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Movers and Shakers

Nutrition Today Welcomes New Editorial Board Members

Nutrition Today is pleased to welcome a new editorial advisory board member, Gary Gleason, PhD, who brings wonderful experience in his field to the journal. Gary has worked extensively on technical development, advocacy, management, and communication support for a wide range of nutrition policies, programs, and interventions in North and sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and China. He led the development of an integrated, multi-intervention anemia prevention and control strategy for 5 countries in Central Asia and assisted China in planning and initiating a program to fortify wheat flour with micronutrient in its northern and western provinces. Out of his Boston base with the International Nutrition Foundation in Boston, he also set up and managed the international Iron Deficiency Project Advisory Service. He has organized and documented international workshops focused for the Food and Agriculture Organization and other United Nations agencies on the prevention of anemia in children younger than 2 years and serves as a cochair of United Nations Standing Committee's Working Group on Micronutrients. In 2006, he accepted a 3-year contract as an associate professor in the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston. His most recent work has focused on the development of national food security and nutrition policies and strategies in several countries of Eastern and Southern Africa, a series of workshops on food and nutrition research management and communication. Welcome aboard, Gary!

  
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American Dietetic Association Chief Executive Officer Babjak

Patricia Babjak, previously the executive vice president of the American Dietetic Association (ADA), has been named the association's chief executive officer by ADA's board of directors, effective immediately. Babjak joined ADA as assistant coordinator of ADA's Commission on Dietetic Registration. She became director of Commission on Dietetic Registration in 1978, serving until 1998 when she became executive vice president for strategic management. Babjak also served as ADA's interim chief executive officer in 1997. Babjak is a graduate of the University of Illinois, Chicago, and earned a master's degree in library science from Dominican University. Congratulations, Pat!

 

Borra Joins Edelman

Susan T. Borra, RD, has joined Edelman as executive vice president and managing director of Nutrition, Food & Wellness. She has been with International Food Information Council (IFIC) for the past 15 years serving for the last two as president of the IFIC Foundation. Sue will be based in Washington, District of Columbia, with an office in Chicago, hub of the firm's US Food and Nutrition practice. As president of the IFIC Foundation, she directed communications programs, executed public affairs strategies, managed nutrition and food safety issues, and directed the development of consumer education initiatives and programs. She also served as executive vice president at IFIC. Borra has held many leadership and advisory roles for professional organizations and societies including serving as president of the American Dietetic Association (2001-2002) and chairman of the American Dietetic Association Foundation (1999-2000). She has also served as a member on the Subcommittee on Interpretation and Uses of Dietary Reference Intakes of the National Academy of Sciences (1998-2001). Congratulations, Sue!

  
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Tappenden Becomes 33rd President of a Nutrition Support Organization

Kelly Tappenden, PhD, RD, of Urbana, Illinois, has been elected president of the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN). She is the second dietitian in the organization's history to head up a society that represents more than 5,000 healthcare professionals committed to nutrition support.

  
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Kelly has worked in nutrition support therapy for more than 15 years. As a researcher and an associate professor of nutrition and gastrointestinal physiology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Tappenden has served in several leadership capacities within ASPEN and outside the organization. She earned her doctorate from the University of Alberta. Tappenden has facilitated discussions in this country, internationally focusing on strategies to enhance intestinal function by optimizing nutrition support therapies. She believes strongly in leveraging the value the interdisciplinary nature of ASPEN-a healthcare community of doctors, nurses, dietitians, and pharmacists-to improve patient care by advancing the science and practice of nutrition support therapy for patients and their families. Congratulations, Kelly!

 

Finn Named to President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports

Susan Finn, PhD, RD, has been elected to a 2-year term on the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Finn is president and chief executive officer of the Washington, District of Columbia-based American Council for Fitness & Nutrition. The President's Council is a 20-member committee of citizen volunteers that promotes health, physical activity, and fitness for all Americans through programs and partnerships with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Finn's fellow council members include professional sports and Olympic notables such as Eli Manning, Jason Seahorn, Les Miles, "Digger" Phelps, Ruth Ellen Riley, Michelle Kwan, and Allyson Felix. Finn earned a PhD in nutrition science from the Ohio State University, an MS in public health nutrition from Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, and BS in nutrition from Bowling Green (Ohio) State University. In addition to her role with American Council for Fitness & Nutrition, Finn is a nutrition advisor to Fleishman-Hillard International Communications and chair of the American Dietetic Association Foundation. She is also a past president of the 68,000 plus-member American Dietetic Association.

  
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In Memoriam

Nutrition Today mourns the loss of John Lawrence Beard, PhD, 61 years old, who died suddenly Friday, February 13, 2009. John received his MS in biochemistry from the University of California and his PhD in nutrition from Cornell University. He joined the Penn State faculty in 1984. John was considered an expert on the nutritional impact of iron on the brain and cognitive function. In a distinguished career spanning more than 3 decades, his research has created a paradigm shift in the way scientists think about the way the brain uses iron, has influenced approaches to dietary supplementation in third-world countries, and offered fresh perspectives for the treatment of clinical disorders. His recent research has had profound public health implications on studies to assess the potential usefulness of iron fortification in indigenous foods such as rice and beans. It has also been used to demonstrate the importance of iron status in postpartum depression and to study the impact of iron in restless legs syndrome. Recently named distinguished professor at Penn State, John served on committees of many national and international public health organizations. In addition to his wife, Diane Brannon, he is survived by his sons. Memorial contributions may be made to the Foundation for Mount Nittany Medical Center, c/o Kim Neely, 1800 E. Park Ave, State College, PA 16801.

  
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FDA Warns Consumers Against Dietary Supplement Containing Undeclared Drug: Product Poses Safety Risk

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to take Venom HYPERDRIVE 3.0, a product sold as a dietary supplement and containing sibutramine. Sibutramine is a controlled substance with risks for abuse or addiction. It is a potent drug that poses potential safety risks, and so it should not be used without medical supervision.

 

Sibutramine is the active ingredient in an FDA-approved prescription drug used as an appetite suppressant for weight loss that, when present in a dietary supplement, it may harm unsuspecting consumers because sibutramine can substantially increase blood pressure and heart rate (pulse) and may present a significant risk for people with a history of heart disease, heart failure, irregular heart beats, or stroke.

 

Source: FDA

 

Calendar

6th Annual Nutrition and Health Conference

May 10-13, 2009

 

Chicago, Illinois

 

For more information, go to http://www.nutritionandhealthconf.org/.

 

The 7th International Conference on Diet and Activity Methods (ICDAM7)

June 5-7, 2009

 

Washington, District of Columbia

 

For more information, contact Amy F. Subar at [email protected]; http://www.icdam.org/.

 

Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting & Food Expo 2009

June 6-10, 2009

 

Anaheim, California

 

For more information, go to http://www.am-fe.ift.org.

 

Food and Function 2009-International Scientific Conference on Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods

June 9-11, 2009

 

Zilina, Slovakia

 

For more information, go to http://www.foodandfunction.com.

 

Food Dialogs: Moving the Discussion Beyond the Pyramid

June 9-13, 2009

 

Montgomery Village, Vermont

 

For more information, go to http://www.fieldtoplate.com/.

 

19th IAGG World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics

July 5-9, 2009

 

Paris, France

 

For more information, go to http://www.gerontologyparis2009.com.

 

11th International Congress on Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins

August 3-7, 2009

 

Vienna, Austria

 

For more information, e-mail [email protected].

 

The First International Vitamin Conference

May 19-21, 2010

 

Copenhagen, Denmark

 

For more information, go to http://www.vitamin2010.dk.