Michael F. Holick, MD, PhD
Professor, Medicine
Biography
Dr. Holick has made numerous contributions to the field of the biochemistry, physiology, metabolism, and photobiology of vitamin D for human nutrition. Dr. Holick has established global recommendations advising sunlight exposure as an integral source of vitamin D. He has helped increase awareness in the pediatric and medical communities regarding vitamin D deficiency pandemic, and its role in causing not only metabolic bone disease, and osteoporosis in adults, but increasing risk of children and adults developing preeclampsia, common deadly cancers, schizophrenia, infectious diseases including TB and influenza, autoimmune diseases including type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis, type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease.
Dr. Holick is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition, and a member of the American Association of Physicians. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the General Clinical Research Centers Program Award for Excellence in Clinical Research from NIH, American College of Nutrition’s Communication Media Award, Best Docs in America, the Linus Pauling Functional Medicine Award from the Institute for Functional Medicine and the Linus Pauling Prize for Human Nutrition. Dr. Holick serves on a number of national committees and editorial boards and has organized and/or co-chaired several international symposia. He served as the chair for the Endocrine Society’s Practice Guidelines on Vitamin D. He has authored more than 400 peer-reviewed publications, and written more than 200 review articles, as well as numerous book chapters. He has acted as editor and/or co-editor on 13 books, and has written The UV Advantage in 2004 and The Vitamin D Solution in 2010 and helped develop the dminder.info app.
Other Positions
- Professor, Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
- Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research, Boston University
- Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students), Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences
- Director, General Clinical Research Unit, Boston University Medical Campus
- Director, Bone Health Care Clinic, Boston Medical Center
- Director of the Vitamin D, Skin and Bone Research Laboratory, Endocrinology, Diabetes, Nutrition & Weight Management, Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Education
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, MD
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, PhD
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, MS
- Seton Hall University, BS
Publications
- Published on 2/19/2025
Shirvani P, Shirvani A, Holick MF. Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Its Potential Molecular Interplay in Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: A Scoping Review Bridging Cellular Energetics and Genetic Pathways. Curr Issues Mol Biol. 2025 Feb 19; 47(2). PMID: 39996855.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/14/2025
Shirvani A, Shirvani P, Jonah U, Moore BE, Holick MF. Suspected Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Complex Pathophysiology in Fatal Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: Insights from a Case Report and Post-Mortem Findings. Biomedicines. 2025 Feb 14; 13(2). PMID: 40002882.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/10/2025
Holick MF. The Debatable Clinical Utility of the 2024 Vitamin D Guideline: Bridging the Gap Between Current Guidelines, Practical Clinical Recommendations, and Utilization of Emerging Evidence in Vitamin D Disease Prevention. Endocr Pract. 2025 Mar; 31(3):399-402. PMID: 39938796.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 1/1/2025
Uçar N, Deeney JT, Pickering RT, Fan TY, Loo R, Mueller PM, Holick MF. Interaction of Vitamin D-BODIPY With Fat Cells and the Link to Obesity-associated Vitamin D Deficiency. Anticancer Res. 2025 Jan; 45(1):55-63. PMID: 39740852.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 10/30/2024
Holick MF. Revisiting Vitamin D Guidelines: A Critical Appraisal of the Literature. Endocr Pract. 2024 Dec; 30(12):1227-1241. PMID: 39486479.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 10/17/2024
Shirvani P, Shirvani A, Holick MF. Decoding the Genetic Basis of Mast Cell Hypersensitivity and Infection Risk in Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Curr Issues Mol Biol. 2024 Oct 17; 46(10):11613-11629. PMID: 39451569.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/27/2024
Brust LA, Linxweiler M, Schnatmann J, Kühn JP, Knebel M, Braun FL, Wemmert S, Menger MD, Schick B, Holick MF, Kuo F, Morris LGT, Körner S. Effects of Vitamin D on tumor cell proliferation and migration, tumor initiation and anti-tumor immune response in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. Biomed Pharmacother. 2024 Nov; 180:117497. PMID: 39341078.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 8/3/2024
Pludowski P, Marcinowska-Suchowierska E, Togizbayev G, Belaya Z, Grant WB, Pilz S, Holick MF. Daily and Weekly "High Doses" of Cholecalciferol for the Prevention and Treatment of Vitamin D Deficiency for Obese or Multi-Morbidity and Multi-Treatment Patients Requiring Multi-Drugs-A Narrative Review. Nutrients. 2024 Aug 03; 16(15). PMID: 39125420.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 6/11/2024
Das L, Sachdeva N, Holick MF, Devnani M, Dutta P, Marwaha RK. Impact of BMI on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D with calcifediol supplementation in young adults: a longitudinal study. Endocrine. 2024 Oct; 86(1):391-399. PMID: 38861119.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 5/16/2024
Holick MF. Vitamin D and bone health: What vitamin D can and cannot do. Adv Food Nutr Res. 2024; 109:43-66. PMID: 38777417.
Read at: PubMed
View 639 more publications: View full profile at BUMC