Vanessa Xanthakis, PhD

Associate Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Vanessa Xanthakis is a biostatistician with training in applied mathematics and statistics, and has a strong commitment to clinical epidemiological research. Presently, she is an Assistant Professor in the Section of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology in the Department of Medicine at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine and in the Biostatistics Department at Boston University School of Public Health. She is an investigator at the Framingham Heart Study and serves as the biostatistician on several investigations. She also serves as the Program Director for the Boston University T32 Program in Cardiovascular Epidemiology and the Promotion of Research In MEdical Residency (R38) program. She is the Director of Research Training for the Section of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology. For the last 12 years, Dr. Xanthakis has focused her research on:

A) the epidemiology of cardiac remodeling and subclinical disease, including identifying cardiovascular disease risk factors;

B) population-based vascular testing and echocardiography, including identifying biological, environmental, and genetic determinants (correlates) of cardiac structure and function;

C) epidemiology of novel biomarkers including but not limited to natriuretic peptides, adipokines, and vascular growth factors;

D) cardiovascular risk prediction using biomarkers and assessing their incremental prognostic utility (focus of her PhD thesis);

E) epidemiology of heart failure and its precursors; and

F) ideal cardiovascular health and its impact on cardiovascular disease and its precursors.

Publications

  • Published 2/12/2026

    Davis DN, Gajjar P, Xanthakis V, Lloyd-Jones D, Nayor M. Refined Heart Failure Stages Incorporating Cardiorespiratory Fitness Are Differentially Associated With Heart Failure Risk in the Community. J Am Heart Assoc. 2026 Feb 17; 15(4):e045791. PMID: 41676947.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 2/4/2026

    Gauen AM, Petito LC, Zhang Y, Zhou H, Zhou M, Xia M, Fang M, Reynolds K, Xanthakis V, Safford M, Colantonio LD, Rana JS, Bellows BK, Moran AE, Huang X, Shah NS, Allen NB, An J. PREVENT Equations in Young Adults: Fairness, Calibration, and Performance Across Racial and Ethnic Groups. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2026 Feb 04. PMID: 41636665.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/9/2026

    Cuellar-Lobo M, Gao M, Ruda MM, Prescott B, Xanthakis V, Benjamin EJ, Cheng S, Vasan RS, Liu CT, Tsao CW. Association of Cardiovascular Health and Genetic Risk for Left Ventricular Mass with Left Ventricular Structure, Function, and Incident Cardiovascular Outcomes. medRxiv. 2026 Jan 09. PMID: 41542664.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 12/10/2025

    Hamel-Sellman DJ, Prescott BR, Korzinski TJ, Xanthakis V, Cooper LL, Hamburg NM, Tsao CW, Benjamin EJ, Vasan RS, Mitchell GF. Relations of Artificial Intelligence Vascular Age With Cardiometabolic Disease Progression: The Framingham Heart Study. J Am Heart Assoc. 2025 Dec 16; 14(24):e044872. PMID: 41368833.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 10/19/2025

    He WJ, Prescott BR, Xanthakis V, Mitchell GF, Cheng S, Vasan RS. Association of obesity subphenotypes with indices of cardiac remodeling in the Framingham heart study. Am Heart J. 2026 Feb; 292:107292. PMID: 41120039.

    Read at: PubMed

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Other Positions

  • Associate Professor, Biostatistics
    Boston University School of Public Health
  • Investigator
    Framingham Heart Study
  • Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
    Boston University

Websites

Education

  • Boston University School of Public Health, PhD
  • University of Athens, MS
  • University of Athens, BS

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