boston, 2018 [3]
Scientific career
Fieldsnutrition, epidemiology, medicine, public health research
Institutions

Dariush Mozaffarian (born August 19, 1969) is a cardiologist, Jean Mayer Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, Professor of Medicine at Tufts School of Medicine, and an attending physician at Tufts Medical Center. His work aims to create the science and translation for a food system that is nutritious, equitable, and sustainable. Dr. Mozaffarian has authored more than 500 scientific publications on dietary priorities for obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, and on evidence-based policy approaches and innovations to reduce diet-related diseases and improve health equity in the US and globally. Some of his areas of interest include healthy diet patterns, nutritional biomarkers, Food is Medicine interventions in healthcare, nutrition innovation and entrepreneurship, and food policy. He is one of the top cited researchers in medicine globally, he has served in numerous advisory roles, and his work has been featured in an array of media outlets.

Contents

Education

Mozaffarian received a BS in biological sciences at Stanford University (Phi Beta Kappa) and MD at Columbia University (Alpha Omega Alpha). He took his residency at Stanford, and was a fellow in cardiovascular medicine at the University of Washington, where he also received his MPH. He earned a Doctorate in Public Health from Harvard. [4]

Academic career

Mozaffarian joined the faculty of the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) in 2006, where he later founded the school's program in Cardiovascular Epidemiology. From 2004 to 2007, he served as an adjunct faculty member at the Tufts University School of Medicine. Mozaffarian was an associate professor at HSPH, as well as an associate professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. [5]

On July 1, 2014, Mozaffarian became the Dean of Tufts University's Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. [6] He is the Jean Mayer Professor of Nutrition, and Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. [7]

Research

Mozaffarian is the author of over 500 scientific publications on dietary priorities for obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, and on evidence-based policy approaches and innovations to reduce these burdens in the US and globally. [7] Mozaffarian is the principal investigator of the Global Dietary Database, [8] and Food-PRICE (Policy Review and Intervention Cost-Effectiveness). [9] As well, he was selected to serve on advisory boards for the US and Canadian governments, American Heart Association, World Health Organization, and the United Nations. [7]

In 2011, Mozaffarian published a study which found that the quality of one's diet is strongly associated with weight gain. The study also found that out of all the foods examined, potato chips were most strongly associated with weight gain. [10] [11] In 2014, Mozaffarian co-authored a controversial meta-analysis pertaining to the association between saturated fat consumption and risk of heart disease. [12] Despite the meta-analysis's conclusion that the evidence "does not clearly support guidelines that encourage high consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids and low consumption of total saturated fats," Mozaffarian told Science Insider that "Personally, I think the results suggest that fish and vegetable oils should be encouraged." [13] In a 2018 paper published in the BMJ, Mozaffarian and co-author Nita G. Forouhi argued that "Nutrition science has often been criticized as unreliable, but has made vital contributions to human health" and that going forward, "All stakeholders, including the food industry, must be part of a collective effort to solve the tremendous global challenge of nutrition and health." [14]

Honors and awards

In 2016, Thomson Reuters named Mozaffarian as one of the World's Most Influential Scientific Minds. [1] In 2018, Mozaffarian was awarded the Chanchlani Global Health Research Award by McMaster University. [2] That same year, he was awarded the Walker Prize by the Museum of Science, Boston [3] and was a Presidential Symposium Speaker for the American Society for Nutrition. [15]

Public impact

Mozaffarian has been active in the Friedman School's Public Impact Initiatives, including Food is Medicine, and has participated in the bipartisan sponsored working group. [16] [17]

In January 2018, while on Capitol Hill to show his support for the launch of a Food Is Medicine Working Group within Congress’s House Hunger Caucus, he stated, “As a cardiologist, I’ve been thinking about food—and how food is missing from the health-care system—for twenty years now.....One in four dollars in the federal budget is spent on health care. One in five dollars in the entire U.S. economy is spent on health care, and that is only going to go up until we address food." [16]

Dr. Mozaffarian has brought together several national coalitions to address major scientific and policy issues around food, nutrition, and agriculture, such as the 50th Anniversary of the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health, the white paper and coalition on Strengthening Federal Nutrition Research; and diverse nonprofits and businesses in the Food & Nutrition Innovation Council. He has worked closely with Congress and other stakeholders to help advance bipartisan priorities around advancing science and innovation, improving nutrition security, reducing diet-related healthcare expenditures, and addressing corresponding racial, income, and geographic-related inequities. [18]

Personal life

Mozaffarian and his wife have three children together. He also trains as a Fourth Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo. [7]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediterranean diet</span> Diet inspired by the Mediterranean region

The Mediterranean diet is a concept first invented in 1975 by the American biologist Ancel Keys and chemist Margaret Keys. The diet took inspiration from the supposed eating habits and traditional food typical of Crete, much of the rest of Greece, and southern Italy, and formulated in the early 1960s. It is distinct from Mediterranean cuisine, which covers the actual cuisines of the Mediterranean countries, and from the Atlantic diet of northwestern Spain and Portugal. While inspired by a specific time and place, the "Mediterranean diet" was later refined based on the results of multiple scientific studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health</span> Public health institution

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. The school grew out of the Harvard-MIT School for Health Officers, the nation's first graduate training program in population health, which was founded in 1913 and then became the Harvard School of Public Health in 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healthy diet</span> Type of diet

A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy.

The Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University brings together biomedical, nutritional, clinical, social, and behavioral scientists to conduct research, educational, and community service programs in the field of human nutrition. Founded in 1981, the school's mission is to generate trusted science, educate future leaders, and produce real world impact in nutrition science and policy. The school has long billed itself as "only graduate school of nutrition in the United States".

Nutritional science is the science that studies the physiological process of nutrition, interpreting the nutrients and other substances in food in relation to maintenance, growth, reproduction, health and disease of an organism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Willett</span> American nutritionist

Walter C. Willett is an American physician and nutrition researcher. He is the Fredrick John Stare Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health and was the chair of its department of nutrition from 1991 to 2017. He is also a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miguel Ángel Martínez-González</span> Spanish physician

Miguel Ángel Martínez-González is a Spanish medical doctor, epidemiologist, professor, and nutrition researcher He has been often a visiting scholar at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lifestyle medicine</span> Aspects of medicine focused on food, exercise, and sleep

Lifestyle medicine (LM) is a branch of medicine focused on preventive healthcare and self-care dealing with prevention, research, education, and treatment of disorders caused by lifestyle factors and preventable causes of death such as nutrition, physical inactivity, chronic stress, and self-destructive behaviors including the consumption of tobacco products and drug or alcohol abuse. The goal of LM is to improve individuals' health and wellbeing by applying the 6 pillars of lifestyle medicine (nutrition, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances, and positive social connection) to prevent chronic conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MyPlate</span> US federal nutrition guide since 2011

MyPlate is the current nutrition guide published by the United States Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, and serves as a recommendation based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It replaced the USDA's MyPyramid guide on June 2, 2011, ending 19 years of USDA food pyramid diagrams. MyPlate is displayed on food packaging and used in nutrition education in the United States. The graphic depicts a place setting with a plate and glass divided into five food groups that are recommended parts of a healthy diet. This dietary recommendation combines an organized amount of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy. It is designed as a guideline for Americans to base their plate around in order to make educated food choices. ChooseMyPlate.gov shows individuals the variety of these five subgroups based on their activity levels and personal characteristics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Webb (nutritionist)</span> British nutritionist

Patrick Webb serves as Chief Nutritionist for the United States Agency for International Development USAID. He was Dean for Academic Affairs at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition from 2005 to 2014. In 2024, he was awarded the prestigious 'Jean-Pierre Habicht Lifetime Achievements in Global Nutrition Research' Award by the American Society for Nutrition. He was also listed among the top 2% of highly-cited scientists across all disciplines globally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Africa/Harvard School of Public Health Partnership for Cohort Research and Training</span>

The Africa/Harvard School of Public Health Partnership for Cohort Research and Training launched in 2008, is a collaborative research project led by Principal Investigators, Dr. Hans-Olov Adami and Dr. Michelle D. Holmes. Together with research scientists, Dr. Shona Dalal and Dr. Todd G. Reid, this team represents the Harvard Coordinating Site of the Partnership with colleagues from five institutions in Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. The Africa/HSPH PaCT project plans on investigating the association of lifestyle factors and chronic disease risk in sub- Saharan Africa, through a large epidemiological cohort study that will include approximately 500,000 participants. Africa/HSPH PaCT is the first and largest cohort study conducted in sub-saharan Africa to employ mobile phone technology to follow participants and collect data. Africa/HSPH PaCT will also provide the infrastructure for capacity-building and for training a new generation of health professionals.

The Chanchlani Global Health Research Award is a Canadian health sciences award that recognizes a world leading scholar in the area of Global Health. Each year a discipline within Global Health is chosen by the internal review committee at McMaster University. The review committee then selects the leading researcher based on interview and impact in the field. The award recipient receives a monetary prize of $5,000 and opportunity to present their research findings to researchers and students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor Wallace</span> American food scientist and nutritionist

Taylor C. Wallace is an American food and nutrition scientist and media personality. Wallace is the principal consultant at the Think Healthy Group, an adjunct clinical associate professor in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at George Washington University, and an adjunct associate professor in the Gerald J. And Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Wallace has previously served in senior staff positions at The National Osteoporosis Foundation, and Council for Responsible Nutrition. He serves as the Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Dietary Supplements and has authored over 100 research studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice H. Lichtenstein</span> American nutrition scientist

Alice Hinda Lichtenstein is an American professor and researcher in nutrition and heart disease. She is an expert on cardiovascular health, and has been recognized for her research on dietary fat. Designated a distinguished university professor, she directs a cardiovascular nutrition laboratory at a USDA center on aging and holds the Stanley N. Gershoff chair in nutrition science and policy at the Friedman School of Nutrition, Tufts University in downtown Boston.

