Dr. Christopher Kovacs

Christopher Kovacs is University Research Professor and Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology and Metabolism), Obstetrics & Gynecology, and BioMedical Sciences. He is a Consultant in Endocrinology & Metabolism and Metabolic Bone Diseases at NL Health Services.

His training took place at Queen’s University, University of Alberta, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, and the University of Melbourne.

His basic and translational research focuses on adaptations in calcium and bone metabolism that occur during pregnancy, lactation, and fetal development. His clinical research includes clinical trials in hypoparathyroidism and osteoporosis, and epidemiological studies of osteoporosis and fracture risk.

He is internationally recognized for his expertise and is frequently consulted for advice about how to manage disorders of calcium and bone metabolism during reproduction, such as hypercalcemia in pregnancy, and osteoporosis developing during pregnancy and lactation.

He has received over a dozen national and international awards for excellence in research, including the Gold Medal in Medicine from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the Dr. Harvey Guyda Educator of the Year Award from the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism (CSEM) and Young Investigator Awards from the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR), Advances in Mineral Metabolism (AIMM), and CSEM.

He was one of a dozen members of the Institute of Medicine / National Academies of Science USA committee to review dietary intakes of calcium and vitamin D; the resulting guidelines have been adopted globally. He has served as charter member and chair of NIH study sections, on FDA and CIHR panels, and as consultant to the CDC, CADTH, and Health Canada. He was President of AIMM and Council member of ASBMR, CSEM, and the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation.

As of mid 2024 he has contributed over 150 research papers and 53 textbook chapters, with his work receiving over 35,000 citations. He is currently an Associate Editor of Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, and editor of the Endocrine Physiology and Disease in Pregnancy and Lactation section of the online textbook Endotext. He conceived and edited the multi-authored textbook, Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Endocrinology: Physiology, Pathophysiology, and Clinical Management; a second edition is in press for publication in 2025.

His Google Scholar summary of publications, citations, h-index, and i-10 index can be viewed here. A partial list of publications curated by the university can be found here. A more detailed page for his Calcium Research Laboratory, listing current projects, personnel, awards, grants, and recent publications, can be found here.