Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital
Dr. Thorndike is the Director of the Cardiac Lifestyle Program within the MGH Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Center. Her research focus is on individual and population-level behavioral interventions to prevent cardiometabolic disease. Through implementation research, her team has demonstrated the effectiveness of traffic light labels, choice architecture, social norms, and financial incentives to promote healthy food choices in real-life settings, such as worksite cafeterias and supermarkets. Her research has also tested new strategies to increase healthy food choices among low-income populations in both urban and rural community settings. Her recent projects focus on the impact of food insecurity and other social determinants of health on dietary quality and health outcomes. Dr. Thorndike is the chair of the American Heart Association’s Nutrition Committee from 2020-2022.