Meryl S. LeBoff, MD

Meryl S. LeBoff, MD is an endocrinologist, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), Distinguished Chair in Skeletal Health and Osteoporosis. She is Chief of the Calcium and Bone Section and Director of the Skeletal Health and Osteoporosis Center and Bone Density Unit, which she founded in 1987. She has extensive clinical and research experience in studies of bone health across the lifespan, osteoporosis, fall outcomes, body composition and bone density measures, and nutritional factors affecting musculoskeletal outcomes in older adults. She was the contributing author for the Surgeon General’s Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis on “Vitamin D Intake Across the Life Course” and served on the central Calcium, Vitamin D and Osteoporosis Committee for the Women’s Health Initiative. She has worked on strategies to reduce the burden of fractures including the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons Guideline Committee on “The Management of Hip Fractures in the Elderly” and as the first author on the new Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation’s “The Clinician’s Guide to Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporosis”. She has served on the Council and committees for the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research and on the Board of Trustees for the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation, and the U.S. Bone and Joint Initiative. She was awarded the Mary Horrigan Connors Award for Outstanding Leadership in Women’s Health and the James S. Winshall, M.D. Leadership Award for Clinical Leadership from the BWH Physicians Organization, and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists Distinction in Endocrinology Award for advancing the understanding of endocrinology through research and education. She has been consistently listed as a Top Doctor in Endocrinology and Metabolism in Boston Magazine. Dr. LeBoff is the PI on NIH-sponsored ancillary studies testing effects of supplemental vitamin D and/or omega-3 fatty acids on bone density and structure, incident fracture outcomes, body composition (lean and fat tissue),  physical performance and fall outcomes  in the large VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL) study. She also serves as Co-PI on an ancillary study to the COcoa Supplement and Multivitamins Outcomes Study (COSMOS). This presentation builds on her clinical accomplishments and experience in clinical and translational research in women and men