Dr. Artemis Simopoulos is a distinguished medical researcher and pioneering authority in nutritional genomics and fatty acid metabolism. She currently serves as Founder and President of the Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health, a nonprofit educational organization she established in Washington, DC in 1990. A graduate of Barnard College with a chemistry major and Boston University School of Medicine, she is a board-certified physician and endocrinologist. Her early research at the National Institutes of Health laid the foundation for her groundbreaking work at the intersection of evolutionary biology, genetics, and nutrition. Dr. Simopoulos has maintained a distinguished career spanning over three decades, establishing herself as a visionary leader in understanding the complex relationship between diet and human health.
Dr. Simopoulos pioneered the scientific understanding of the critical importance of the omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio in human health, demonstrating that the evolutionary ratio of approximately 1 to 1 has been dramatically altered in modern Western diets to 15 to 1 or higher. Her seminal research linking imbalanced fatty acid ratios to chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer, osteoporosis and inflammatory conditions has been published in over 300 scientific papers and transformed clinical nutrition practices worldwide. She authored the influential book The Omega Diet HarperCollins 1999 which synthesized decades of research into an accessible framework for understanding how historical dietary patterns inform modern nutritional requirements. Dr. Simopoulos founded the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids in 1991 and later established the International Society on Nutrigenetics Nutrigenomics creating essential platforms for interdisciplinary research collaboration. As editor of the Karger series World Review of Nutrition and Dietetics since 1989 she has shaped the global discourse on nutrition science through her rigorous editorial standards and vision.
Dr. Simopoulos has been instrumental in advancing nutritional science through her leadership roles as founder and chair of the World Council on Nutrition Fitness and Health since 2005 and as a founding member of multiple international scientific societies. Her work has catalyzed a paradigm shift in how medical professionals and researchers approach diet related chronic diseases emphasizing the evolutionary context of human nutrition and the genetic variations that influence individual responses to dietary components. She has received numerous prestigious honors including the Presidential Award for Studies in the Field of Obesity and Weight Control from Columbia University and the Aristeon Award from the Hellenic American Women's Council for her transformative contributions to nutritional science. Currently Dr. Simopoulos continues to organize international conferences and collaborate with institutions like Hellenic American University to advance research on food classification systems and optimal omega fatty acid ratios. Her ongoing research promises to further illuminate the intricate connections between genetic variation dietary patterns and disease prevention ensuring her enduring influence on the future of personalized nutrition and preventive medicine.
