Kari Nadeau, MD, Ph.D. is a leader in medicine and public health who studies how genetics, immunology, and the changing environment affect disease development. As the Chair of the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard School of Public Health and a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Nadeau investigates how people can change behaviors to improve their health span. Her work could not be more timely.
Nadeau is studying the effect of plastics, particularly those too small to be seen by the human eye. These micro-and nano-plastics (MNPs) are ubiquitous in the environment and have now been observed in many human tissues and organs. In her lab, Nadeau is using the Agilent 8700 Laser Directed Infrared Chemical Imaging system to compare types and amounts of MNPs in biosamples from people. She then helps people manage their exposures with interventions.
Nadeau focuses on research that can directly affect policy and patients. She has published over 400 papers covering topics from oral immunotherapies to the gut microbiome studies Her groundbreaking research has led her to co-found four biotech companies—all tackling food allergies through immunotherapy—including Latitude, Before Brands, Alladapt, and IgGenix.
Beyond research, Nadeau has collaborated with global organizations, including the WHO and UN, has served on the Scientific Advisory Board for the U.S. EPA, and is the co-author of the 2020 book The End of Food Allergy: The First Program to Prevent and Reverse a 21st Century Epidemic, translated into 11 languages. She has also contributed to numerous textbooks. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Throughout her research career, Nadeau continues to see patients, most currently at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center as an allergist while maintaining her role as an Adjunct Clinical Professor at Stanford University, where she established the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford Medical School.
We’re elated to welcome Dr. Nadeau to our DOC 2025 Faculty and are looking forward to hearing more from her and her work this fall.