Nicola McKeown, PhD

Scholarly, Research, and/or Practice Interests

• Role of carbohydrates (dietary fiber, whole-grains and sugar) on cardiometabolic risk
• Genetic predisposition to metabolic risk factors in the presence of high versus low sugar diets
• Dietary patterns and health and predictors of dietary adherence among followers of popular diets
• Dietary methodology for population studies and use of novel biomarkers (e.g., alkylresorcinols) to validate dietary intakes

Selected Publications

• Kim Y, Huan T, Joehanes R., McKeown NM, Horvath S, Levy D, Ma J. Higher diet quality related to decelerated epigenetic aging. Am J Clin Nutr 2021: 001-8
• Roberts SB, Silver RE, Das SK, Fielding RA, Gilhooly CH, Jacques PF, Kelly JM, Mason JB, McKeown NM, Reardon MA, Rowan S, Saltzman E, Shukitt-Hale B, Smith CE, Taylor AA, Wu D, Zhang FF, Panetta, K Booth SB. Healthy Aging  Nutrition Matters, Start Early and Screen Often. Advances in Nutrition, 2021 DOI: 10.1093/advances/nmab032
• Haslam DE, Peloso GM, Smith CE, Dupuis J, Dashti HS, Lichtenstein AH, Herman MA, McKeown NM*, and the CHARGE Nutrition Working Group. Associations between genetic variants near the CHREBP locus and lipoprotein concentrations may be modified by sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine; 2021;14:e003288
• Drewnowski A, McKeown NM, Kissock KR, Beck E, Mejborn H, Vieux F, Smith J, Masset G, Seal CJ. Why whole grains should be incorporated into nutrient profile models to better capture nutrient density. Adv Nutr, 2021; 00: 1–9.
• Sawicki CM, Jacques PF, Lichtenstein AH, Rogers GT, Ma J, Saltzman E, McKeown NM*:. Whole-and Refined-Grain Consumption and Longitudinal Changes in Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in the Framingham Offspring Cohort. The Journal of Nutrition. 2021;151(9):2790-2799.
• Sawicki CM, Lichtenstein AH, Rogers G, Jacques PF, Ma JM, Saltzman E, McKeown NM*. Comparison of indices of carbohydrate quality and dietary fiber sources with longitudinal changes in waist circumference in the Framingham Offspring Cohorts. Nutrients 2021, 13(3), 997;
• Karlsen MC, Lichtenstein AH, Economos CD, Folta SC, Remco Chang, Rogers G, Jacques PF, Livingston KA, McKeown NM*.  Participant Characteristics and self-reported weight status in a cross-sectional pilot survey of self-identified followers of popular diets: Adhering to Dietary Approaches for Personal Taste (ADAPT) Feasibility Survey. Public Health Nutrition 2020;DOI:
• McKeown NM, Livingston KA, Sawicki CM, Miller KB. Evidence mapping to assess the available research on fiber, whole grains, and health. Nutr Rev 2020; 78 (suppl 1).
• Haslam DE, Peloso GM, Herman MA, Dupuis J, Lichtenstein AH, Smith CE, McKeown, NM*. Beverage consumption and longitudinal changes in lipoprotein concentrations and incident dyslipidemia in US adults: The Framingham Heart Study. J Am Heart Assoc 2020; 9 (5) e014083
• Miki AJ, Livingston KA, Karlsen MC, Folta SC, McKeown NM*. Using evidence mapping to examine motivations for following plant-based diets. Current Developments in Nutrition 2020; 4 (3) nzaa013,
• Karlsen MC*, Rogers G, Miki A, Lichtenstein AH, Folta SC, Economos CD, Jacques PF, Livingston KA, McKeown NM*. Theoretical Food and Nutrient Composition of Whole-Food Plant-Based and Vegan Diets Compared to Current Dietary Recommendations. Nutrients, 2019; 11(3): 625. DOI: 10.3390/nu11030625
• Dashti HS, Merino J, Lane JM, Song Y, Smith CE, Tanaka T, McKeown NM, et al. Genome-wide association study of breakfast skipping links clock regulation with food timing. Am J Clin Nutr, 2019; 110(2): 473-484. DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz076
• Hennein R, Liu C, McKeown NM, Hoffman U, Long MT, Levy D, Ma J. Increased diet quality is associated with long-term reduction of abdominal and pericardial fat. Obesity, 2019; 27(4):670-77.
• Sawicki CM*, Livingston KA, Ross AB, Jacques PF, Koecher K, McKeown NM*. Evaluating whole grain intervention study designs and reporting practices using evidence mapping methodology. Nutrients, 2018; 8(10). DOI: 10.3390/nu10081052
• Karlsen MC, Lichtenstein AH, Economos CD, Folta SC, Rogers GT, Jacques LF, Livingston KA, Rancano KM, McKeown NM*.  Web-Based Recruitment and Survey Methodology to Capture Followers of Popular Diets: The Adhering to Dietary Approaches for Personal Taste (ADAPT) Feasibility Survey. Current Developments in Nutrition, 2018; 2(5).

*denotes lead/corresponding authorship