Vanessa Xanthakis, PhD
Associate Professor, Biostatistics - Boston University School of Public Health
Biography
Dr. Vanessa Xanthakis is a biostatistician with training in applied mathematics and statistics, and has a strong commitment to clinical epidemiological research. Presently, she is an Assistant Professor in the Section of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology in the Department of Medicine at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine and in the Biostatistics Department at Boston University School of Public Health. She is an investigator at the Framingham Heart Study and serves as the biostatistician on several investigations. She also serves as the Program Director for the Boston University T32 Program in Cardiovascular Epidemiology and the Promotion of Research In MEdical Residency (R38) program. She is the Director of Research Training for the Section of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology. For the last 12 years, Dr. Xanthakis has focused her research on:
A) the epidemiology of cardiac remodeling and subclinical disease, including identifying cardiovascular disease risk factors;
B) population-based vascular testing and echocardiography, including identifying biological, environmental, and genetic determinants (correlates) of cardiac structure and function;
C) epidemiology of novel biomarkers including but not limited to natriuretic peptides, adipokines, and vascular growth factors;
D) cardiovascular risk prediction using biomarkers and assessing their incremental prognostic utility (focus of her PhD thesis);
E) epidemiology of heart failure and its precursors; and
F) ideal cardiovascular health and its impact on cardiovascular disease and its precursors.
Other Positions
- Associate Professor, Medicine - Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
- Investigator - Framingham Heart Study
- Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research - Boston University
Education
- Boston University School of Public Health, PhD Field of Study: Biostatistics
- University of Athens, MS Field of Study: Applied Mathematics
- University of Athens, BS Field of Study: Applied Mathematics
Publications
- Published on 10/19/2025
He WJ, Prescott BR, Xanthakis V, Mitchell GF, Cheng S, Vasan RS. Association of obesity subphenotypes with indices of cardiac remodeling in the Framingham Heart Study. Am Heart J. 2025 Oct 19; 107292. PMID: 41120039.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 10/13/2025
Korzinski TJ, Hategeka C, Prescott BR, Hamel-Sellman D, Xanthakis V, Cooper LL, Hamburg NM, Tsao CW, Lin H, Vasan RS, Mitchell GF, Benjamin EJ. Relations of AI-Vascular Age Estimated From a Peripheral Pressure Waveform With Incident Atrial Fibrillation: The Framingham Heart Study. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol. 2025 Oct 13; e014383. PMID: 41078115.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 9/5/2025
Zhang Y, Xia M, Zhou H, Zhou M, Fang M, Reynolds K, Allen NB, Gauen A, Petito LC, Xanthakis V, Safford M, Colantonio LD, Rana JS, Bellows BK, Moran AE, An J. Comparison of Short- and Long-Term Cardiovascular Disease Risk Assessment Tools in US Young Adults. J Am Heart Assoc. 2025 Sep 16; 14(18):e042392. PMID: 40913264.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 8/23/2025
Jha M, Dong Z, Ruda MM, Prescott B, Xanthakis V, Nayor M, Gajjar P, Larson MG, Benjamin EJ, Vasan RS, Mitchell GF, Tsao CW. Associations of cardiovascular health with arterial health in adults free of cardiovascular disease. Am J Prev Cardiol. 2025 Sep; 23:101083. PMID: 40918934.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 8/21/2025
Nessen EJ, Xanthakis V, Gopal DM, Fetterman JL, Roberts LM, Moreira-Bouchard JD. Depression, anxiety, stress, and resting blood pressure between cisgender queer and heterosexual emerging adults. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2025 Sep 01; 329(3):H724-H729. PMID: 40839380.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 7/14/2025
Carbonneau M, Li Y, Qu Y, Zheng Y, Wood AC, Wang M, Liu C, Huan T, Joehanes R, Guo X, Yao J, Taylor KD, Tracy RP, Durda P, Liu Y, Johnson WC, Post WS, Blackwell T, Rotter JI, Rich SS, Redline S, Fornage M, Wang J, Ning H, Hou L, Lloyd-Jones D, Ferrier K, Min YI, Carson AP, Raffield LM, Teumer A, Grabe HJ, Völzke H, Nauck M, Dörr M, Domingo-Relloso A, Fretts A, Tellez-Plaza M, Cole SA, Navas-Acien A, Wang M, Murabito JM, Heard-Costa NL, Prescott B, Xanthakis V, Mozaffarian D, Levy D, Ma J. DNA Methylation Signatures of Cardiovascular Health Provide Insights Into Diseases. Circulation. 2025 Aug 19; 152(7):436-449. PMID: 40654086.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 7/14/2025
An J, Fischer H, Ni L, Xia M, Choi SK, Morrissette KL, Wei R, Reynolds K, Muntner P, Colantonio LD, Moran AE, Bellows BK, Safford MM, Allen NB, Xanthakis V, Isasi CR, Gallo LC, Perreira KM, Zhang Y. Development and Validation of an Incident Hypertension Risk Prediction Model for Young Adults. J Am Heart Assoc. 2025 Jul 15; 14(14):e040769. PMID: 40654225.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 7/1/2025
Cooper LL, Prescott BR, Xanthakis V, Rong J, Larson MG, Benjamin EJ, Hamburg NM, Vasan RS, Mitchell GF. Interrelations of aortic spring function, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and left ventricular diastolic function: The Framingham Heart Study. medRxiv. 2025 Jul 01. PMID: 40630593.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 7/1/2025
Ogungbe O, Wang T, Balte PP, Slone SE, Meyer D, Allen NB, Buhr RG, Hirsch JA, Hinckley Stukovsky K, Kucharska-Newton A, Gabriel KP, Regan EA, Xanthakis V, Isasi CR, Talavera G, Daviglus M, Perreira KM, Sims M, Contreras JG, Kandula NR, Lee JS, Howard VJ, Judd SE, Woodruff P, Ortega VE, Fretts AM, Wenzel SE, Phipatanakul W, Putcha N, Hansel N, Oelsner E, Post WS. Self-Reported Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Jul 01; 8(7):e2520360. PMID: 40668582.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 7/1/2025
Balte PP, Kim JS, Sun Y, Allen N, Angelini E, Arynchyn A, Barr RG, Blaha M, Bowler R, Carr J, Cole SA, Couper D, Demmer RT, Doyle M, Elkind M, San José Estépar R, Garcia-Bedoya O, Garudadri S, Hansel NN, Hermann EA, Hoffman EA, Humphries SM, Hunninghake GM, Kaplan R, Krishnan JA, Laine A, Lee JS, Lynch DA, Make B, Matsushita K, McKleroy W, Min YI, Naik SN, O'Connor G, O'Driscoll O, Oren E, Podolanczuk AJ, Post WS, Pottinger T, Regan E, Rusk A, Salvatore M, Schwartz DA, Smith B, Sotres-Alvarez D, Umans JG, Vasan RS, Washko G, Wenzel S, Woodruff P, Xanthakis V, Ortega VE, Oelsner EC. Associations of Prepandemic Lung Function and Structure with COVID-19 Outcomes: The C4R Study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2025 Jul; 211(7):1196-1210. PMID: 40238945.
Read At: PubMed
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News & In the Media
- Published on July 20, 2020