Elena J Ladas, RD

Dr. Elena J. Ladas is the Sid and Helaine Lerner Professor for Global Integrative Medicine in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/Stem Cell Transplant at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). Dr. Ladas received her master's degree in nutrition biochemistry from the Institute of Human Nutrition at CUIMC and holds a PhD in nutrition epidemiology from Columbia University. She is also a registered dietician.

Dr. Ladas is a clinical investigator with an expertise in the clinical integration and scientific evaluation of nutrition and integrative medicine in pediatrics. Dr. Ladas is the Director of the Integrative Therapies Program and Co-Director of the Center for Comprehensive Wellness (CCW), where she is responsible for the clinical oversight and research portfolio of nutrition and integrative therapies. Dr. Ladas is the principal investigator on a number of multi-institutional studies that evaluate the role of nutrition and integrative therapies, as components of supportive care, during and after treatment for childhood cancer.

Dr. Ladas and her integrative team are also evaluating the role of integrative medicine and their safe, evidence-based application in symptom management for children and adolescents with cancer and hematologic disorders. Under her leadership, the integrative therapies program has emerged as an internationally recognized integrative program serving as a model for integration into other pediatric cancer units around the globe. Dr. Ladas works with several other Departments and Divisions within CUIMC. She currently serves as the Associate Research Director for the Pediatric Obesity Program.

Dr. Ladas is also the founder and director of the International Initiative for Pediatrics and Nutrition (IIPAN) at CUIMC, which aims to enhance nutritional capacity and high-quality research among children with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in low- and middle-income countries. IIPAN hires and trains nutritionists, physicians, and nurses in IIPAN standards of care, builds kitchens to provide nutritious food and formulas, leads multi-national research studies to advance research, and conducts regional educational trainings to share knowledge. IIPAN’s programs are established in Central and South America, Asia, and Africa. This initiative is active in 41 hospitals located in 22 countries and supports nutritional care for nearly 9,000 newly diagnosed children each year. In 2019, Dr. Ladas formalized a collaboration with the International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization (Lyon, France). IIPAN and IARC are leading a multi-national nutrition bio-banking program evaluating nutritional anthropometrics, the microbiome, and lifestyle behaviors on short- and long-term clinical outcomes in children with cancer.