Harvard Catalyst Profiles

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA	PhD	2022	Health Policy
Université de Savoie, Chambéry, France	Masters	2009	Information Technology & Management
Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France	BS	2007	Computer Science

Dr. Hu’s research has focused on diet/lifestyle, metabolic, and genetic determinants of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). His major research interests include:

1. epidemiology and prevention of cardiometabolic diseases through diet and lifestyle;
2. gene-environment interactions and risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes;
3. nutritional metabolomics in type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease;
4. obesity, metabolic phenotypes, cardiovascular disease in low and middle-income countries.

Dr. Hu’s group has conducted detailed analyses of many dietary and lifestyle factors and risk of diabetes and CVD, including sugar-sweetened beverages, coffee, red meat, saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, iron, and dietary patterns in large prospective cohort studies including the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study. These findings have contributed to current public health recommendations and policies for the prevention of chronic diseases. Hu’s group has also identified novel biomarkers and gene-environment interactions in relation to risk of obesity and diabetes by integrating cutting-edge omics technologies into epidemiological studies. In addition, Dr. Hu has conducted extensive research on nutrition transition, metabolic phenotypes, and cardiovascular disease in low and middle-income countries.

Dr. Hu served on the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, USDA/HHS. He has served on the editorial/advisory board of Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, Diabetes Care, and Clinical Chemistry. Dr. Hu was elected to the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the IOM) in 2015.

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