Jordi Salas-Salvadó - Biography#

Professor of Nutrition and Distinguished Professor (URV), and Director of the Human Nutrition Unit of the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) and ICREA Academy Investigator by Catalan Institution of Research and Advanced Studies, holding teaching and research positions in URV since 1988.

Currently, he is the Clinical Head of the Nutrition Unit at the Internal Medicine of the University Hospital Sant Joan of Reus; Vice-Director of the Pere i Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV) and Principal Investigator of the CIBER Pathophysiology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERobn) of the Carlos III Health Institute and coordinator of its Nutrition Program. He is also the Director of the Catalan Center of Nutrition of the Institute of Catalan Studies (CCNIEC), Director of the INC-World Forum for Nutrition Research and Dissemination Chair of the Rovira I Virgili University and is a Member of the Expert Group of Public Health Agency of Catalonia of the Generalitat de Catalunya (ACSA).

At the international level, he is the Chairman of the World Forum for Nutrition Research and Dissemination at the International Nut and Dried Fruit Foundation (INC); Member of the Scientific Committee of the International Carbohydrate Quality Consortium (ICQC); Member of the Panel of Experts of the Diabetes and Nutrition Study Group (DSNG) of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) and Member of the Scientific Committee of the Danone International Institute.

Has been declared by Clarivate Analytics as "Highly Cited Researcher" in the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2121 as one of the most cited researchers in the world. He has published more than 750 scientific articles, adding more than 35180 citations and has published 14 books, with an Publons H-index 83. Editor of 14 books and co-author of more than 65 other books. He has presented more than 470 communications in national and international conferences. (google scholar impact factor 113, citations: 61000)

Since 1983 Dr. Salas-Salvadó has directed more than 30 research projects funded by public agencies (DGICYT, the Ibero-American Cooperation Institute, the Carlos III Health Institute - FIS, PROFIT, CICYT and the European Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition project) and 25 projects in collaboration with pharmaceutical industries and food industries. He has also participated as a Co-Investigator and as a Co-Principal Investigator in other projects funded by the Carlos III Health Institute - FIS, the European Commission, the National Institute of Health (USA) and the Institute of Health Studies of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

Dr. Salas' research has focused on clinical trials in humans to evaluate the effect of food, dietary compounds and dietary patterns on obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases. Since 2005, he is one of the leaders of the PREDIMED Study (n=7447 participants), and is currently Coordinator and Chairman of the Steering Committee of the PREDIMED-Plus study (n=6874 participants), two large clinical trials for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and mortality. PREDIMED-Plus is a multi-collaborative project involving 30 research groups, and had received National, European & USA grants. With all these projects and collaborations, we have also developed skills in precision medicine using different OMIC´s methodologies, especially metabolomics, which we are now implementing in epidemiologic and clinical studies.

His scientific and academic work has been recognized through multiple awards and recognitions among which stand out: Corresponding member of the Royal Academy of Medical Sciences of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands (2014-present), Academic of the Spanish Academy of Nutrition (2009-present), Full Member of the Biological Sciences Section of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (2013-present); Dupont Prize of Science (2014), Josep Trueta Award to his scientific career by the Academy of Medical Sciences of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands (2012), Award to his scientific career by the Spanish Academy of Nutrition (2014), Awarded for the scientific and human career by the University of Navarra (2013), Prize of the Scientific and Clinical trajectory by the Spanish Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (2014). Recently he has been awarded by the Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health's Award from the American Heart Association Council on Lyfestile and Cardiometabolic Health (2016), the “Creu de Sant Cosme i Sant Damià” distinction for scientific career, awarded as the highest recognition of the Illustrious College of Doctors of the Province of Tarragona (2019) and the Narcís Monturiol Award for scientific and technological merits, awarded by the Generalitat of Catalunya (2020).

SUPERVISION OF DOCTORAL THESIS (N=33)

