Asking better research questions: Foods and the Mediterranean Diet

'First define your question'. Research of all fields begins in a similar way; however, questions that involve dietary interventions pose unique challenges. Even in the context of a trial, the effects of a dietary intervention will depend on a population's usual diet, available foods, as well as the population's food literacy and culinary practices. Additionally, participation in a trial may trigger changes in participants' lifestyles, potentially masking the true effects of the dietary intervention.

The 'causal revolution' has helped investigators better define the core elements of their research questions and has introduced methodological approaches to answer themo more effectively. Having completed his PhD program in Pamplona, Navarra -one of the research centers of the PREDIMED - Trial- Dr. Pano will discuss the causal revolution in the context of nutritional epidemiology and present results from his work on the effects of the Mediterranea Diet in the prevention of type 2 diabetes. 

Speaker: Octavio Pano Espinola (Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University)

Sponsors: RCCHU; Brigham and Women's Hospital; Harvard Medical School, Harvard University