About Nicolino S. Rizzo, PhD

Dr. Rizzo holds a Ph.D. from the Medical University Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. His doctoral research focused on the associations between physical activity, cardio respiratory fitness and metabolic risk factors in children and adolescents.

Dr. Rizzo is currently an Associate Research Professor at the School of Behavioural Health at Loma Linda University. He is an associated Researcher at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition. 

Dr. Rizzo is teaching courses at the Masters and Doctoral level at Loma Linda University. He has lectured at the Department of Bioscience and Nutrition and the Department of Medical Nutrition at Karolinska Institutet and has been a guest lecturer at the European CASCADE Network of Excellency and the New York Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Rizzo is the Special Interest Group Leader for Molecular Nutrition for the American Public Health Association (APHA) and a Past Programming Committee Chair for the APHA Epidemiology Section.

He has authored numerous articles on physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness and nutrition and their association with metabolic syndrome and obesity in children and adults.

He is the Principal Investigator of the PhysicalGenesis Study investigating the associations between physical activity, fitness, health behaviors, environmental factors and academic performance. He is a co-investigator of the AHS 2 study at Loma Linda University and of the Skelleftea Epigenetics Project in Sweden that is investigating trans-generational effects of environmental factors on health outcomes and is funded by the Swedish Research Council. Presently he is integrating traditional and newer methodologies in Epigenetic research allowing him to explore new interactive ways of examining associations between physical activity, nutrition and chronic disease risk factors.

Beside his academic teaching appointments Dr. Rizzo has conducted prevention focused health seminars in Europe, Puerto Rico, Micronesia and emerging and developing countries. Students that are persuing a postgraduate degree and are interested in research are invited to contact him.