• 01/06/1992 - Gasto energético y utilización de substratos energéticos durante la nutrición parenteral del recién nacido [Energy expenditure and use of energy substrates during the parenteral nutrition of newborns]. PhD: José Molina
• 04/07/1994 - Metabolismo energético postprandial [Postprandial energy metabolism]. PhD: Marta Barenys.
• 25/09/1995 - Estado nutricional de una población geriátrica institucionalizada y hospitalizada en régimen de larga estancia en la ciudad de Reus: Malnutrición proteico-energética y estado en hierro [Nutritional status of an institutionalized and hospitalized geriatric long-term population in the city of Reus: Protein-energy malnutrition and iron status]. PhD: Manuel Esteban.
• 25/09/1995 - Determinación de la composición corporal en el paciente obeso [Determination of body composition in obese patients]. PhD: Silvia Blanch.
• 06/11/1996 - Macroeconomía energética: la ley de la oferta y la demanda [Energy macroeconomics: the law of supply and demand]. PhD: Silvia Valtueña.
• 14/12/2000 - Inflamación, hipermetabolismo y estado nutricional en pacientes con infección secundaria al SIDA [Inflammation, hypermetabolism and nutritional status in patients with secondary infection to AIDS]. PhD: Pilar García.
• 19/06/2001 - Efecto de la adiposidad sobre el sistema TNF-leptina [Effect of adiposity on the TNF-leptin system]. PhD: Mònica Bulló.
• 16/04/2004 - Gasto energético en relación a la composición corporal y a los niveles de tumor necrosis factor y -1-interferón en pacientes con infección por el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana [Energy expenditure in relation to body composition and tumour necrosis factor and interferon-1-alpha levels in patients infected by the human immunodeficiency virus]. PhD: María J Jiménez.
• 01/06/2004 - Estudio analítico y clínico de productos de bollería enriquecidos con fitoesteroles, -tocoferol y -carotenos [Analytical and clinical study of pastry products enriched with phytosterols, -tocopherol and -carotenes]. PhD: Joan Quilez.
• 14/09/2008 - Efectos metabólico-terapéuticos a corto y largo plazo de la suplementación con fibra dietética [Short and long-term metabolic and therapeutic effects of dietary fibre supplementation]. PhD: Rafel Balanzà.
• 12/02/2009 - Alimentación mediterránea, riesgo cardiovascular, metabolismo de la glucosa e inflamación [Mediterranean diet, cardiovascular risk, glucose metabolism and inflammation]. PhD: Yolanda F Márquez.
• 12/05/2010 - Efecto del consumo de frutos secos sobre el balance calórico y diferentes factores de riesgo cardiovascular [ffect of nut consumption on caloric balance and different cardiovascular risk factors]. PhD: Patrícia Casas.
• 17/12/2010 - Efecto del consumo de frutos secos sobre el estrés oxidative [Effect of nut consumption on oxidative stress]. PhD: Patrícia J López.
• 30/03/2012 - Influencia de las características y procesado del grano de cacao en la composición físico-química y propiedades sensoriales del chocolate negro [Influence of the characteristics and processing of the cocoa bean in the physical-chemical composition and sensory properties of dark chocolate]. PhD: Míriam Torres.
• 08/07/2013 - Aspectos dietéticos relacionados con la diabetes tipo 2 [Dietary aspects related to type 2 diabetes]. PhD: Núria Ibarrola.
• 06/11/2014 - Glycemic index in the management of obesity and metabolic syndrome. PhD: Martí Juanola.
• 07/11/2014 - Components of the Mediterranean diet in cardiovascular disease and mortality in a population at high cardiovascular risk. PhD: Marta Guasch.
• 19/10/2015 - Determinantes bioquímicos emergentes relacionados con diabetis mellitus T-2 [Emerging biochemical determinants related to diabetes mellitus t-2]. PhD: Andrés Díaz.
• 15/02/2016 - Iron excess and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in a prospective cohort of Mediterranean population. PhD: José Candido Fernández.
• 18/10/2016 - Health benefits of pistachio consumption in pre-diabetic subjects. PhD: Pablo Hernández.
• 17/11/2016. Efecto de la gastrectomía vertical laparoscópica, con o sin preservación antral, sobre la ingesta y la tolerancia alimentaria, la composición corporal, la respuesta metabólica y las alteraciones nutricionales [Effect of vertical laparoscopic gastrectomy, with or without antral preservation, on food intake and tolerance, body composition, metabolic response and nutritional disorders]. PhD: Alicia Molina.
• 22/11/2016 - Assessment of fluid intake as a determinant of lifestyle and its impact on health. PhD: Cintia Sofia Ferreira Pego.
• 13/11/2017 - Dietary factors associated with metabòlic syndrome and tipe 2 diabetes risk. PhD: Nerea Becerra Tomás.
• 20/02/2018 - Understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms undercycling glycemic index health benefits. PhD: Simona Giardina.
• 18/02/2019 - Physical activity, sedentary behaviours, and sleep as determinants of cardiometabolic and muscular health in Mediterranean elder adults. PhD: Núria Rosique.
• 8/10/2019 - Assessment of dairy products consumption as a determinant of lifestyle and its relationship on health. PhD: Guillermo Mena.
• 26/06/2020 - Vitamin K and healty ageing. PhD: Maria L Camacho.
• 02/10/2020 - Efectos de la pérdida de peso preoperatòria mediante una dieta muy baja en calories versus una dieta mixta, en pacientes obesos mórbidos candidatos a cirugía bariàtrica laparoscópica [Effects of preoperative weight loss by means of a very low calorie diet versus a mixed diet in morbidly obese patients who are candidates for laparoscopic bariatric surgery]. PhD: Anna Gils.
• 13/10/2020 - Dietary and lifestyle determinants associated with the risk of colorrectal càncer. PhD: Laura Barrubés.
• 01/06/2021 - Calidad de la alimentación y salud osea [Diet quality and bone health]. PhD: Jesús Francisco García-Gavilám.
• 10/06/2021 - Mediterranean lifestyle, gut macrobiota and cardiovascular risk: match made in heaven. PhD: Jannane Muralidharan.
• 08/04/2022- Gut macrobiota signatures associated with weight loss and insulin resistance in an elderly mediterranean population with overweight / obesity and metabolic syndrome. PhD: Alessandro Atzeni.
• 02/06/2022 - Beverage consumption in the context of a Mediterranean Diet, cardiovascular risk factors and mental health. Indira del Socorro Paz Graniel.
• All obtained with the maximum mark: Cum Laude (by unanimity)