The 2003 LPI Prize for Health Research
Walter
Willett, M.D, Dr.P.H.
The 2003 Linus Pauling Institute Prize for Health Research was presented on May 23 to Walter Willett, M.D., Dr.P.H., who is the Frederick John Stare Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition, Chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Willett was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 1998.
The Prize, consisting of a medal and $50,000, recognizes excellence in the field of orthomolecular medicine, especially in the study of micronutrients, vitamins, and phytochemicals in promoting optimal health and in the prevention and treatment of disease. The 2003 prize money was generously contributed by a donor who wishes anonymity. The recipient of the first LPI Prize in 2001 was Dr. Bruce Ames, who praised Dr. Willett for his productivity and careful use of statistics to reveal important associations between dietary factors and health and disease that have been of enormous benefit to public health.
Dr. Willett was instrumental in the design and implementation of a widely
used standardized dietary questionnaire to elucidate accurately the role
of dietary factors in cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other health
issues. He also works on the development of biomarkers of dietary factors
that are associated with health and disease. He has been involved in the
Nurses’ Health Study, a prospective cohort of 121,700 women, since
1980, and is the Principal Investigator of two other cohort studies, the
Health Professionals Follow-up Study of 52,000 men and the Nurses’
Health Study II of 116,000 younger women, which was initiated in 1989.
These epidemiological studies, using questionnaires and biochemical analyses,
have revealed a wealth of associations between dietary factors and disease.
For example, Dr. Willett’s group has foundlinks between the intake
of red meat and colon cancer, alcohol and breast cancer, obesity and the
risk of chronic diseases, and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (trans
fats) and heart disease. His research also revealed protective roles for
vitamin E, vitamin C, folic acid, and vitamin B6
against heart disease and showed that coffee consumption has no effect
on the risk of heart disease. His group also found no association between
a high intake of vitamin C and the risk of kidney stone formation in either
men or women. Furthermore, Dr. Willett’s group found associations
between the intake of cruciferous vegetables and a reduced risk of bladder
cancer, high selenium intake and a reduced risk of total cancers, moderate
alcohol consumption and a reduced risk of diabetes, and the intake of
lycopene in tomatoes and a decreased risk of prostate cancer.
Dr.
Willett has been exceptionally productive, having published over 700 scientific
papers and a popular book, Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy, which
offers a new Food Pyramid (see figure) based on recent research. He also
wrote an extremely influential textbook, Nutritional Epidemiology,
first published in 1990. As one of the nomination letters stated, "Like
Dr. Pauling, Dr. Willett strives ceaselessly to apply research findings
for the benefit of the public...[he] exemplifies some of the features
that characterized Dr. Pauling—rigorous science, a keen interest
in human problems and their solutions, and the pursuit of truth, regardless
of the opinions of others."
Last updated November, 2003