Assistant Professor | CLTA

Laura Chiavaroli

Department of Nutritional Sciences

PhD

Publications

Location

C. David Naylor Building

Address

Mailing Address: Medical Sciences Building, Room 5253 , 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario Canada M5S 1A8

Research Interests

implementation science, knowledge translation initiatives, health service and policy research, food environments, clinical practice guidelines, cardiometabolic health, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, traditional and therapeutic dietary patterns

Qualification

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto (2017-2022)
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Department of Food Science, Universita degli studi di Parma, Italy (2016-2017)
PhD, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto (2011-2016)
MSc, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto (2007-2010)
BSc, Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto (2003-2007)

Professional Memberships

Member of the Guideline Development Panel (GDP) for the 3rd European Association of the Study of Diabetes (EASD) guideline on Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes. (2025 - present)
Methodologist for the update of the Diabetes Nutrition Study Group (DNSG) of the European Association of the Study of Diabetes (EASD) (2024 - present)
Expert Committee Member for the International Carbohydrate Quality Consortium (ICQC) Position Statement on Added Sugars and Non-nutrient Sweeteners (2024 - present)

LinkedIn ResearchGate

Other Academic Appointments

Affiliate Scientist, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital

At a Glance

Dr. Chiavaroli’s current research focus is on developing tools and strategies to translate clinical practice guidelines on dietary patterns and Canadian Food Policy, including strategies to change food environments and health service delivery models.
Her team works collaboratively with diverse interest-holders and high-risk communities to co-design translational resources and research studies and to integrate practices to address equity, diversity and inclusivity throughout the research process.

About Dr. Laura Chiavaroli

Dr. Laura Chiavaroli recently joined the Department of Nutritional Sciences as an Assistant Professor. She completed her MSc and PhD in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto and Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Centre, St. Michael’s Hospital with Dr. David Jenkins where she conducted multidisciplinary randomized controlled trials on dietary patterns for diabetes and cardiovascular risk management. She completed her first post-doctoral fellowship training at the University of Parma, Italy, where she developed course content on trial methodology and explored variables affecting glycemic response. She then received a Mitacs Elevate scholarship for a post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. John Sievenpiper at the Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto where she expanded her skillset to include nutritional epidemiology, specifically in the conduct of large systematic reviews and meta-analyses, as well as analyses of national survey data using the Canadian Community Health Survey. In the last few years of her post-doctoral fellowship, she expanded her experience in knowledge translation strategies, including patient- and physician-facing resource development and web-based mobile app development. Dr. Chiavaroli has a great interest in education and mentorship and is active in outreach activities mentorship programs.

Research Synopsis

Dr. Chiavaroli’s current research focus is on developing tools and strategies to translate clinical practice guidelines on dietary patterns and Canadian Food Policy, including strategies to change food environments and health service delivery models, to assess uptake, adherence and effectiveness for the prevention and management of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Her work includes strong collaboration with stakeholders, particularly those at high cardiovascular risk, and practices to address equity, diversity and inclusivity throughout.

Recent Awards and Distinctions (Selected)

IAFNS Emerging Leader Award 2025

CIHR Outstanding Reviewer Recognition 2025

American Society for Nutrition Foundation, National Scientific Achievement Award: Mead Johnson Award (2024)

Li Ka Shing Trainee Award, St. Michael's Hospital (2019)

Recent Publications

Viscardi G, Eskandari S, Chen A, Chiang N, Kavanagh ME, Back S, Vallis M, Scourboutakos MJ, Malik VS, Kendall CWC, Jenkins DJA, Sievenpiper JL, Chiavaroli L. Translating cardiovascular clinical practice guidelines on nutrition therapy: validation of the Portfolio Diet toolkit for healthcare providers. Canadian Journal of Cardiology Open. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjco.2025.08.015
Semnani-Azad Z, Khan TA, Chiavaroli L, Bhatt HA, Chen XM, Chiang N, Oguntala J, Kabisch S, Lau D, Wharton S, Sharma AM, Harris L, Leiter LA, Hu FB, Lean M, Kahleová H, Rahelic D, Salas-Salvadó J, Kendall CWC, Sievenpiper JL. Effect of intermittent fasting strategies on cardiometabolic risk factors: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. BMJ. 2025; 389: e082007. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2024-082007
Chen T, Chiavaroli L, Glenn AJ, Kavanagh ME, Zeitoun T, Mahdavi S, Kendall CWC, Jenkins DJA, El-Sohemy A, Sievenpiper JL. Portfolio Diet and LDL-C in a Young, Multiethnic Cohort: Cross-Sectional Analyses with Cumulative Exposure Modeling. BMC Public Health 25, 1761 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22479-9
Kavanagh ME, Chiavaroli L, Quibrantar SM, Viscardi G, Ramboanga K, Amlin N, Paquette M, Sahye-Pudaruth S, Patel D, Grant SM, Glenn AJ, Ayoub-Charette S, Zurbau A, Josse RJ, Malik V, Kendall CWC, Jenkins DJA, Sievenpiper JL. Acceptability of a Health Application (PortfolioDiet.app) to Translate Nutrition Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction in High-Risk Adults: Ancillary Pilot Study. JMIR cardiology. 2025 Mar 28:9:e58124. doi: 10.2196/58124
Sievenpiper JL and Chiavaroli L. Extending the prevention paradigm for cardiometabolic diseases to target dementia through multiple low-risk lifestyle behaviours: A story of adherence. Am J Clin Nutr. 2025. 121(3), 505-508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajcnut.2024.12.020
Kahleova H, Znayenko-Miller T, Jayaraman A, Motoa G, Chiavaroli L, Holubkov R, Barnard ND. Processed foods in the context of a vegan diet, and changes in body weight and severe hot flashes in postmenopausal women: a secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial. Menopause. 2025: 32(9): 877-881. DOI: 10.1097/GME.0000000000002563
Yang S, Back S, Grant SM, Ayoub-Charette S, Chen V, Lin EJ, Haintz L, Chen S, Ahmad E, Gahagan J, Marinangeli CPF, Ha V, Khan TA, Blanco Mejia S, Zurbau A, de Souza RJ, Beyene J, English M, Vuksan V, Josse RG, Leiter LA, Kendall CWC, Jenkins DJA, Sievenpiper JL, Chiavaroli L. Effect of different types of isolated pulses proteins on established therapeutic lipid targets for cardiovascular risk reduction: a systematic review and dose response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutrients. 2024: 16(21), 3765; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16213765.
Viscardi G, Back S, Ahmed A, Blanco Mejia S, Zurbau A, Khan TA, Selk A, Messina M, Kendall CWC, Sievenpiper JL, Chiavaroli L. The effect of soy isoflavones on measures of estrogenicity: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Advances in Nutrition. 2024: 16(1):100327. doi: 10.1016/j.advnut.2024.100327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advnut.2024.100327
Nishi SK, Kavanagh ME, Ramboanga K, Ayoub-Charette S, Modol S, Dias G, Sievenpiper JL, Chiavaroli L. Effect of gamification in digital health applications on physical activity and cardiometabolic risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Lancet eClinicalMedicine. 2024. Volume 76, 102798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102798
Kavanagh ME, Back S, Chen V, Glenn AJ, Viscardi G, Houshialsadat Z, Sievenpiper JL, Kendall CWC, Jenkins DJA, Chiavaroli L. The Portfolio Diet and HbA1c in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a patient-level pooled analysis of two randomized dietary trials. Nutrients. 2024, 16(17), 2817; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16172817