Meir Stampfer's Faculty Website

Home

Research

Dr. Stampfer’s research program is broadly concerned with the etiology of chronic diseases, with particular focus on nutrition and cancer.

With colleagues in the Departments of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, and at the Channing Division of Network Medicine and the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dr. Stampfer is closely involved in four large prospective cohort studies:

  • Nurses’ Health Study I (N = 121,700) – Principal Investigator
  • Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (N = 51,259) – Founding co-Investigator
  • Physicians’ Health Studies I and II (N = 22,071) – Founding co-Investigator
  • Nurses’ Health Study II (N = 116,678) – Founding co-Investigator

In each of these studies, participants are surveyed every two years to gather information on diet, smoking, physical activity, medications, health screening behavior, and other variables. We also ascertain the new occurrence of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other serious illnesses, including diabetes, fractures, kidney stones, and pre-cancerous lesions.

In addition, Dr. Stampfer leads several other NIH-funded projects, and is Principal Investigator of two NIH training programs that support pre-doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows.

All of these large-scale studies are continuing.  Over the past twenty years, Dr. Stampfer has continuously been identified as among the five most highly cited scientists in clinical medicine.

Education

Dr.P.H., 1985, Harvard School of Public Health
M.P.H., 1980, Harvard School of Public Health
M.D., 1977, New York University School of Medicine
A.B., 1973, Columbia University

Meir Stampfer’s Guidelines for Staying Healthy

With the encouragement of friends and relatives, Dr. Stampfer wrote a personal summary of findings and thoughts on how to stay healthy. This is not meant to replace professional medical advice. This summary is geared to generally healthy adults and is not directed to people who are ill or under treatment, children, or pregnant women. It is by no means complete or comprehensive. This summary is not endorsed by the Departments of Nutrition, Epidemiology, or the Harvard Chan School of Public Health.
See the guidelines.