Prof. Azita Hekmatdoost | Nutrition | Women Researcher Award
Professor, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Iran
Prof. Azita Hekmatdoost is an esteemed physician and nutritionist specializing in gastroenterology and clinical nutrition. She holds an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Human Nutrition from Tehran University of Medical Sciences and has conducted postdoctoral research in gastroenterology at UBC, Canada. With a career spanning multiple leadership and academic roles, Prof. Hekmatdoost is a respected educator and researcher at SBMU, having received numerous awards, including the “Top 2% Scientists” recognition by Stanford/Elsevier in 2023. Her work centers on advancing nutritional therapy for chronic disease prevention and improving health outcomes in Iran.
Education
Prof. Azita Hekmatdoost completed her Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) at Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2002, where she ranked in the top 10% of her class. She then pursued a Ph.D. in Human Nutrition from the same university, graduating in 2007 as the top student. She further specialized with a fellowship in Gastroenterology and Nutrition at the Children and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada (2007-2008). Later, she completed a Dietitian Internship at the BC Dairy Association, Burnaby, Canada (2015-2016), and became a Registered Dietitian with the College of Dietitians of BC in 2016.
Professional Experience
Prof. Hekmatdoost is currently a professor in Clinical Nutrition at the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Science, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU), Iran, where she has been teaching since 2009. She serves as the Nutrition Principal Investigator for the Persian Cohort, a national study evaluating chronic disease risk factors in Iran, and recently held the position of Vice Dean of Research & Technology at the National Nutrition & Food Technology Research Institute. Her previous roles include Vice Dean of Student & Cultural Affairs (2011-2014) at SBMU and Honorary Associate Professor at UBC (2015-2016). Prof. Hekmatdoost is recognized for her teaching contributions in courses such as Basic Nutrition, Diet Therapy, and Medical Nutrition Therapy for GI and liver diseases.
Research Interests
Her research focuses on gastroenterology and nutrition, with an emphasis on diet therapy for gastrointestinal and liver diseases, public health nutrition, and chronic disease prevention.
Publications Top Notes
Khodadadi, N., Hekmatdoost, A., Pashayee-Khamene, F., Hatami, B., & Yari, Z. (2024). The association of dietary inflammatory indices and mortality in patients with cirrhosis: a cohort-based study. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 21472.
Zarei, A., Pashayee-Khamene, F., Hekmatdoost, A., Hatami, B., & Yari, Z. (2024). Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) and mortality risk among patients with liver cirrhosis: a prospective cohort study. BMC Research Notes, 17(1), 248.
Sohouli, M.H., Tavakoli, S., Reis, M.G., Hekmatdoost, A., & Guimarães, N.S. (2024). Changes in glucose metabolism, C-reactive protein, and liver enzymes following intake of NAD+ precursor supplementation: a systematic review and meta‐regression analysis. Nutrition and Metabolism, 21(1), 35.
Narimani, B., Sadeghi, A., Daryani, N.E., Shahparvari, M.R., & Hekmatdoost, A. (2024). Effectiveness of a novel diet in attenuation of clinical activity of disease in patients with ulcerative colitis: a randomized, clinical trial. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 13791.
Neshatbini Tehrani, A., Hatami, B., Daftari, G., Hosseini, S.A., & Helli, B. (2024). The effect of soy isoflavones supplementation on metabolic status in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 1362.
Rasoulizadeh, Z., Namazi, A., Sohouli, M.H., Hekmatdoost, A., & Hosseinzadeh, M. (2024). Association between Baltic Sea diet and healthy Nordic diet index with risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a case–control study. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 9537.