Bess Dawson-Hughes, M.D. is a Professor of Medicine at
Tufts University and Director of the Bone Metabolism
Laboratory at the Jean Mayer United States Department of
Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at
Tufts University. She is trained in endocrinology and directs the Metabolic Bone Diseases Clinic at the Tufts-New
England Medical Center.
Dr. Dawson-Hughes graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine and completed an endocrine fellowship at
Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s
Hospital. She then received an Individual National Research
Service Award at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Dawson-
Hughes has served on the councils of several professional organizations, including the American Society for Bone and
Mineral Research, the American Society of Clinical Nutrition and the International Bone and Mineral Society. She has also served on the Advisory Council of the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculo-skeletal, and Skin Diseases and was an associate editor of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research for 8 years. She is currently President of the
National Osteoporosis Foundation.
Dr. Dawson-Hughes has published over 300 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, abstracts, and reviews. Her current research is directed at examining ways in which calcium, vitamin D, protein and the acid-base balance of the diet influence age-related loss of bone mass and risk of fragility fractures.