John Anderson

Education

• 1966, Cornell University PhD, Physical Biology
• 1962, Boston University MA, Biology
• 1958, Harvard University Sec. Educ 1956 Williams College BA, History

Research activities

Although now retired, Dr. Anderson has had a long research career in the field of calcium and bone metabolism using laboratory-animal models, human subjects and cells in vitro. Human studies are designed to examine the effects of nutritional factors on bone health of young adult women. Early reports have been on the relationship between dietary calcium intake and indices of bone health in late postmenopausal women. A study of female athletes at UNC has shown that nearly all of the gain in bone mass occurs before 18 years of age. Current work focuses on the effects of estrogen-like isoflavones from soy on osteoblasts, especially the mechanism of action of genistein on bone cells. Support for these projects comes from a variety of sources. Dr. Anderson is a member of the American Society of Nutritional Sciences, the American College of Nutrition, the American Society for Clinical Nutrition, the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research and the International Bone and Mineral Society. Dr. Anderson is on the editorial boards of several journals and he is a past president of the American College of Nutrition.