Dean Dariush Mozaffarian
Dear Alumni, Students, Faculty, Staff, and Friends
As the Dean of the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy at Tufts University, I am delighted to send my warm regards. I am tremendously enthusiastic about joining the Tufts family and its terrific students, staff, faculty, and network of alumni and friends. Together we provide unique opportunities for cutting-edge research, education, and multidisciplinary innovation in nutrition science, agriculture, economics, sustainability, and policy. I am deeply passionate about food and how it influences our communities, our environment, our families, and ourselves. The Friedman School, the most renowned graduate school of nutrition in the world, focuses on increasing the understanding and translation to policy of some of the most fascinating, important, and complex issues of our time.
Our diversity of strengths include investigation of the effects of nutrition on obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and healthy aging; the intersections of food, agriculture, economics, and the environment; the implementation and evaluation of community approaches to reduce childhood obesity; the best science and strategies to combat hunger and food insecurity worldwide; the ways in which media and communications can both mislead and be positively harnessed; and the rigorous assessment and promotion of evidence-based policies to make a difference.
Policy without science is dangerous, and science without policy is merely stale knowledge
Indeed, one of Friedman’s most unusual qualities is the drive and expertise of our students, faculty, and alumni to not only deepen our understanding of crucial scientific questions, but also study and influence policies to achieve lasting change. This combination is crucial: policy without science is dangerous, and science without policy is merely stale knowledge. I arrive at Tufts after a decade at Harvard, where as a faculty member, cardiologist, and public health advocate I focused on elucidating the key dietary priorities for cardiometabolic diseases, the impact of suboptimal diet on chronic diseases worldwide, and the most cost-effective policies to improve diet quality in the US and globally. My core research team and projects have come with me, and we are excited to integrate our work into the complementary portfolios for innovation that already exist at the Friedman School, the Human Nutrition Research Center, and across Tufts.
Creating enough healthy, sustainable, and equitably distributed food has truly become a top global priority.
In recent years, remarkable scientific advances have made clear that how we eat is the leading cause of poor health, and how we produce our food the leading cause of environmental injury, on the planet. Creating enough healthy, sustainable, and equitably distributed food has truly become a top global priority. Together with the strong support of Tufts’ president Anthony Monaco, our alumni, and our friends, the Friedman School is poised to leverage and multiply its breadth and depth of education, scholarship, advocacy, and policy impact to make a tremendous difference in the lives of Americans and hundreds of millions more around the world. This is nutrition’s time. It is a privilege to serve the School and travel forward together into this next phase of Friedman’s incredible journey.
With regards,
Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., Dr.P.H., Dean