Roger A. Fielding PhD

Dr. Fielding is Director and Senior Scientist of the Nutrition, Exercise Physiology, and Sarcopenia (NEPS) Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. He is also Professor of Nutrition at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, and Lecturer of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School. Currently, he also serves as the Associate Director of the Boston Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center. After graduating from Boston University with a B.S. in Health Sciences; Dr. Fielding received a Master of Arts in Physical Education from Ball State University in 1985. In 1993, he graduated with his Ph.D. from Tufts University after researching the modulation of skeletal muscle protein metabolism and the effect of exercise-induced muscle injury. Thereafter, he began his research career in the Department of Health Sciences at Boston University, initiating studies that examined the role of skeletal muscle power output on physical function and disability in older adults, as well as parallel studies examining the influence of aging on intracellular signaling events in contracting skeletal muscle.

In 2004, Dr. Fielding was recruited to the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University and has since conducted numerous clinical studies of exercise and muscle function in older adults. As a Senior Scientist, he has explored the effects of nutritional, pharmacological, and exercise therapies on changes in skeletal muscle structure and function with advancing age, and has examined the role of nutrition and exercise on muscle performance in older animals and humans. Dr. Fielding is an internationally known researcher who studies the underlying mechanisms contributing to the age-associated decline in skeletal muscle mass, the resultant impact on function, and the potential role of exercise, nutrition, and physical activity on attenuating this process. Dr. Fielding has a strong record of extramural funding including support from the NIH, USDA, foundations and industry. He is an associate editor of the Journals of Gerontology Medical Sciences, and Calcified Tissues International and Musculoskeletal Research. He has also served as a reviewer on numerous NIH study sections and was recently elected to the NIH/CSR College of Reviewers.