Edward Giovannucci

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Edward L. Giovannucci is a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is also an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. [1] He is the editor-in-chief of the peer-reviewed journal Cancer Causes & Control . [2]

Contents

Education

Giovannucci received his M.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 1984, and his MPH and SCD from the Harvard School of Public Health in 1988 and 1992, respectively. [3]

Research

Giovannucci is known for his research into the health benefits of obtaining vitamin D through sunlight exposure. [4] [5] He has said that for every death caused by skin cancer resulting from sun exposure, 30 deaths might be prevented due to increased vitamin D intake, [4] and that "It does seem that Vitamin D levels seem to be a real predictor of heart disease." [6] Other studies authored by Giovannucci have linked tomato consumption to a decreased risk of prostate cancer. [7] [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lycopene</span> Carotenoid pigment

Lycopene is an organic compound classified as a tetraterpene and a carotene. Lycopene is a bright red carotenoid hydrocarbon found in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables.

Vitamin E is a group of eight fat soluble compounds that include four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Vitamin E deficiency, which is rare and usually due to an underlying problem with digesting dietary fat rather than from a diet low in vitamin E, can cause nerve problems. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant which may help protect cell membranes from reactive oxygen species. Worldwide, government organizations recommend adults consume in the range of 3 to 15 mg per day. As of 2016, consumption was below recommendations according to a worldwide summary of more than one hundred studies that reported a median dietary intake of 6.2 mg per day for alpha-tocopherol.

Tocopherols are a class of organic compounds comprising various methylated phenols, many of which have vitamin E activity. Because the vitamin activity was first identified in 1936 from a dietary fertility factor in rats, it was named tocopherol, from Greek τόκοςtókos 'birth' and φέρεινphérein 'to bear or carry', that is 'to carry a pregnancy', with the ending -ol signifying its status as a chemical alcohol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostate cancer</span> Male reproductive organ cancer

Prostate cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system just below the bladder. Early prostate cancer usually causes no symptoms. As the tumor grows, it can damage nearby organs causing erectile dysfunction, blood in the urine or semen, and trouble urinating. Some tumors eventually spread to other areas of the body, particularly the bones and lymph nodes. There, tumors cause severe bone pain, leg weakness or paralysis, and eventually death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cancer</span> Group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth and spread

Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bleeding, prolonged cough, unexplained weight loss, and a change in bowel movements. While these symptoms may indicate cancer, they can also have other causes. Over 100 types of cancers affect humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multivitamin</span> Dietary supplement containing vitamins

A multivitamin is a preparation intended to serve as a dietary supplement with vitamins, dietary minerals, and other nutritional elements. Such preparations are available in the form of tablets, capsules, pastilles, powders, liquids, or injectable formulations. Other than injectable formulations, which are only available and administered under medical supervision, multivitamins are recognized by the Codex Alimentarius Commission as a category of food.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diet and cancer</span> Connections between dietary habits and cancer

Dietary factors are recognized as having a significant effect on the risk of cancers, with different dietary elements both increasing and reducing risk. Diet and obesity may be related to up to 30–35% of cancer deaths, while physical inactivity appears to be related to 7% risk of cancer occurrence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ejaculation</span> Euphoric stimulative semen discharge of the male reproductive tract

Ejaculation is the discharge of semen from the male reproductive tract as a result of an orgasm. It is the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential component of natural conception. Ejaculation can occur spontaneously during sleep, and is a normal part of human sexual development. In rare cases, ejaculation occurs because of prostatic disease. Anejaculation is the condition of being unable to ejaculate. Ejaculation is usually very pleasurable for men; dysejaculation is an ejaculation that is painful or uncomfortable. Retrograde ejaculation is the condition where semen travels backwards into the bladder rather than out of the urethra.

Graham Andrew Colditz MD, DrPH is an Australian chronic disease epidemiologist. He is the inaugural Niess-Gain Professor at Washington University School of Medicine, where he is associate director for Prevention and Control at the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center. He directs the Master of Population Health Science at Washington University School of Medicine. During medical training he was excited by the potential for prevention of chronic diseases. With encouragement from mentors he pursued training in the US as it was routine for academics in Australia to obtain overseas training at that time. He is internationally recognized for leadership in cancer prevention, and is often interviewed by media for input on this topic. With members of Cancer Prevention and Control at Siteman, he blogs on issues relating to cancer prevention and screening. According to Google Scholar statistics, Colditz has a h-index of more than 300.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JoAnn E. Manson</span>

JoAnn Elisabeth Manson is an American physician and professor known for her pioneering research, public leadership, and advocacy in the fields of epidemiology and women's health.

