Steven R. Cummings, MD

Executive Director, San Francisco Coordinating Center 
Senior Research Scientist, California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute 
Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Emeritus 
University of California, San Francisco 
 

E-Mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
Address: Box 0560
550 16th Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94158

Executive Assistant: Christina Kouma, [email protected] or [email protected]
Additional Websites:California Pacific Medical Center, Research Institute

Dr. Cummings is an internationally recognized expert on human aging, osteoporosis, and research design. He has over 40 years of experience designing and leading major observational studies and clinical trials in osteoporosis, human aging, and postmenopausal women’s health

Research Interests

  • Biology of human aging 
  • Efficient design and execution of clinical trials 
  • Pathophysiology, epidemiology of osteoporosis and prevention of fractures 

Selected Publications

Visit PubMed to see additional publications

Aging

  1. Cummings SR, Newman AB, Coen PM, et al. The Study of Muscle, Mobility and Aging (SOMMA): A Unique Cohort Study About the Cellular Biology of Aging and Age-related Loss of Mobility. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2023 Oct 28;78(11):2083-2093. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glad052. PMID: 36754371; PMCID: PMC10613002. 

  2. Cummings SR, Kritchevsky SB. Endpoints for geroscience clinical trials: health outcomes, biomarkers, and biologic age. Geroscience. 2022 Dec;44(6):2925-2931. doi: 10.1007/s11357-022-00671-8. Epub 2022 Oct 19. PMID: 36260264; PMCID: PMC9768060. 

  3. Gladyshev VN, Kritchevsky SB, Clarke SG, …Cummings SR et. al. Molecular Damage in Aging. Nat Aging. 2021 Dec;1(12):1096-1106. doi: 10.1038/s43587-021-00150-3. Epub 2021 Dec 20. PMID: 36846190; PMCID: PMC9957516. 

  4. Cummings SR, Lui LY, Glynn NW, et al. Energetics and Clinical Factors for the Time Required to Walk 400 Meters The Study of Muscle, Mobility and Aging (SOMMA). J Am Geriatr Soc. 2024 Jan 19; PMID: 37986884; PMCID: PMC10659495. 

Osteoporosis 

  1. Cummings SR, Nevitt MC, Browner WS, et. al. Risk factors for hip fracture in white women: The Study of Osteoporotic Fractures. N Engl J Med 1995; 332:767-73. PMID: 7862179 

  1. Cummings SR, Black DM, Thompson DE, et al. Effect of alendronate on risk of fracture in women with low bone density but without vertebral fractures. Results from the Fracture Intervention Trial. JAMA 1998; 280:2077-2082. PMID: 9875874 

  1. Cummings SR, San Martin J, McClung MR, et al. FREEDOM Trial. Denosumab for prevention of fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. N Engl J Med. 2009; 361: 756-65. PMID: 19671655 

  1. Cummings SR, Rosen C. VITAL Findings - A Decisive Verdict on Vitamin D Supplementation. N Engl J Med. 2022 Jul 28;387(4):368-370. doi: 10.1056/NEJMe2205993. PMID: 35939583. 

  1. Cummings SR, Cosman F, Eastell R, Reid IR, Mehta M, Lewiecki EM. Goal-directed treatment of osteoporosis. J Bone Miner Res. 2013 Mar;28(3):433-8. doi: 10.1002/jbmr.1854. PMID: 23300146.  

Clinical trial and research methods 

  1. Cummings SR, Chetham S, Lee A. A Method to Redesign and Simplify Schedules of Assessment and Quantify the Impacts. Applications to Merck Protocols. medRxiv 2024.01.02.24300749; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.01.02.24300749 

  1. Cummings SR. Clinical Trials Without Clinical Sites. JAMA Intern Med. 2021 May 1;181(5):680-684. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.9223. PMID: 33646281. 

  1. Warren S Browner MD, MPH, Thomas B Newman MD, MPH, Steven R Cummings MD, Deborah G Grady MD, MPH, Alison J Huang , ALKA M. KANAYA , MARK J PLETCHER Designing Clinical Research Williams and Wilkins 5th Edition 2022.  

Book

Hulley SB, Cummings SR, Browner WS, Grady Dg, Newman TB (eds). Designing Clinical Research. Maryland: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 4rd edition, 2013.