Nutrition

The mission of the Department of Nutrition is to improve human health through enhanced nutrition. The department strives to accomplish this goal through research aimed at improved understanding of how diet influences health, the dissemination of new knowledge about nutrition to health professionals and the public, the development of nutritional strategies, and the education of researchers and practitioners.

The Department of Nutrition provides training and research opportunities in basic science relating to nutrition and in epidemiologic aspects of nutrition as they affect public health. Nutrition policy and the evaluation of nutritional interventions are longstanding interests of the department, particularly as they concern the populations of Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the United States. Department research ranges from molecular biology to human studies of cancer and heart disease, including the conduct of population-based intervention trials. Students learn and use the latest techniques in biochemistry, physiology, biostatistics, epidemiology, and related fields. Departmental research, whether basic or applied, is relevant to human health.

Current research covers a wide range of topics, including large prospective studies of dietary factors in relation to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and ophthalmologic disease; development of methods to assess nutritional status by analysis of body tissue; the interaction of nutritional factors with genetic determinants of disease; the interaction of nutritional factors and infectious agents; nutritional influence on blood pressure; effects of nutrition programs on the mental and physical consequences of malnutrition; nutritional determinants of blood lipid factors; lipoprotein metabolism; molecular mechanisms of diabetes and obesity; regulation of the intra- and intercellular delivery of macromolecular nutrients; and the molecular mechanism leading to atherosclerosis and thrombosis.

Degree Programs in Nutrition

As described below, the department offers two doctoral programs. The first is a program leading to the doctor of science (SD) or doctor of public health (DPH) degree in nutrition, with concentrations in either nutritional epidemiology or public health nutrition. The second is a doctor of philosophy (PhD) program in biological sciences in public health (nutritional biochemistry/cardiovascular biology). Applicants to the PhD program who hold a clinical degree in medicine, veterinary medicine, or dentistry may prefer to follow a different curriculum leading to the SD degree in nutritional biochemistry. This option may be available by special arrangement with the department. No master’s degree programs are available.

Doctor of Science in Nutrition/Doctor of Public Health

The concentration in nutritional epidemiology or in public health nutrition, leading to the SD or DPH degree, provides rigorous training in epidemiology and biostatistics as well as the biological aspects of nutrition. The overall objective of the nutritional epidemiology concentration is to enable students to investigate relationships between diet and disease. Students in public health nutrition combine behavioral sciences with biologic and quantitative approach es to design and evaluate nutrition programs, policies, and the dissemination of nutrition research.

Graduates are prepared for careers as research scientists in academic institutions, private-sector organizations, and public health agencies in state, national, and international settings. Recent graduates are now working at universities, research foundations, pharmaceutical companies, the National Cancer Institute, and the American Cancer Society.

Applicants must have a strong background in biology and mathematics. An MD or other professional health-related degree is desirable but not required. Applicants for the DPH program must have or be in progress toward an MPH degree and must also hold an advanced degree in a basic public health discipline.

For the nutritional epidemiology concentration, one of the two required minors must be in epidemiology; for the public health nutrition concentration, students complete one minor in quantitative methods (biostatistics or epidemiology) and one minor in a behavioral science relevant to the development of public health programs and policies (for example, society, human development, and health). 

Admission to a joint program with the Department of Epidemiology requires the approval of both departments, and applicants should contact the Department of Nutrition before making formal application. All students in a joint program with Epidemiology must satisfy the major requirements of both departments, complete a minor acceptable to both, and write a dissertation on a topic concerning both nutrition and epidemiology.

For the SD and DPH programs, funding may be available through the NIH-supported Training Program in Nutritional Science for students with previous doctoral degrees.

Doctor of Philosophy in Biological Sciences in Public Health (Nutritional Biochemistry/Cardiovascular Biology)

Students wishing to study cellular and molecular biology or physiology as it pertains to major problems in public health should apply to the PhD program offered by the Division of Biological Sciences through the Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The PhD program in nutritional biochemistry offers rigorous training in biochemistry, cell biology, and metabolism, allowing students to work toward solving nutritional and metabolic problems in the laboratory. Students in cardiovascular biology learn to use cutting-edge technologies from molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics to critically dissect the mechanisms underlying cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, atherosclerosis, and congenital heart disease.

Related Offerings

• MPH concentration in family and community health
• Nutritional epidemiology area of interest, department of epidemiology

Contact Information

For more information about research and training in nutrition, please contact: 

Colleen Bertrand
Academic Services Coordinator
Department of Nutrition
655 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
Phone: 617-432-1851
Fax: 617-432-2435
Email: cbertran@hsph.harvard.edu
Web: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutrition 

For the PhD Program in Biological Sciences in Public Health, online submissions are encouraged, using the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) application form available at the web address below:

Web: https://apply.embark.com/grad/Harvard/GSAS