Kenneth Westerman, PhD

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Dr. Kenneth Westerman is an Instructor in Investigation in the CTEU and Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He received his PhD in Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition and BS in Chemical Engineering, both from Tufts University.

 

Dr. Westerman’s research focuses on precision nutrition and lifestyle approaches for the prevention of metabolic diseases such as diabetes. Part of this program involves the development of methods and software for the analysis of gene-environment interactions in large-scale cohorts such as the UK Biobank and TOPMed program. His applied investigations use these tools to discover novel interactions and their biological mechanisms, with an eye towards finding molecular predictors of response to diet and other lifestyle factors. He is currently supported by an NIDDK K01 Award to further develop these research aims.

 

Beyond his primary research track, Dr. Westerman has also been an active participant in the development of cloud computing platforms for genomic data analysis (Terra, Seven Bridges, and the NHLBI BioData Catalyst) and has an interest in the regulatory environment surrounding direct-to-consumer genetic testing.

 

For additional information on Dr. Westerman’s research focus, background, and publications, see his website.

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