Kent L. Thornburg, PhD, FAPS

Kent L. Thornburg, Ph.D., FAPS, held the M. Lowell Edwards Chair of Cardiovascular Research and Professor of Medicine in the Knight Cardiovascular Institute at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) for 20 years before recently stepping down.  He served as the Interim Director of the Knight Cardiovascular Institute and the founding director of the OHSU Bob and Charlee Moore Institute for Nutrition & Wellness. Dr. Thornburg studies the developmental origins of health and disease and how it affects population health. He serves regularly on advisory panels at the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association and the Children’s Heart Foundation and serves on the scientific advisory board of the Preeclampsia Foundation. Among his honors, he received the Agnes Higgins Award from the national March of Dimes for his work on improving nutrition among women.  He recently served as co-chair for the NIH strategic conference on the genetic and epigenetic underpinnings of child health. He currently chairs the External Scientific Board that oversees the NIH program entitled “Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes” (ECHO).