Associate Professor of Medicine
Department of Medicine
Brigham and Women's Hospital

frank.hu@channing.harvard.edu

Dr. Hu's research has focused on diet and lifestyle determinants of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. He is the Principal Investigator of the diabetes component of the Nurses' Health Study, and leads two NIH-funded projects to study biochemical and genetic risk factors for cardiovascular complications among patients with diabetes in the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals' Follow-up Study. Dr. Hu's research has demonstrated that the vast majority of type 2 diabetes is preventable through diet and lifestyle modifications. His group has conducted detailed analyses of numerous dietary and lifestyle factors and risk of diabetes, including sugar-sweetened beverages, caffeine, iron, magnesium, and dietary patterns. These findings have contributed to current public health recommendations and policies for prevention of chronic disease. His group has also examined the link between pre-diabetes and cardiovascular disease and the relationship between inflammatory markers, iron overload, and risk of type 2 diabetes. His current research has expanded to investigate complex interactions among nutrition, biomarkers, and genetic factors in the development of diabetes and cardiovascular complications. Dr. Hu is also collaborating with researchers from China to study obesity, the metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease in Chinese populations.

Hu FB, Stampfer MJ, Manson JE, Rimm E, Colditz GA, Rosner BA, Hennekens CH, Willett WC. Dietary fat intake and risk of coronary heart disease in women. N Engl J Med. 1997 Nov 20;337(21):1491-9. [abstract]

Hu FB, Stampfer, MJ, Manson, JE, Grodstein, F, Colditz GA, Speizer, FE, Willett, WC. Trends in the incidence of coronary heart disease and changes in diet and lifestyle in women. N Engl J Med. 2000 Aug 24;343(8):530-7. [abstract]

Hu FB, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Liu S, Solomon CG, Willett WC. Diet, lifestyle, and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in women. [abstract]

Hu FB. The Mediterranean diet and mortality--olive oil and beyond. N Engl J Med. 2003 Jun 26;348(26):2595-6. No abstract available.

Hu FB, Willett WC, Li T, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Manson JE. Adiposity as compared with physical activity in predicting mortality among women. N Engl J Med. 2004 Dec 23;351(26):2694-703. [abstract]

Schulze MB, Manson JE, Ludwig DS, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC, Hu FB. Sugar-sweetened beverages, weight gain, and incidence of type 2 diabetes in young and middle-aged women. JAMA. 2004 Aug 25;292(8):927-34. [abstract]

Jiang R, Manson JE, Meigs JB, Ma J, Rifai N, Hu FB. Body iron stores in relation to risk of type 2 diabetes in apparently healthy women. JAMA. 2004 Feb 11;291(6):711-7. [abstract]

Schulze MB, Shai I, Manson JE, Li T, Rifai N, Jiang R, Hu FBK. Joint role of non-HDL cholesterol and glycated haemoglobin in predicting future coronary heart disease events among women with type 2 diabetes. Diabetologia. 2004 Dec;47(12):2129-36. Epub 2004 Dec 15. [abstract]

Qi L, Li T, Rimm E, Zhang C, Rifai N, Hunter D, Doria A, Hu FB. The +276 polymorphism of the APM1 gene and plasma adiponectin concentration and cardiovascular risk in diabetic men. Diabetes. 2005 May;54(5):1607-10. [abstract]

He Y, Jiang B, Wang J, Feng K, Chang Q, Fan L, Li X, Hu FB. Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its relation to cardiovascular disease in an elderly Chinese population. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006 Apr 18;47(8):1588-94. Epub 2006 Mar 29. [abstract]

Qi L, Doria A, Manson JE, Meigs J, Hunter D, Mantzoros C, Hu FB. Adiponectin genetic variability, plasma adiponectin, and cardiovascular risk in patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes. 2006 May;55(5):1512-6. [abstract]

Taylor EN, Hu FB, Curhan GC. Antihypertensive medications and the risk of incident type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2006 May;29(5):1065-70. [abstract]