Shivani Sahni, PhD
- Associate Scientist
- Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Director, Nutrition Program
- Faculty
Dr. Sahni is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an Associate Scientist at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife. She directs the Nutrition Program at the Marcus Institute.
Dr. Sahni is a Nutritional Epidemiologist with expertise in determining the role of nutritional factors on chronic diseases of aging such as osteoporosis, sarcopenia, frailty, and consequent declines in physical function. Since diet is a modifiable risk factor, her research work has a direct impact on the prevention of these musculoskeletal diseases and their consequences among older adults. Dr. Sahni received her M.S. and Ph.D. degree in Nutritional Epidemiology from Tufts University, Boston, MA. She also holds a Master’s degree in Dietetics from Delhi University, India. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship in geriatrics and musculoskeletal epidemiology from the Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, and Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Sahni also devotes time to teaching nutrition and epidemiology courses at both Harvard Medical School and Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. She mentors graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and dietetics interns. She organizes the Quarterly Nutrition Seminar Series at the Marcus Institute for clinicians, dietitians, and researchers. Dr. Sahni has held several leadership positions with the American Society for Nutrition and the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR). She is a member of the ASBMR’s Nutrition Working Group and the ASBMR’s Membership and Engagement Committee. She has previously served as the chair of the American Society of Nutrition’s (ASN) Nutritional Epidemiology Research Interest Section. She has also served on the editorial boards of the British Journal of Nutrition, Journal of Nutritional Sciences, and the Nutrition Journal.
Dr. Sahni’s current and planned studies are focused on the following three areas:
- Demonstrating that dietary patterns that are rich in antioxidants (such as a Mediterranean style diet and an anti-inflammatory diet) can prevent osteoporosis and frailty onset.
- Determining the underlying pathways (related to the gut microbiome function, inflammation, and molecular pathways) via which nutrients and dietary patterns impact the aging musculoskeletal system. This mechanistic research will inform the targets for intervention and treatment.
- Utilizing the information from a) and b) to develop and test dietary and nutrition interventions that target age-related loss of bone, muscle, and development of frailty
- Sahni S, Hannan MT, Gagnon D, Blumberg J, Cupples LA, Kiel DP, Tucker KL. Protective effect of total and supplemental vitamin C intake on the risk of hip fracture: A 17-y follow-up from the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. Osteoporosis International. 2009; 20: 1853-1861. PMID: 19347239; PMCID: PMC2766028.
This study represented Dr. Sahni’s earliest work on dietary antioxidant and osteoporosis in older adults, which showed that older men and women who consume higher amounts of vitamin C in their diet (levels higher than the current recommendation of 75-90 mg/day recommended by the Institute of Medicine) have a 44% lower risk of hip fracture compared to those with low intakes. This work highlighted the importance of nutrients beyond calcium that can be used for fracture prevention. This research work was awarded Young Investigator Award from the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
- Sahni S, Cupples LA, McLean R, Tucker KL, Broe KE, Zhang X, Kiel DP, Hannan MT. Protective effect of high protein and calcium intake on the risk of hip fracture in the Framingham offspring cohort. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. 2010 Dec; 25(12): 2770–2776. PMID: 20662074; PMCID: PMC3179277.
This study showed for the first time in a large cohort that in middle-aged and older men and women, higher animal protein intake coupled with calcium intake of 800 mg/day or more may protect against hip fracture, whereas the effect appears reversed for those with lower calcium intake. This study clarified that protein intake reduces fracture risk with adequate calcium intake. This research work formed the basis of subsequent collaborations at national and international level resulting in multiple publications highlighting the role of protein for older adults.
- McLean RR, Mangano KM, Hannan MT, Kiel DP, Sahni S. Dietary protein intake is protective against loss of grip strength among older adults in the Framingham Offspring Cohort. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci, 2016 Mar; 71(3):356-61. PMID: 26525088; PMCID: PMC5864162.
This study showed that higher protein intakes prevented age-related declines in muscle strength in middle-aged and older adults. This data supported increasing the protein recommended daily allowance for older adults (≥60 y) since individuals with highest protein intake (~1.2 g/kg/d) increased strength, compared with those with lowest intake (~0.8 g/kg/d) who lost muscle strength.
- Sahni S, Dufour AB, Fielding RA, Newman AB, Kiel DP, Hannan MT, Jacques P. Total carotenoid intake is protective against loss of grip strength and gait speed over time in adults: The Framingham Offspring Study. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2020; 00: 1-9, PMID: 33181830; PMCID: PMC7851823.
Dr. Sahni previously reported the benefit of dietary antioxidants for prevention of osteoporosis. She extended those previous investigations by showing that higher dietary antioxidants were beneficial for improving muscle strength and physical function in adults.
Dr. Sahni has collaborated with several investigators from the following institutions and studies.
- Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, MA
- Boston School of Public Health, Boston, MA
- Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA
- The Boston University Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Boston, MA
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA
- University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA
- Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME
- The Framingham Heart Study
- The Cardiovascular Health Study
- The Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS)
| 2008 | Nominee, the American Society of Nutrition Student Interest Group Award Experimental Biology |
| 2008 | Young Investigator Award The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research |
| 2009 | Travel grant Bedside-to-Bench Conference: Inflammation and Nutrient Metabolism, sponsored by the Annual American Geriatrics Society, the NIA, and the John A. Hartford Foundation |
| 2010 | Young Investigator Travel Grant The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research |
| 2011-2012 | Young Investigators Initiative Grant Mentoring Program United States Bone and Joint Decade |
| 2012 | Excellence in Tutoring Award Harvard Medical school |
| 2013 | Young Investigator Travel Grant The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Muscle Symposium |
| 2015 | Certificate of Excellence in Tutoring Harvard Medical School |
| 2016 | The Mary Frances Picciano Dietary Supplement Research Practicum The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the NIH |
| 2018 | Nominee, Young Mentor Award Harvard Medical School |
| 2023-2024 | Inaugural Cohort Member American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) Leadership for Advancement (LEAD) Program |