PREDIMED was a large Spanish primary prevention trial which included 7,447 Spanish participants who were at high risk for cardiovascular disease, but otherwise healthy. They were randomly assigned to receive interventions with intensive education to one of three diets:

  1. Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil.
  2. Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts.
  3. Control diet encouraging low-fat food items.
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Preventive nutrition</span> Branch of nutrition science

Preventive Nutrition is a branch of nutrition science with the goal of preventing, delaying, and/or reducing the impacts of disease and disease-related complications. It is concerned with a high level of personal well-being, disease prevention, and diagnosis of recurring health problems or symptoms of discomfort which are often precursors to health issues. The overweight and obese population numbers have increased over the last 40 years and numerous chronic diseases are associated with obesity. Preventive nutrition may assist in prolonging the onset of non-communicable diseases and may allow adults to experience more "healthy living years." There are various ways of educating the public about preventive nutrition. Information regarding preventive nutrition is often communicated through public health forums, government programs and policies, or nutritional education. For example, in the United States, preventive nutrition is taught to the public through the use of the food pyramid or MyPlate initiatives.

Nita Gandhi Forouhi is a British physician and academic, specialising in nutrition and epidemiology. She is Professor of Population Health and Nutrition at the University of Cambridge, the programme leader of the nutritional epidemiology programme of its MRC Epidemiology Unit, and an honorary consultant public health physician with Public Health England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher D. Gardner</span> American nutrition researcher (born 1959)

Christopher David Gardner is an American nutrition researcher. He is the director of nutrition studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center and the Rehnborg Farquhar Professor of Medicine at Stanford University.

William Alan Masters is an American economist, teaching and conducting research on agricultural economics and food policy in the Friedman School of Nutrition at Tufts University, where he also has a secondary appointment in the Department of Economics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johanna T. Dwyer</span> American nutrition scientist and dietician

Johanna T. Dwyer is an American nutrition scientist and dietitian. She is a senior scientist at the National Institutes of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements and director of the Frances Stern Nutrition Center at Tufts Medical Center. Dwyer is a professor of nutrition at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.

References

  1. 1 2 "Five Tufts Researchers Are Among World's Most Influential". Tufts Now. 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  2. 1 2 "Chanchlani Global Health Research Award". McMaster University. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Museum of Science Honors Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH with the 2018 Walker Prize for Superlative Work in Nutrition and Obesity". mos.org. September 18, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  4. ↑ "New Friedman School Dean". Tufts University. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "Tufts University Names Dariush Mozaffarian as Dean of Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy". Tufts University. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "Dariush Mozaffarian named dean of Tufts Friedman School". hsph.harvard.edu. 13 May 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Dariush Mozaffarian". nutrition.tufts.edu. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Core Team Members". globaldietarydatabase.com. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Dariush Mozaffarian". food-price.org. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  10. ↑ Mozaffarian, Dariush; Hao, Tao; Rimm, Eric B.; Willett, Walter C.; Hu, Frank B. (23 June 2011). "Changes in Diet and Lifestyle and Long-Term Weight Gain in Women and Men". New England Journal of Medicine. 364 (25): 2392–2404. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1014296. PMC   3151731 . PMID   21696306.
  11. ↑ Song, Sora (23 June 2011). "Study: The Best and Worst Foods for Healthy Weight". Time. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  12. ↑ Chowdhury, Rajiv; Warnakula, Samantha; Kunutsor, Setor; Crowe, Francesca; Ward, Heather A.; Johnson, Laura; Franco, Oscar H.; Butterworth, Adam S.; Forouhi, Nita G.; Thompson, Simon G.; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Mozaffarian, Dariush; Danesh, John; Di Angelantonio, Emanuele (18 March 2014). "Association of Dietary, Circulating, and Supplement Fatty Acids With Coronary Risk". Annals of Internal Medicine. 160 (6): 398–406. doi:10.7326/M13-1788. PMID   24723079.
  13. ↑ Kupferschmidt, Kai (24 March 2014). "Scientists Fix Errors in Controversial Paper About Saturated Fats". Science Insider. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  14. ↑ Mozaffarian, Dariush; Forouhi, Nita G. (2018). "Dietary guidelines and health—is nutrition science up to the task?". BMJ. 360: k822. doi:10.1136/bmj.k822. PMID   29549076. S2CID   3914074.
  15. ↑ "Friedman At ASN". nutrition.tufts.edu. May 22, 2018. Archived from the original on March 23, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  16. 1 2 Julie Flaherty (January 17, 2018). "Healthy Diets for Better Health". now.tufts.edu. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Food is Medicine: Addressing Hunger as a Health Issue". .chlpi.org. January 17, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  18. ↑ "Dariush Mozaffarian | Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.