Lateral Thinking on Population Health: Bridging the Distance Between What the Public Wants and What We Deliver

Dr. Marian T. Hannan is currently conducting research on risk factors for foot disorders, arthritis, hip fracture and osteoporosis.  She is particularly interested in the effect of biomechanics upon physical function and the influence of body composition and nutrition upon bone health.  Dr. Hannan has published in over 50 scientific journals, including Arthritis Care & Research, Journal of Bone & Mineral Research and the New England Journal of Medicine.  Dr. Hannan collaborates closely with investigators in the large Musculoskeletal Research Center to quantify risk factors contributing to musculoskeletal diseases. She is the principal investigator on a number of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants.

In addition to her research, Dr. Hannan teaches Clinical Epidemiology to first-year Harvard Medical School students and epidemiology courses at Harvard School of Public Health.  Dr. Hannan received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, a Master of Public Health degree from Yale University School of Medicine and her Doctor of Science degree from Boston University School of Medicine.  Dr. Hannan is the current Editor-in-Chief of the highly ranked medical journal, Arthritis Care & Research.

Dr. Hannan has been senior author on over 100 musculoskeletal research papers related to nutrition and bone as well as the biomechanics and consequences of foot disorders. Her mentoring of young investigators includes many scientists in the Boston area as well as scientists across the U.S. through national venues. Her research work is presented annually at scientific meetings, culminating in over 150 invited presentations.