Simin Meydani, Vice Provost for Research

As Vice Provost for Research, Dr. Meydani works with faculty and university leadership to develop and help implement strategic research priorities at Tufts, advocates for the research and scholarship mission of all disciplines across all schools, facilitates strategies to enhance extramurally supported research across the schools from all sources, accelerates interdisciplinary initiatives, and promotes university research accomplishments. She oversees pre-award and non-fiscal post-award development and administration of grants and contracts; protection, management, and licensing of the University’s intellectual property; the use of human subjects and laboratory animals in research; and the implementation of the University’s policies on conflict of interest in research and misconduct in research and scholarship. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research works with other administrative offices to create an environment at the University that encourages and facilitates both disciplinary and interdisciplinary research. The Office strives to provide high quality services to the faculty and to increase the funding available to support research while protecting the University’s interests and assuring that Tufts is in compliance with all relevant laws and regulations.

Dr. Meydani joined the Tufts academic community over 30 years ago, first as a scientist at the JM-USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) and eventually as an HNRCA lab director. Since 2009 until her appointment as VPR in 2016, she served as Director of the HNRCA. As VPR, she continues to Direct of the Nutritional Immunology Laboratory. Additionally, she is a Professor of Immunology at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and a Professor of Nutrition at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Prior to Tufts, she conducted research at Brandeis and Harvard University. Throughout her career, she has mentored many students, young scientists and faculty.

Dr. Meydani’s scientific interests include the basic mechanisms of aging, impact of nutrition on the aging process and age associated diseases, role of nutrition on immune and inflammatory responses, and predisposition to infectious diseases in developed and less developed countries. Her research is multidisciplinary and expands from cell and molecular to animal and clinical investigations. She is an internationally recognized scholar with more than 300 publications and over $40M of continuous NIH, USDA, industry and foundation research funding as principal investigator or co-investigator and serves/has served on several NIH study sections, industry and foundation grant review committees and advisory boards. She has received several awards in recognition of her scientific contributions.

Dr. Meydani holds a D.V.M. (Tehran University), an M.S. in Nutrition (Colorado State University), and a PhD in Nutrition (Iowa State University).

Vice Provost for Research-at-a-Glance

Simin Nikbin Meydani

Title
Vice Provost for Research

Academic Credentials
D.V.M. from Tehran University (1975), an M.S. in Nutrition from Colorado State University(1977), a P.h.D in Nutrition from Iowa State University(1981).