Biographical Summary
Eric L. Ding
Dr. ERIC DING is an epidemiologist and nutritionist at Harvard School of Public Health. He is also Director of Epidemiology with Microclinic International, and a Soros Fellow.
His work focuses on obesity and nutritional risk factors for chronic diseases, social networks on health, and social media technology for health. He has published in leading journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, and The Lancet. His 60+ publications have received 3000 external citations (H-INDEX citation impact of 22). As Director of Epidemiology at Microclinic International, he is the co-Principal Investigator of several randomized controlled trials of social network interventions against obesity and diabetes in the U.S. and abroad. Altogether, his competitively funded projects have been financed with over $8 million in awarded grants.
A Google Tech Talk keynote speaker, a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, he has also served as advisor for the World Health Organization and the EU European Commission, as judge for the annual VH1 Do Something Awards, and as an expert for the WHO’s Global Burden of Disease Project. A cancer prevention advocate and childhood tumor survivor, he founded the campaign, Cancer Prevention, with 6.1 million members. In total online reach, he directs several health and disease prevention advocacy platforms, which together total 17 million members.
In 2006, as a graduate student, he was also noted for his key role in leading a two-year-long investigation into the controversial drug safety and adverse metabolic risks of Vioxx® that drew national attention. Highlighted and priority published in JAMA, as chief corresponding author, he was recognized and named in the New York Times and USA Today.
He was awarded as recipient of the 2012 Outstanding Young Leader Award from the Boston Chamber of Commerce, and named by Craig Newmark as among “16 People and Organizations Changing the World in 2012”. His work was cited by the directors of CDC and CMMS in the framework of the new “Million Hearts” prevention initiative. He has been featured in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Newsweek, and The New York Times, and profiled in several books, including CauseWired (by Tom Watson, Wiley & Sons, Inc 2008), Zilch (by Nancy Lublin, Portfolio, Penguin Group 2010), and Shift & Reset (by Brian Reich, Wiley 2011). He was further awarded the Soros Fellowship in 2008.
Born in China and raised in diverse corners of the United States, he attended The Johns Hopkins University, graduating with Honors in Public Health and Phi Beta Kappa. He then completed his dual doctorate in epidemiology and doctorate in nutrition at age 23 from Harvard University, and his post-doctoral fellowship in Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. At Harvard, he has taught more than a dozen graduate and undergraduate courses, for which he received the Derek Bok Distinction in Teaching Award from Harvard College.