Brain Nutrition Lab
The McCance Center Brain Nutrition Laboratory, affiliated with Harvard Medical School, is an internationally recognized research program focused on three key aims:
- Establishing the nutrients and dietary habits essential for optimal brain health
- Developing personalized tools to prevent age-related cognitive decline and dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease
- Understanding the mechanisms by which nutrients and diet prevent neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases
Current Research Questions
- What are the specific nutritional requirements for maintaining cognitive health?
- Why do certain diets or supplements benefit some individuals but not others?
- How does genetic background affect dietary recommendations for brain health?
Cohort Studies of Brain Aging
- Apply nutrient biomarker pattern analysis to identify nutrient combinations that display synergistic characteristics
- Determine which specific features of brain health are associated with each distinct nutrient combination in high-risk populations
- Validate nutrient combinations associated with brain health in different populations.
- Clinical Trials Platform
- Novel Therapeutic Nutrition
- Medical Nutrition
- Dietary Guidelines
Gene L. Bowman, ND, MPH
Clinical Trials Director, McCance Center
With 20 years of expertise in preventive and nutritional neurology, Dr. Bowman’s research focuses on the connections between nutrition, cognitive aging, and Alzheimer’s disease. Notable achievements include receiving the NIH’s Dr. Ruth L. Kirschstein Award for his work on gastric acidity and cognitive impairment and a NIH K23 Career Development Award to advance individualized nutritional therapies for Alzheimer’s prevention. His team identified and validated nutrient biomarkers as indicators of cognitive health and brain aging, leading to the first targeted nutritional intervention for dementia prevention.
Dr. Bowman co-founded the AA-ISTAART Nutrition, Metabolism, and Dementia group to address the need for multidisciplinary research in brain nutrition. He also contributed to a multi-site clinical trial in France, testing a novel nutritional blend for cognitive decline prevention.
Dr. Bowman’s work has been featured in The New York Times, TIME Magazine, and NPR. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his two children, cooking, playing soccer, and participating in outdoor sports.
Our Publications
Recent Publications and Presentations
- Bowman, G. L., et al. (2024, August 1). “ω-3 PUFA for Secondary Prevention of White Matter Lesions and Neuronal Integrity Breakdown in Older Adults.” This randomized clinical trial demonstrates that fish oil, high in omega-3 fatty acids, provides statistically significant benefits for those genetically predisposed to Alzheimer’s.
- Bowman, G. L., et al. (2024, July 29). “Comprehensive Nutrient Biomarker Assessment in Older Adults at Risk for Dementia: Pre-analytical and Intra-individual Stability Over 2-4 Years in the Nutrition and Brain Aging Study.” Poster presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC). This poster describes methods to quantify nutrient biomarkers that best capture dietary intake and their within-person stability over time.
- Bowman, G. L., et al. (2024, June 29). “Three Year Pre-analytical and Intra-individual Stability of Plasma Nutrient Biomarkers in Older Adults at Risk for Dementia: Effects of Sex, apoE Genotype, and Cognition.” Poster presented at the American Society for Nutrition Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL. Using data from the National Brain Aging Study, this poster describes modifiers of within-person nutrient biomarker variation over time in people at high risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Open Positions
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Brain Nutrition
The McCance Center Brain Nutrition Laboratory is seeking a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Brain Nutrition to conduct nutritional epidemiological and interventional research, leveraging existing datasets and populations. Ideal candidates will have a doctoral degree (PhD, ND, MD, ScD, or equivalent as defined by the NIH) in fields such as nutritional epidemiology, medicine, epidemiology, or nutritional biochemistry/biology, with experience in human investigations.
View the full job description. Interested applicants should email Dr. Gene Bowman at gbowman@mgh.harvard.edu.
Contact Us
Dr. Gene Bowman, gbowman@mgh.harvard.edu