Education

  • BS, Gymnase Cantonal Scientifique, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1969, Sciences and Federal Maturity 
  • MS, Univeristy of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1974, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Human Physiology and Plant Physiology
  • PhD, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1980, Human Physiology

Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests

Dr. Ravussin is a world expert in the conduct of translational research in obesity and type 2 diabetes. Over his more than 45 year career, he has conducted numerous clinical investigations on measures of energy expenditure, body composition, carbohydrate metabolism and biomarkers of aging in health and disease states. More specifically over the past 20 years he has established a wet lab studying skeletal muscle and adipose tissue cross talks and the relationship of these two tissues on inflammation, nutrient partitioning and insulin sensitivity.

He has published more than 650 peer reviewed manuscripts in the field of obesity, type 2 diabetes and aging and has an h-index of 123. He has mentored more than 60 postdoctoral fellows. Over the past 20 years he has conducted translational research on the impact of caloric restriction on biomarkers of aging, looked at the impact of weight loss and weight gain (overfeeding) in the cross talk between adipose and skeletal muscle and has conducted randomized clinical trial on the impact of dietary, activity, surgical and pharmacological interventions on insulin sensitivity. He is presently the PI of one of the Clinical Centers of an NIH ten-year program (MoTrPAC Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium), designed to uncover the mechanisms of how physical activity improves health and prevents disease. He is also mPI of a Clinical Site of the NIH consortium called Nutrition for Precision Health (NPH) powered by All of Us.

Departments:  Metabolic Chambers and Human Translational Physiology

Selected Publications

Dr. Ravussin was the first to put together the methods of the hyperinsulimic euglycemic clamp and indirect calorimetry to quantify the fate of glucose disposal into glucose oxidation vs. non-oxidative glucose disposal rates.

  1. Ravussin E, Bogardus C. Thermogenic response to insulin and glucose infusions in man: a model to evaluate the different components of the thermic effect of carbohydrate. Life Sci. 1982 Nov 1;31(18):2011-8. PubMed PMID: 6757619.

  2. Ravussin E, Bogardus C, Schwartz RS, Robbins DC, Wolfe RR, Horton ES, Danforth E Jr, Sims EA. Thermic effect of infused glucose and insulin in man. Decreased response with increased insulin resistance in obesity and noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. J Clin Invest. 1983 Sep;72(3):893-902. PubMed PMID: 6350368; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC1129254.

Early in his career, Dr. Ravussin was involved in the building of the first human respiratory chamber in Lausanne, Switzerland. After building the first North America such chamber at NIDDK in Phoenix, he established for the first time the percentages of total daily energy expenditure accounted for by sleeping metabolic rate, the energy cost of arousal, the thermic effect of food and the energy spent in spontaneous physical activity. Then in combination with the doubly labeled water, he was able to quantify the energy cost (and level) of voluntary physical activity. More importantly, he identified the major physiological and genetic determinants of energy metabolism in humans.

  1. Bogardus C, Lillioja S, Ravussin E, Abbott W, Zawadzki JK, Young A, Knowler WC, Jacobowitz R, Moll PP. Familial dependence of the resting metabolic rate. N Engl J Med. 1986 Jul 10;315(2):96-100. PubMed PMID: 3724804.

  2. 4. Ravussin E, Lillioja S, Anderson TE, Christin L, Bogardus C. Determinants of 24-hour energy expenditure in man. Methods and results using a respiratory chamber. J Clin Invest. 1986 Dec;78(6):1568-78. PubMed PMID: 3782471; PubMed Central  PMCID: PMC423919.

  3. Ravussin E, Lillioja S, Knowler WC, Christin L, Freymond D, Abbott WG, Boyce V, Howard BV, Bogardus C. Reduced rate of energy expenditure as a risk factor for body-weight gain. N Engl J Med. 1988 Feb 25;318(8):467-72. PubMed PMID: 3340128.

In the early 2000s, Dr. Ravussin undertook a series of experiments to investigate the cross-talk between adipose tissue and skeletal muscle as determinants of insulin sensitivity in response to caloric restriction, overfeeding and physical activity on these factors.

  1. Ravussin E, Smith SR. Increased fat intake, impaired fat oxidation, and failure of fat cell proliferation result in ectopic fat storage, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2002 Jun;967:363-78. PubMed PMID: 12079864.

  2. Albu JB, Heilbronn LK, Kelley DE, Smith SR, Azuma K, Berk ES, Pi-Sunyer FX, Ravussin E. Metabolic changes following a 1-year diet and exercise intervention in patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes. 2010 Mar;59(3):627-33. PubMed PMID: 20028945; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2828653.

  3. Johannsen DL, Tchoukalova Y, Tam CS, Covington JD, Xie W, Schwarz JM, Bajpeyi S, Ravussin E. Effect of 8 weeks of overfeeding on ectopic fat deposition and insulin sensitivity: testing the "adipose tissue expandability" hypothesis. Diabetes Care. 2014 Oct;37(10):2789-97. PubMed PMID: 25011943; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4170127.PMC2692623.

Over the past 10 years, Dr. Ravussin became involved in a series of studies on the role of energy metabolism on aging and the impact of caloric restriction on metabolism and oxidative stress on biomarkers of aging

  1. Heilbronn LK, de Jonge L, Frisard MI, DeLany JP, Larson-Meyer DE, Rood J, Nguyen T, Martin CK, Volaufova J, Most MM, Greenway FL, Smith SR, Deutsch WA, Williamson DA, Ravussin E. Effect of 6-month calorie restriction on biomarkers of longevity, metabolic adaptation, and oxidative stress in overweight individuals: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2006 Apr 5;295(13):1539-48. PubMed PMID: 16595757; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2692623.

  2. Redman LM, Smith SR, Burton JH, Martin CK, Il'yasova D, Ravussin E. Metabolic Slowing and Reduced Oxidative Damage with Sustained Caloric Restriction Support the Rate of Living and Oxidative Damage Theories of Aging. Cell Metab. 2018 Apr 3;27(4):805-815.e4. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5886711.

  3. Sutton EF, Beyl R, Early KS, Cefalu WT, Ravussin E, Peterson CM. Early Time-Restricted Feeding Improves Insulin Sensitivity, Blood Pressure, and Oxidative Stress Even without Weight Loss in Men with Prediabetes. Cell Metab. 2018 Jun 5;27(6):1212-1221.e3. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5990470.

  4. Ravussin E, Sanchez-Delgado G, Martin CK, Beyl RA, Greenway FL, O'Farrell LS, Roell WC, Qian HR, Li J, Nishiyama H, Haupt A, Pratt EJ, Urva S, Milicevic Z, Coskun T. Tirzepatide did not impact metabolic adaptation in people with obesity, but increased fat oxidation.  Cell Metab. 2025 Apr 3:S1550-4131(25)00114-7. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2025. Epub 2025 Apr 8. PMID: 40203836

PubMed Bibliography