Douglas C. Heimburger, MD, MS
Global Health Research Interests: Education and Training (Capacity Building), Epidemiology, HIV/AIDS, Medical Education, Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs), Nutrition, Public Health
Country: Zambia
Dr. Heimburger is professor of Medicine, Emeritus, at the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH) and the Division of Epidemiology. He served as VIGH’s Associate Director for Education and Training from 2009 to 2019, overseeing education and training programs for Vanderbilt students and trainees, as well as research training opportunities for doctoral and postdoctoral trainees from low- and middle-income countries.
This included co-creation and co-direction of the Global Health track in Vanderbilt’s Master of Public Health Program. At Vanderbilt, he co-directed several NIH-funded research training programs, including the UNZA-Vanderbilt Partnership for HIV-NCD Research (UVP-2), the Vanderbilt-Zambia Cancer Research Training Program (VZCARE), the Vanderbilt-Emory-Cornell-Duke Consortium for Global Health Fellows (VECDor), the Vanderbilt-Zambia Network for Innovation in Global Health Technologies (VZNIGHT), and the Training Program in Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology of Cancer (MAGEC).
His primary research interests focus on the nutritional influences on HIV treatment outcomes and the intersection with non-communicable conditions among African adults, as well as global health research education and training. He conducted clinical nutrition research with undernourished Zambians beginning antiretroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS during a sabbatical in Zambia in 2006, supported by a Fulbright Scholar Award.
Dr. Heimburger obtained his M.D. from Vanderbilt University in 1978 and completed an internal medicine residency at St. Louis University. He underwent clinical nutrition fellowship training and earned an M.S. in nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
From 1981 to 2009, he held faculty positions in the departments of Nutrition Sciences and Medicine at UAB, where he held various titles, including Senior Scientist in the UAB Clinical Nutrition Research Center, Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Center for AIDS Research; Associate Director of the Sparkman Center for Global Health; and Director of the NIH-funded Cancer Prevention and Control Training Program (CPCTP) and the Clinical Nutrition Fellowship Program. Under his leadership, the CPCTP supported the training of approximately 140 pre- and postdoctoral students and fellows dedicated to cancer prevention and control.
Dr. Heimburger was involved in teaching nutrition at UAB and was an advocate for medical nutrition education nationwide. He directed a required first-year medical school course in Nutrition for 20 years. He served as the principal editor for three editions of the Handbook of Clinical Nutrition and contributed chapters on clinical nutrition to several prominent medical textbooks. He received several awards, including the UAB President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the American Society for Clinical Nutrition’s Dannon Institute Award for Excellence in Medical/Dental Nutrition Education.
Dr. Heimburger has significant experience in medical nutrition services, serving as Director of UAB’s Medical Nutrition Services for 18 years and as Medical Director of UAB’s EatRight Weight Management Program for 10 years. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Zambia in 2006. He held various advisory roles, including on the Advisory Board of the Fogarty International Center (NIH), the governing Council of the American Society for Clinical Nutrition, the Initial Review Group Subcommittee G for the National Cancer Institute, the U.S. FDA’s Food Advisory Committee, and a Test Materials Development Committee for the United States Medical Licensing Examination.
His volunteer service includes six years on the Board of Directors of Siloam Health, with two years as Chair; co-founding and serving as Medical Director of SonRise Health Ministries; participating on advisory boards for the Christian Medical Ministry of Alabama and Medical Christian Fellowship in Nashville; and involvement with organizations such as the Center for Urban Missions and Peculiar People.