Maura E. Walker, PhD

Assistant Professor, Boston University College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College

Biography

Dr. Walker is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Boston University’s Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and in the Section of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology at the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. She serves as the Principal Investigator of the Quantitative Nutrition and Metabolism Lab and co-leads the cross-university Digital Health and Network Multi-Omics Lab.

As a transdisciplinary nutrition scientist, Dr. Walker has conducted extensive research across preclinical, clinical, and epidemiologic domains, examining the influence of diet on various biological systems, including transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and gut microbiota. In her role as a Junior Investigator with the Framingham Heart Study, her primary research focuses on using both traditional and systems-level epidemiological methods to deepen our understanding of how modifiable risk factors can alter the life-course progression of cardiometabolic diseases, with a particular emphasis on MASLD, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

Dr. Walker earned her MS and PhD in Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition from the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, where she also conducted research at the USDA Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. She teaches SAR 783 Metabolomic Regulation and SAR 785 Research in Clinical Nutrition for BU’s Masters of Science in Nutrition degree programs.

Publications

  • Published 11/1/2026

    Bakhshi B, Lin H, Sultana N, Healey E, Queen H, Gao G, Claudel SE, Minetti ET, Mitchell GF, Murabito JM, Lloyd-Jones DM, Cheney MC, Steenkamp DW, Nayor M, Xanthakis V, Walker ME, Spartano NL. Beyond Traditional Glycemic Measures: CGM Glycemic Profiles Reveal Associations With Cardiometabolic Risk in Individuals Without Diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2026 Nov 01; 49(11):2040-2049. PMID: 42752803.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 8/13/2026

    Walker ME, Prescott B, Stockero S, Xanthakis V, Lin H, Gerszten RE, Mckeown NM, Jacques PF, Vasan RS. Proteomic signature of healthy dietary patterns and risk of cardiovascular disease in the framingham heart study. Clin Nutr. 2026 Oct; 65:106758. PMID: 42617399.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 4/17/2026

    Campos A, Liu T, Prescott B, Ma J, Haff MG, Walker ME, Mohanty A, Xanthakis V. Association of Life's Essential 8 with Hepatic Fibrosis, MASLD, and MetALD in the Framingham Heart Study. Nutrients. 2026 Apr 17; 18(8). PMID: 42075086.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 7/31/2025

    Bakhshi B, Sultana N, Lin H, Fei D, Vallejo V, Gatanti A, Steenkamp DW, Murabito JM, McKeown NM, Walker ME, Spartano NL. Associations of diet composition and quality with continuous glucose monitor-derived glycemic metrics in a community-based cohort. Am J Clin Nutr. 2025 Oct; 122(4):942-953. PMID: 40749968.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/17/2025

    Spartano NL, Sultana N, Lin H, Cheng H, Lu S, Fei D, Murabito JM, Walker ME, Wolpert HA, Steenkamp DW. Defining Continuous Glucose Monitor Time in Range in a Large, Community-Based Cohort Without Diabetes. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2025 Mar 17; 110(4):1128-1134. PMID: 39257191.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 34 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Research Assistant Professor, Medicine
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Investigator
    Framingham Heart Study

Websites

Education

  • Tufts University, PhD

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