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Francis Albert Neelon

Associate Professor Emeritus of Medicine
Medicine, Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Nutrition
2216 West Club Boulevard, Durham, NC 27705-3236

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Associate Professor Emeritus of Medicine · 2002 - Present Medicine, Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Nutrition, Medicine
Faculty Associate in the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities, & History of Medicine · 2008 - Present Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities & History of Medicine, Institutes and Centers

Recent Publications


Treating Malignant Hypertension With the Low-Sodium, Low-Protein, and Low-Fat Rice Diet.

Journal Article Hypertension · January 2026 BACKGROUND: The rice diet (RD), a low-sodium (<200 mg/d), low-protein (≈20 g/d), and low-fat (<5 g/d) diet was used to treat patients with malignant hypertension beginning in the 1940s, before any effective antihypertensive drugs were available. We retrosp ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Gerontology

· August 12, 2025 Cite

Modern perspective of the Rice Diet for hypertension and other metabolic diseases.

Journal Article BMJ Nutr Prev Health · 2024 BACKGROUND: In the early 1940s, before antihypertensive drugs were available, the Rice Diet Programme (RDP) was developed to treat severe hypertension and, later, diabetes and obesity. Despite significant advancements in dietary management for these condit ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Faculty Development Program In General Internal Medicine

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 1990 - 1991

Faculty Development In Gim And/Or Gp

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 1989 - 1990

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Education, Training & Certifications


Harvard University · 1962 M.D.