Dr. Azizi obtained his MD from Tehran University in 1966 and completed specialties in internal medicine, endocrinology, metabolism, and nuclear medicine at Tufts University, USA. He held academic positions at Tufts University and Beheshti University in Iran. His research has focused on the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis, iodine deficiency, and thyroid pathophysiology. In the 1980s, he led the first national iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) survey in Iran, which resulted in the formation of the National Council for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders in 1989. He has worked to eliminate iodine deficiency in Iran and directed the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study for 14 years.