Meaghan Kavanagh

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Biography

Dr. Meaghan E. Kavanagh is a Banting Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, working with Dr. Frank Hu. Her research investigates the role of diet and dietary patterns in the prevention and management of chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease. She applies a range of methodological approaches, including randomized controlled trials, nutritional epidemiology, and evidence synthesis through systematic reviews and meta-analyses, to bridge science with clinical and population health applications.

Dr. Kavanagh’s work integrates implementation science and digital innovation to accelerate knowledge translation for patients and healthcare providers. As a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement (MSFSS) awardee, she conducted part of her Ph.D. research as a Guest Researcher at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where she investigated the Portfolio Diet and its possible cardiovascular benefits using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). She later expanded this work through the development of the PortfolioDiet.app, a digital health tool to support patients following a cardioprotective diet.

Dr. Kavanagh received her Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Toronto under the mentorship of Dr. John Sievenpiper. She completed her M.Sc. at the University of Guelph under the mentorship of Drs. Lindsay Robinson and Amanda Wright and her B.Sc. thesis under the mentorship of Dr. Alison Duncan. Prior to her Ph.D., she worked as a project manager under Dr. David Jenkins at the University of Toronto and served as Clinical Coordinator on the CIHR funded STOP Sugars NOW Trial at St. Michael's Hospital.

Her work has been recognized through multiple distinctions, including the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship, CIHR Doctoral Research Award, and CIHR-MSFSS Award.

Education and Training

• BSc, Nutrition and Nutraceutical Science
  University of Guelph
• MSc, Nutritional Science
  University of Guelph
• PhD, Nutritional Science
  University of Toronto

Awards and Honors

• Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2025 - 2027
  Canadian Institutes of Health Research
• Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplements: Canada Graduate Scholarships , 2023 - 2024
  Canadian Institutes of Health Research
• Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships, 2022 - 2024
  Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Publications

• Handbook of Public Health Nutrition: International, National, and Regional Perspectives. Victor R Preedy & Vinood B. Patel (eds.)

  Kavanagh ME, Chiavaroli L, Sievenpiper JL, Jenkins DJA, Liu S, Glenn AJ. Portfolio Diet for Prevention and Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Cardiovascular Disease 2025

• The portfolio dietary pattern and risk of cardiovascular disease mortality during 1988-2019 in US adults: a prospective cohort study.

  Kavanagh ME, Zurbau A, Glenn AJ, Oguntala JO, Josse RG, Malik VS, Chiavaroli L, Liu S, Kendall CWC, Jenkins DJA, Sievenpiper JL. BMC Med 2025 May 21

  PMID: 40394599

• Portfolio diet and LDL-C in a young, multiethnic cohort: cross-sectional analyses with cumulative exposure modeling.

  Chen V, Chiavaroli L, Glenn AJ, Kavanagh ME, Zeitoun T, Mahdavi S, Kendall CWC, Jenkins DJA, El-Sohemy A, Sievenpiper JL. BMC Public Health 2025 May 13

  PMID: 40361017

• Metabolomic profiling of a cholesterol lowering plant-based diet from two randomized controlled feeding trials.

  Glenn AJ, Tessier AJ, Kavanagh ME, Morgan GA, Clish CB, Salas-Salvado J, Malik VS, Hanley AJ, Bazinet RP, Comelli EM, El-Sohemy A, Liu S, Boucher BA, Kendall CWC, Jenkins DJA, Hu FB, Sievenpiper JL. Eur J Clin Nutr 2025 Apr 22

  PMID: 40263496

• Acceptability of a Web-Based Health App (PortfolioDiet.app) to Translate a Nutrition Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease in High-Risk Adults: Mixed Methods Randomized Ancillary Pilot Study.

  Kavanagh ME, Chiavaroli L, Quibrantar SM, Viscardi G, Ramboanga K, Amlin N, Paquette M, Sahye-Pudaruth S, Patel D, Grant SM, Glenn AJ, Ayoub-Charette S, Zurbau A, Josse RG, Malik VS, Kendall CWC, Jenkins DJA, Sievenpiper JL. JMIR Cardio 2025 Mar 28

  PMID: 40152922