Dr. Livia Augustin

National Cancer Institute Pascale in Naples

Dr. Livia Augustin is a nutrition researcher at the National Cancer Institute Pascale in Naples and Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Centre at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto (Canada). She specializes in dietary clinical trials and she is currently conducting DEDiCa trial in women with breast cancer, a multicenter study on lifestyle modifications which gained public health funds.

Her major interest is the investigation of dietary carbohydrate quality on chronic diseases. She hypothesized that a high dietary glycemic index may be relevant in carcinogenesis given the higher surges in blood glucose compared to low glycemic index diets. She started and led the investigations of the glycemic index in cancer risk and is currently the proponent and co-investigator of a clinical trial involving low glycemic index diets within a Mediterranean dietary pattern in the reduction of breast cancer recurrence. Dr. Augustin conceived and co-organized the International Scientific Consensus Summit on the glycemic index, glycemic load and glycemic response (Stresa, 2013) which resulted in a published consensus document and the start of an international collaboration called ICQC (International Carbohydrate Quality Consortium).

Dr. Augustin has been an invited speaker at international scientific conferences and has many scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals and textbook chapters on carbohydrate metabolism. She is a member and coordinator of the ICQC, member of the Canadian Nutrition Society (CNS), the American Society of Nutrition (ASN), the Diabetes and Nutrition Study Group (DNSG), and serves as a reviewer for international scientific journals including the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, British Journal of Nutrition, European Journal of Nutrition, Nutrition Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease, Journal of Food and Nutritional Disorders, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, Annals of Oncology, Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention.