Richard Deckelbaum, MD

Dr. Richard Deckelbaum, is the Director of the Institute of Human Nutrition Columbia University Medical Center, a Robert R. Williams Professor of Nutrition (in Pediatrics) and a Professor of Epidemiology

Dr. Deckelbaum's research interests concern human plasma lipoproteins, and the cellular effects of dietary fats and free fatty acids. His research has been supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, the US Agency for International Development, and private industry. His work has contributed to better understanding of mechanisms whereby human lipoproteins are structurally remodeled in the plasma compartment, factors modulating receptor-lipoprotein interactions, and nutrient-gene interactions.

He has also led international NIH and USAID programs integrating nutrition with risk factors of cardiovascular disease in children, as well as the molecular biology of intestinal parasites with clinical and epidemiological manifestations of infection, with emphasis on chronic diarrhea and malnutrition. His research complements a professional interest in global health, which grew out of work in the Middle East and Africa.