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Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, and many other biological effects. In humans, the most important compounds in this group are vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) and vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health effects of sunlight exposure</span>

Exposing skin to the ultraviolet radiation in sunlight has both positive and negative health effects. On the positive side, exposure allows for the synthesis of vitamin D3. Vitamin D has been suggested as having a wide range of positive health effects, which include strengthening bones and possibly inhibiting the growth of some cancers. A dietary supplement can also supply vitamin D, but there are also benefits to exposure not obtainable through Vitamin D supplementation. Long-term sun exposure is associated with reduced all-cause mortality and reduced mortality risk from cardiovascular disease (CVD), some forms of cancer, and non-CVD/noncancer related disease, with indications in these studies that Vitamin D is not the mediator. Supplementation offers limited bioavailability and no synthesis of subdermal nitric oxide. UV exposure also has positive effects for endorphin levels, and possibly for protection against multiple sclerosis. Abundant visible light to the eyes gives health benefits through its association with the timing of melatonin synthesis, maintenance of normal and robust circadian rhythms, and reduced risk of seasonal affective disorder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael F. Holick</span> American physician-scientist

Michael F. Holick is an American adult endocrinologist, specializing in vitamin D, such as the identification of both calcidiol, the major circulating form of vitamin D, and calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D. His work has been the basis for diagnostic tests and therapies for vitamin D-related diseases. He is a professor of medicine at the Boston University Medical Center and editor-in-chief of the journal Clinical Laboratory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher G. Chute</span>

Christopher G. Chute is a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University, physician-scientist and biomedical informatician known for biomedical terminologies and health information technology (IT) standards. He chairs the World Health Organization Revision Steering Group for the revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth Offit</span> American geneticist

Kenneth Offit is an American cancer geneticist and oncologist. He is currently Chief of the Clinical Genetics Service and the Robert and Kate Niehaus Chair in Inherited Cancer Genomics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Offit is also a member of the Program in Cancer Biology and Genetics at the Sloan-Kettering Institute, Professor of Medicine and Healthcare Policy and Research at Weill Cornell Medical College, and a member of both the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Cancer Institute and the Evaluation of Genomic Applications in Practice and Prevention working group of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Shuji Ogino is a molecular pathological epidemiologist, pathologist, and epidemiologist. He is currently Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is also Chief of Program in MPE Molecular Pathological Epidemiology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and an associate member of Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. He has been known for his work on establishing a new discipline, molecular pathological epidemiology, which represents an interdisciplinary science of molecular pathology and epidemiology.

Cancer prevention is the practice of taking active measures to decrease the incidence of cancer and mortality. The practice of prevention is dependent upon both individual efforts to improve lifestyle and seek preventive screening, and socioeconomic or public policy related to cancer prevention. Globalized cancer prevention is regarded as a critical objective due to its applicability to large populations, reducing long term effects of cancer by promoting proactive health practices and behaviors, and its perceived cost-effectiveness and viability for all socioeconomic classes.

David John Hunter is an Australian epidemiologist and the Richard Doll Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine at Oxford Population Health. He was previously a professor in Harvard University's departments of Epidemiology and Nutrition. Hunter was associate epidemiologist, Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, where he was involved with the programs in breast cancer, cancer epidemiology, and cancer genetics research teams. At Oxford he directs the Translational Epidemiology Unit and leads a collaborative project between Oxford and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Kaumudi Jinraj Joshipura is an Indian American Epidemiologist, Biostatistician, Dentist & Scientist. She is Adjunct Full Professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH) at Harvard University and NIH Endowed Chair and Director of the Center for Clinical Research and Health Promotion and a Full Professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus. Her research work has been covered by global media including CNN, ABC, NBC, NHS, Newsweek, Nature, Telegraph, Japanese Journals and Japanese TV etc.

Kimmie Ng is a physician at Dana–Farber Cancer Institute who is known for her work on colorectal cancer in young patients.

References

  1. "Edward Giovannucci". HSPH website. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  2. "Cancer Causes & Control Editorial Board". Springer. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  3. "Edward L. Giovannucci, MD, MPH, SCD". Brigham & Women's Hospital. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Vitamin D research may have doctors prescribing sunshine". USA Today. Associated Press. 21 May 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  5. Lambert, Craig (September–October 2005). "Too Much Sunscreen?". Harvard Magazine. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  6. Jonathan M.D. (9 June 2008). "Study Links Sunshine Vitamin, Heart Health". CBS News. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  7. "Tomatoes Found to Cut Risk of Prostate Cancer". New York Times. Associated Press. 7 December 1995. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  8. Corn, Elaine (5 March 1997). "Ketchup Cure". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 26 July 2015.