Research/Areas of Interest
Dietary and hormonal determinants of bone and muscle mass and function
Education
- MD, Tufts University School of Medicine
Biography
Dr. Bess Dawson-Hughes, MD, is a Senior Scientist in the Diet & Chronic Disease Prevention for Healthy Aging directive at the HNRCA and is internationally renowned for her research on bone health. As an endocrinologist, her research interests include metabolic bone disease, the acid-base balance of the diet, calcium and vitamin D nutrition, and prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.
Dr. Dawson-Hughes has authored more than 480 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and reviews and has made many important discoveries. Recently, she and her collaborators discovered that an alkaline diet is associated with greater lean tissue mass and reduced bone resorption in older adults. The team also identified that both low and high circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels are associated with increased risk of falling in older adults. Dr. Dawson-Hughes's current projects include researching the impact of a novel compound to reverse the acid-base imbalance that results from many American's diets. Other work explores the causes of poor bone health in adults with type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Dawson-Hughes is a Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. Among her professional affiliations, she currently serves on the Executive Committee and Board of the International Osteoporosis Foundation. She is a past President and Trustee of the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation (USA). Dr. Dawson-Hughes is currently a member of the World Health Organization Expert Panel on Bone Health & Aging and is a founding member of the newly formed international consortium, the Global Health Span Extension Consortium, to advance health span. She was also a Founding Director of the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) that develops and oversees research on the international space station.
Dr. Dawson-Hughes is on the editorial boards of Bone, Osteoporosis International and Calcified Tissue International. She has served as Associate Editor of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research and as Principal Investigator of the NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Disease National Resource Center, Washington, D.C. Among her many awards, Dr. Dawson-Hughes has recently received the Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Scientist award, the Medal of Achievement and the President's award from the International Osteoporosis Foundation, and the Frontiers in Science and Endocrinology Award from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.