Eliseo Guallar

Chair and Professor of the Department of Epidemiology

Professional overview

Dr. Guallar is an epidemiologist whose research is focused on the study of cardiovascular disease epidemiology and prevention, with an emphasis on evaluating the role of environmental and nutritional exposures in the development of cardiovascular disease. This research has made critically important and novel contributions to our understanding of risk factors for chronic disease both in the US and globally. He has published seminal articles and is a leading figure in an emerging field highlighting the risks of exposure to levels of metals previously considered safe for cardiovascular health. In addition to his work in toxic metals, Dr. Guallar has made important contributions to understanding the effects of certain micronutrients and vitamin supplements on cardiovascular disease risk and outcomes. Publications in this area were influential in changing consumer habits and attitudes towards these products. Much of this research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the American Heart Association, the CDC, and other funders.

Dr. Guallar was the founding director of the Center for Clinical Epidemiology at the Samsung Medical Center and a lead investigator of the Kangbuk Samsung Cohort Study at the Kangbuk Samsung Hospital since its inception in 2010. Dr. Guallar has published over 500 research papers in peer-reviewed journals. He is also a Deputy Editor for Methods at the Annals of Internal Medicine and a past member and Chair of the Cancer, Heart, and Sleep Study Section at the National Institutes of Health.

Prior to teaching at NYU, Dr. Guallar was a Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and a core faculty member of the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research at Johns Hopkins. In the Department of Epidemiology, Dr. Guallar was the Director of the Environmental and Occupational Area of Concentration and the Co-Director of the PhD Program. Dr. Guallar was also an adjunct Professor at the Department of Clinical Research Design and Evaluation of the Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Science and Technology, Sungkyunkwan University, in Seoul, Korea.

Education

Diploma of English, Spanish Official School of Languages at Zaragoza (Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Zaragoza), Zaragoza, Spain

MD, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

MPH, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

DrPH, Harvard University, Boston, MA

Honors and awards

Six Honor Calls in the MD Program, University of Zaragoza School of Medicine (1981)

Fellow of Spain’s Program of Training of Graduate Research of the Ministry of Education and Science, University of Zaragoza (1988)

Fulbright Scholar, sponsored by Spain’s Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs (1989)

Faculty Innovation Award, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health (2001)

Scientist Development Award, American Heart Association (2002)

Fellow of the American Heart Association, Council on Epidemiology and Prevention (2013)

Advising, Mentoring, and Teaching Recognition Award 2014 – 2015, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health (2015)

High Impact Research Icon, University of Malaya (2015)

Publications

Publications

Arsenic exposure and prevalence of type 2 diabetes in US adults

Arsenic in drinking water and lung cancer: A systematic review

Bone lead levels and blood pressure endpoints: A meta-analysis

C-reactive protein and colorectal cancer risk: A systematic review of prospective studies

Cadmium exposure and hypertension in the 1999-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Carotenoids and the risk of developing lung cancer: A systematic review

Dietary iron and blood pressure

HFE C282Y homozygotes have reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Measuring arsenic exposure, metabolism, and biological effects: The role of urine proteomics

Selenium intake and cardiovascular risk: What is new?

Serum selenium and serum lipids in US adults

Serum selenium levels and all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular mortality among US adults

The association of urinary cadmium with sex steroid hormone concentrations in a general population sample of US adult men

A prospective study of plasma ferritin level and incident diabetes: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Efficacy and safety of statin monotherapy in older adults: A meta-analysis

Impact of energy intake, physical activity, and population-wide weight loss on cardiovascular disease and diabetes mortality in Cuba, 1980-2005

Lead exposure and cardiovascular disease - A systematic review

Physical activity and white matter lesion progression: Assessment using MRI

Rapid response systems: A systematic review

Reply to J Hathcock [3]

Risk factors, risk prediction, and the apolipoprotein B-apolipoprotein A-I ratio

Selenium and diabetes: More bad news for supplements

Serum selenium and diabetes in U.S. adults

A case-crossover study of fine particulate matter air pollution and onset of congestive heart failure symptom exacerbation leading to hospitalization

Adulthood consumption of preserved and nonpreserved vegetables and the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A systematic review