Harvard Catalyst Profiles

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David S. Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D.

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Biography
2007
First Incumbent, The John Fielding Crigler, Jr. Chair in Pediatric Endocrinology
2008
The E.V. McCollum Award for Clinical Research
2015
Oded Bar-Or Award for Pediatric Obesity Research
2019
Samuel J. Fomon Nutrition Award

Overview
David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD is an endocrinologist and researcher at Boston Children’s Hospital. He holds the rank of Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Ludwig is the founder of the Optimal Weight for Life (OWL) program, one of the country’s oldest and largest multidisciplinary clinics for the care of overweight children. He co-directs the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center.

For more than 25 years, Dr. Ludwig has studied the effects of diet on metabolism, body weight, and risk for chronic disease – with a special focus on low-glycemic index, low-carbohydrate, and ketogenic diets. He has made major contributions to the development of the “carbohydrate-insulin model,” an alternative perspective on the pathogenesis of obesity. In addition, he conducted some of the original studies linking sugar-sweetened beverages and fast food to obesity. Described as an “obesity warrior” by Time Magazine, Dr. Ludwig has fought for fundamental policy changes to improve the food environment.

Dr. Ludwig received the E.V. McCollum Award (2008) from the American Society for Nutrition, the Oded Bar-Or Award (2015) from The Obesity Society, and the Samuel J. Fomon Nutrition Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics (2019). He has been Principal Investigator on numerous grants with 20+ years of NIH funding and has raised over $50 million in philanthropic support. He co-authored over 250 scientific articles, many in the world’s leading medical and scientific journals. He was a Contributing Writer for JAMA and presently serves as associate editor at the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. He has written 3 books for the public, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Always Hungry? Conquer Cravings, Retrain Your Fat Cells, and Lose Weight Permanently (Grand Central Publishing, 2016). He appears frequently in national and international print and broadcast media.

Mentoring
The Effects of Popular Diets on Energy Expenditure After Weight Loss
Summer, 06/15/09 - 08/07/09
Endocrinologic and metabolic effects of popular diets during weight maintenance after weight loss in obese young adults
Full Time/Year Long, 07/01/08 - 06/30/09

Research
The research activities and funding listed below are automatically derived from NIH ExPORTER and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing items. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.
  1. R01HL104215 (LUDWIG, DAVID S) Aug 14, 2010 - Jun 30, 2016
    NIH
    Sugar-sweetened beverages and cardiovascular disease risk: an RCT
    Role: Principal Investigator
  2. R01DK085109 (LUDWIG, DAVID S) Jul 1, 2010 - Jun 30, 2016
    NIH
    A Novel Diet-Phenotype Interaction Affecting Body Weight
    Role: Principal Investigator
  3. K24DK082730 (LUDWIG, DAVID S) Jan 1, 2009 - Sep 14, 2019
    NIH
    Effects of Diet on Hormones, Metabolism and Body Weight
    Role: Principal Investigator
  4. R03DK073335 (LUDWIG, DAVID S) Aug 15, 2006 - Jun 30, 2009
    NIH
    Glycemic Load and infant birth weight in pregnant/glucose intolerant women
    Role: Principal Investigator
  5. R01DK073025 (LUDWIG, DAVID S) Feb 21, 2006 - Dec 31, 2011
    NIH
    Reducing Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption in Overweight Adolescents
    Role: Principal Investigator

Bibliographic
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Funded by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences through its Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program, grant number UL1TR002541.