Christopher Gardner, PhD

For more than 30 years, Christopher Gardner, PhD, Rehnborg Farquhar Professor of Medicine at Stanford and nutrition scientist, has been a key faculty member at the Stanford Prevention Research Center where he leads the Stanford Nutrition Studies Research Group. With a PhD in Nutrition Science from UC Berkeley, he has led over 20 human nutrition intervention studies, including trials of Mediterranean, Ketogenic, Vegan, Low-Fat and Low-Carb diets and their effects on cardiometabolic outcomes such as blood lipids, glucose, and inflammation. 

He is recognized as a leading expert, both nationally and internationally, on what to consume and avoid for optimal health, and how to best motivate individuals to achieve healthy dietary behaviors. He recently completed a two-year term serving on the 2025 US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and is the past chair of the American Heart Association’s Nutrition Committee. 

Some of his current interests include stealth nutrition, unapologetic deliciousness, and institutional food settings. He is currently working on personalized nutrition explorations with several colleagues, with particular focus on the gut microbiome. He is frequently consulted by major outlets like The New York Times, CNN, and MSNBC for his expertise. His work was recently featured in the Netflix Top 10 docuseries (January 2024) - You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment.