In Memoriam: Mary Frances Picciano, PhD, 1946-2010
Nutrition Today mourns the loss of long-time Editorial Board member, Mary Frances Picciano, PhD, who died in August 2010. At the time of her death, Dr Picciano was senior nutrition scientist at the Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health (NIH).
First in her heart and first in her life was her family. Her love for her husband, John Milner, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute, and her affection for their children, Christina and Matthew, her mother, and brothers were evident even from a brief contact with her.
Mary Frances was also passionate about nutritional science all things nutritional. She was an extremely intelligent, diligent, productive scientist, a prolific author who wrote of one of the classic nutrition textbooks, an exemplary teacher, and a splendid role model. Her work on maternal and child nutrition, and particularly the physiology and biochemistry of human lactation, made a lasting impact on the field of maternal and child health. This research brought her many honors, the latest of which, the Macy-Gyorgy award of the International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation, came about a week before she died. She was honored as an individual who made outstanding original contributions to the study of human milk and lactation. Dr Picciano had a passion for mentoring and encouraging young scientists, and in the course of her long career on the faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne, at the Pennsylvania State University and at the NIH, she influenced many excellent young scientists who have gone on to distinguished independent careers of their own. After many years in excellent universities, in their prime, she and her husband, John, came to NIH where they both started second careers as federal scientists their positions that provided them with the opportunity to participate in solving questions of national importance and to influence federal nutrition policy for the better. Dr Picciano's most recent work involved a transagency vitamin D initiative, which she led, and on a number of projects involving estimates of nutrient intake, particularly of problem nutrients in the American diet such as folic acid. This and her work on evidence-based systematic reviews in nutritional science were extremely productive and helpful not only to the committee that sets nutrient standards such as vitamin D for the country, but in our thinking about nutrition policy in other areas as well. For this work, she received a special commendation from the director of NIH in 2010. Mary Frances also developed and launched a weeklong short course on dietary supplements for NIH, which has become an annual event and which carries forth her interests in teaching and mentoring. Mary Frances served as treasurer of the American Society of Nutrition, and for her lifelong contributions to nutrition and the health of the public, she also received the 2010 David Kritchevsky Award from the American Society for Nutrition. Her husband, John Milner, won the same award in 2009.
Dr Picciano made a real difference in her professional and personal life. Everyone who knew Mary Frances was made better and more vital by the experience, and she will be greatly missed.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Mary Frances Picciano Memorial Fund, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Penn State University, 201 Henderson Bldg, University Park, PA 16802.
Movers and Shakers
Nutrition Today Editorial Board Member Atkinson Recognized by Canadian Government
Stephanie Atkinson, PhD, was elected as a fellow to Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Fellows of the Academy are elected on the basis of their demonstrated leadership, creativity, distinctive competencies, and commitment to advance academic health sciences. Membership is considered one of the highest honors for members of the Canadian health sciences community and carries with it a covenant to serve the Academy and Canadian society. Additionally, Atkinson was also appointed to the Institute Advisory Board of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes, and recently was appointed by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research president to serve as chair of the Institute Advisory Board for a 3-year term. She continues on Nutrition Today's Editorial Board and reports her life continues to be full of interesting things to do! Congratulations on the well deserved honors, Stephanie!
Wedding Bells for Hasler
Congratulations to Claire Hasler-Lewis, PhD, who married Cameron Lewis at the Robert Mondavi Institute in a glorious ceremony on June 20, 2010. Hasler-Lewis is the founding executive director of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at the University of California, Davis, and is an international authority on "functional foods." As executive director of the Robert Mondavi Institute, Hasler leads programming and vision-development efforts. She also serves as the university's primary liaison to the wine and food industries.
ADA Foundation Announces New Board Members
The American Dietetic Association Foundation welcomed Sonja Connor and Sylvia Escott-Stump to the ADA Foundation Board of Directors. Diane Heller will return for a second term.
ASN Announces Editorial Board for Advances in Nutrition
The American Society for Nutrition (ASN) announces the full editorial board for Advances in Nutrition, a bimonthly journal dedicated to publishing state-of-the-science reviews in all aspects of the nutritional sciences. The inaugural issue of Advances in Nutrition will be published in November 2010. Advances in Nutrition will be an online-only publication, but readers will be able to purchase individual print issues by a print-on-demand ordering process. Information for authors is available on the ASN Web site. John Suttie, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin will be the editor, and associate editors are Sarah L. Booth, PhD, Tufts University; Richard Eisenstein, PhD, University of Wisconsin; Catherine Field, PhD, University of Alberta; Jack Odle, PhD, North Carolina State University; Patrick J. Stover, PhD, Cornell University; and Thomas R. Ziegler, MD, Emory University.
Calendar
American Institute of Cancer Research (AICR) Conference
October 21-22, 2010
Washington, District of Columbia
For more information, contact [email protected].
Dr James Sadowski Memorial Vitamin K Symposium
October 25, 2010
Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts Boston, Massachusetts
For more information, go to https://secure.www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/TUF2/events/TUF22304220.html.
Cambridge Healthtech Institute's Eighth International Discovery on Target
November 2-4, 2010
Boston, Massachusetts
For more information, go to http://DiscoveryOnTarget.com.
American Dietetic Association Food and Nutrition Expo
November 7-11, 2010
Boston, Massachusetts
For more information, go to http://www.eatright.org.
American Public Health Association Annual Meeting
November 6-10, 2010
Denver, Colorado
For more information, go to http://www.apha.org.
American Heart Association 2010 Scientific Sessions
November 13-17, 2010
Chicago, Illinois
For more information, go to http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3064925.
The European Childhood Obesity Group (ECOG) 2010 Meeting
November 13-17, 2010
Brussels, Belgium
For more information, go to http://www.ecog-obesity.eu/.
Soy Symposium
November 11, 2010
Washington, District of Columbia
For more information, go to http://www.soyfoods.org.