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Walter Willett
Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition
Department of Nutrition
Department of Epidemiology
655 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Phone: 617.432.4680
Walter C. Willett, M.D., Dr. P.H., is Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Willett studied food science at Michigan State University, and graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School before obtaining a Masters and Doctorate in Public Health from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Willett has focused much of his work over the last 40 years on the development and evaluation of methods, using both questionnaire and biochemical approaches, to study the effects of diet on the occurrence of major diseases. He has applied these methods starting in 1980 in the Nurses’ Health Studies I and II and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Together, these cohorts that include nearly 300,000 men and women with repeated dietary assessments, are providing the most detailed information on the long-term health consequences of food choices.
Dr. Willett has published over 1,700 original research papers and reviews, primarily on lifestyle risk factors for heart disease, cancer, and other conditions and has written the textbook, Nutritional Epidemiology, published by Oxford University Press, now in its third edition. He also has written four books for the general public. Dr. Willett is the most cited nutritionist internationally. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and the recipient of many national and international awards for his research.
Selected Awards and Honors
1970, Summa Cum Laude, University of Michigan Medical School
1994, Distinguished Alumnus Award, Michigan State University
1994, American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Award
1996, Distinguished Achievement Award, American Society for Preventive Oncology
1996, John Snow Award, APHA
1998, National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine
2000, AACR-ACS Award for Research Excellence in Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention
2001, The Charles S. Mott Prize. General Motors Cancer Research Foundation
2003, Linus Pauling Institute Prize for Health Research
2003, Linus Pauling Functional Medicine Award
2003, Association of American Medical Colleges 2003 David E. Rogers Award
2003, Komen Foundation’s Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction
2004, Honda Prize for Echo-Technology
2005, Bristol Myers Squibb/Mead Johnson Award for Distinguished Achievement in Nutrition Research
2005, Medal of Honor, American Cancer Society
2006, Harvard School of Public Health Alumni Award of Merit
2006, Ancel Keys Lecturer, American Heart Association
2007, University of Michigan Alumni Achievement Award
2008, Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2011, Fellow, The American Society for Nutrition
2012, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Medal of Honour
2012, Seelig Magnesium Award 2012
2014, Bloomberg Manulife Prize for the Promotion of Active Health, McGill University
Education
M.D., 1970, University of Michigan Medical School
M.P.H. 1973, Harvard School of Public Health
Dr.P.H., 1980, Harvard School of Public Health, Epidemiology
Dr. Walter Willett |