Loretta DiPietro
Loretta DiPietro
M.P.H., Ph.D.
Professor
School: Milken Institute School of Public Health
Department: Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Epidemiology
Contact:
950 New Hampshire Avenue, 205 - Floor 2
Recognizing that many of today's critical public health problems can be addressed, at least partly, through improved nutrition and physical activity, Professor Loretta DiPietro has built bridges between population-based public health and the clinical and physiological domains of exercise science. An accomplished and widely published researcher with particular interest in the role of physical activity in the health of older adults, she has been awarded grants from the National Institute on Aging and the American Cancer Society, and has lectured at medical schools, public health schools, and other organizations around the world. Dr. DiPietro joined GW SPH in 2008 from Yale University School of Medicine, where she was associate professor of epidemiology and public health and a fellow at the John B. Pierce Laboratory, which studies how biological systems interact with the built environment and their influence on health.
Aging
Chronic Disease
Epidemiology
Bachelor of Science (Health education), Southern Connecticut State University, 1979
Master of Science (Health education/Exercise science), Southern Connecticut State University, 1981
Master of Public Health, Yale University, 1985
Doctor of Philosophy (Epidemiology), Yale University, 1988
EXNS 6204: Research Methods and Biostatistics
EXNS 6208: Physical Activity: Physiology and Epidemiology
PubH 6001-2U: Biological Basis of Disease in Public Health
PubH 6620: Designing Healthy Communities
PubH 6621: Applied Data Analysis for Exercise and Nutrition Sciences
MPH Program Director – Physical Activity in Public Health
Loretta DiPietro is a Professor in the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, the Milken Institute School of Public Health at The George Washington University. Dr. DiPietro received her training in epidemiology at Yale University. For nearly three decades, her research has focused on physical activity, and she has worked very hard to combine the two disciplines of epidemiology and physiology to better understand the mechanistic underpinnings of the benefits of exercise. Dr. DiPietro is recognized internationally as a leader in the field of physical activity and aging. An accomplished and widely published researcher, she has been awarded numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society, and has been invited to lecture around the world. She is a current Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Physical Activity and Health. In 2016, Dr. DiPietro was appointed to the United States Department of Health and Human Services 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee and serves as the Chair of the subcommittee on Aging. In 2019, she was appointed to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2020 Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Guidelines Development Group and chaired the sub-committees on Aging and Pregnancy. In June of 2017, she received the American College of Sports Medicine Citation Award for her career accomplishments. Dr. DiPietro is a former Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer in the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service. She joined the GW SPH in 2008 from Yale University School of Medicine, where she was associate professor of epidemiology and public health and an associate fellow at the John B. Pierce Laboratory.
Dr. DiPietro has worked in the field of physical activity, obesity, metabolism, and aging for most of her career. Throughout her training and over the subsequent 25 years as an independent investigator, she has worked with physical activity either as a behavioral endpoint in itself, or as an intervention to evaluate its role in human health and function. For over two decades, her research has focused on aging and the effects of exercise or exercise training on functional adaptations in aging using randomized, controlled designs within the laboratory, clinical, or community settings.
Complete List of Published Work in My Bibliography