Robert Curtis Ellison MD, MS
Professor, Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology
Professor, Epidemiology
750 Harrison Ave | (617) 638-8080ellison@bu.edu
Sections
Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology
Centers
Framingham Heart Study
Biography
R. Curtis Ellison, M.D., has been Professor of Medicine and Public Health at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine since 1989, and is the former Chief of the Evans Section of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology. He holds degrees from Davidson College, the Medical University of South Carolina, and Harvard School of Public Health. With training in internal medicine, cardiology, and epidemiology, Dr. Ellison serves as a senior investigator in The Framingham Study, and is the principal investigator of a number of research studies on the interaction of genetic and environmental factors in determining familial risk of hypertension and heart disease.
In July, 1994, Dr. Ellison established and became the Director of the Institute on Lifestyle and Health at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. The Institute focuses research on various aspects of lifestyle, especially diet, exercise, and the moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages, habits that relate to the risk of heart disease, cancer, and other chronic diseases.
Dr. Ellison is best known to the lay public for his research on what is known as the "French Paradox". This refers to the fact that the French have a high-fat diet and other risk factors, yet have very low rates of coronary heart disease. Dr. Ellison and Dr. Serge Renaud of Lyon, France, were the key scientists who were a part of the program on the "French Paradox" that appeared on the American television program, 60 Minutes, in November, 1991. In the early 1990's Dr. Ellison worked with the Oldways Foundation, Harvard School of Public Health, and the European office of the World Health Organization in the development of the "Mediterranean Diet Pyramid", a set of dietary guidelines for Americans.
Other Positions
Education
MD, Medical University of South Carolina
MS, Harvard University
BS, Davidson College
Publications
Neisius U, Zhou G, Ward RE, Ellison RC, Gaziano JM, Djoussé L. Dairy product consumption and calcified atherosclerotic plaques in the coronary arteries: The NHLBI Family Heart Study. Clin Nutr ESPEN. 2022 Jun; 49:517-521. PMID: 35623860.
Published on 11/13/2021Yiannakou I, Singer MR, Jacques PF, Xanthakis V, Ellison RC, Moore LL. Adherence to a Mediterranean-Style Dietary Pattern and Cancer Risk in a Prospective Cohort Study. Nutrients. 2021 Nov 13; 13(11). PMID: 34836319.
Published on 7/1/2018Mustafa J, Ellison RC, Singer MR, Bradlee ML, Kalesan B, Holick MF, Moore LL. Dietary Protein and Preservation of Physical Functioning Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the Framingham Offspring Study. Am J Epidemiol. 2018 07 01; 187(7):1411-1419. PMID: 29590270.
Published on 1/1/2017Patel YR, Gadiraju TV, Ellison RC, Hunt SC, Carr JJ, Heiss G, Arnett DK, Pankow JS, Gaziano JM, Djoussé L. Coffee consumption and calcified atherosclerotic plaques in the coronary arteries: The NHLBI Family Heart Study. Clin Nutr ESPEN. 2017 Feb; 17:18-21. PMID: 28361742.
Published on 9/1/2016Barrett-Connor E, de Gaetano G, Djoussé L, Ellison RC, Estruch R, Finkel H, Goldfinger T, Keil U, Lanzmann-Petithory D, Mattivi F, Skovenborg E, Stockley C, Svilaas A, Teissedre PL, Thelle DS, Ursini F, Waterhouse AL. Comments on Moderate Alcohol Consumption and Mortality. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2016 09; 77(5):834-6. PMID: 27588543.
Published on 5/11/2016Ferreira P, Ellison RC. [Not Available]. Rev Med Suisse. 2016 May 11; 12(518):956. PMID: 27352594.
Published on 4/21/2016Imran TF, Patel Y, Ellison RC, Carr JJ, Arnett DK, Pankow JS, Heiss G, Hunt SC, Gaziano JM, Djoussé L. Walking and Calcified Atherosclerotic Plaque in the Coronary Arteries: The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Family Heart Study. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2016 Jun; 36(6):1272-7. PMID: 27102966.
Published on 10/28/2015Ebert ST, Ellison RC. [Association of alcohol consumption with the risk of death from colorectal cancer]. Rev Med Suisse. 2015 Oct 28; 11(492):2041. PMID: 26672188.
Published on 9/9/2015Berdoz D, Ellison RC. [Association between alcohol consumption and risk of different types of breast cancer]. Rev Med Suisse. 2015 Sep 9; 11(485):1677. PMID: 26541003.
Published on 5/27/2015Jaton L, Ellison RC. [Episodic excessive alcohol consumption significantly increases the risk of mortality]. Rev Med Suisse. 2015 May 27; 11(476):1213. PMID: 26182645.
Media Mentions
Published on 3/30/2021
Drinking this delicious beverage daily may actually fend off dementia
Published on 8/4/2018
Huge clinical trial collapses, and research on alcohol remains befuddling
View full list of 2 media mentions.