Nutrition Today welcomes new board member, Dennis Savaiano, PhD, the Virginia C. Meredith Professor of Nutrition at Purdue University. He is also Director of the North Central Nutrition Education Center of Excellence, a United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture-funded center. In this capacity, Savaiano oversees the north central research portfolio of projects aimed at improving the effectiveness of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education. Professor Savaiano continues to work to evaluate the effectiveness of Indiana Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education programs and develop more effective assessment tools. He is also the Associate Director and Purdue liaison for the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute Community Health Partnerships. In this capacity, his goal is to build community research partnerships using the extensive intellectual resource base of Indiana University and Purdue University. Savaiano has worked with the Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute Community Health Partnerships to increase its Community Advisory Council membership and assist with building community-engaged research approaches with Purdue Extension. He has published school community interventions focused on improving the diets of youth (particularly young women) and has led/developed many of the successful Purdue Extension efforts focused around health as dean of Purdue's School of Consumer and Family Sciences for 15 years. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Biology at Claremont McKenna College and his PhD in nutrition from University of California at Davis.
BOOTH NAMED NEW DIRECTOR OF THE JEAN MAYER USDA HUMAN NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER ON AGING
Sarah Booth, PhD, has been named the new director of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Center for Research on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts. Booth has served as interim director for the past 15 months and had served as the HNRCA's associate director since 2009. The HNRCA at Tufts is 1 of only 6 human nutrition research centers in the United States supported by the USDA's Agricultural Research Service and the largest nutrition center in the country focused on aging. The HNRCA research focuses on nutrition and physical activity and their relationship to healthy aging. People 65 years or older made up 15% of the US population in 2014. In 2030, the proportion of older Americans is expected to grow to nearly 21% of the US population.
In addition to her role as director of the HNRCA, Booth will continue to serve as senior scientist and director of the HNRCA's Vitamin K Laboratory. Booth's main scientific interests include the absorption, transport, and metabolism of vitamin K and the role of its metabolism in the prevention of chronic disease, particularly with respect to bone and joint health. She uses research from laboratory studies and human clinical trials to develop an evidence base toward the possibility of setting an estimated average requirement of vitamin K for adults. Booth earned her PhD in nutrition at McGill University and is a member of the American Society for Nutrition. In her new role, Booth succeeds Simin Nikbin Meydani, DVM, PhD, who became vice provost for research at Tufts. In addition to her extensive work in the fields of nutrition and aging at the HNRCA, Booth has a long-standing affiliation with Tufts and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. She will retain her faculty role as professor at the Friedman School at Tufts. Congratulations, Sarah!
IN MEMORIAM
Ann Grandjean, EdD Newsbreaks
Nutrition Today mourns the loss of our colleague, Ann Grandjean, EdD, one of the leading nutritionists in the country. A native of Amarillo, Texas, Dr Grandjean spent most of her career in Omaha working at the Center for Human Nutrition (CHN) from 1974 to 2009 and the International Center for Sports Nutrition (ICSN) from 1987 to 2009. She was associate director of the CHN (now called the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition) from 1976 to 1993 and director from 1993 to 2009. She served as the founding director of the ICSN from 1987 to 2009. Dr Grandjean helped create an international reputation for herself and the CHN, especially through her work with the US Olympics. She served as chief nutrition consultant to the US Olympic Committee in 1978 and was its sole nutritionist until after the 1984 Olympic Games. She supervised the Nutrition Counseling Center at the US Olympic Training Centers in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Marquette, Michigan; and Lake Placid, New York. Her athletics research included a significant focus on hydration studies, and she also established an infant formula clinical trials unit at the CHN in 1985. The ICSN became a sports nutrition clearinghouse that translated research on the implications of diets and performance into easy-to-understand print and audiovisual materials for athletes of all ages and levels, from amateur to professional. The ICSN developed, implemented, and evaluated nutrition programs used in the training and development of US athletes, coaches, trainers, and physicians. Dr Grandjean oversaw the sports nutrition program for the University of Nebraska Athletic Department and several professional teams including the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, and Philadelphia Flyers. Dr Grandjean conducted nutrition workshops for athletes, coaches, and parents; developed a resource center and referral network to provide one-on-one help; and worked with youth athletes at developmental camps. After her retirement from the CHN in 2009, she continued her affiliation with the medical nutrition education program for 3 years before fully retiring in 2012 to move back to Texas in 2013 to be with her family. Our condolences to her 2 daughters, Nicole Grandjean and Cassie Grandjean-Moody; 2 granddaughters; and 1 grandson.
CALENDAR
Clinical Nutrition Management Symposium
April 16-19, 2016
Austin, Texas
http://www.cnmdpg.org/page/2016-symposium
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition 33rd Annual Symposium
March 31 to April 2, 2017
Charlotte, North Carolina
http://www.scandpg.org
National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings
April 18-22, 2017
Orlando, Florida
http://www.kidney.org/spring-clinical
10th Congress of the International Society of Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics
May 22-26, 2017
Tel Aviv, Israel
http://www.ortra.com/events/isnn2016/Home.aspx
College of Sports Medicine Annual Conference
May 30 to June 3, 2017
Denver, Colorado
http://www.acsm.org/-annual-meeting
IFT Annual Meeting
June 25-28, 2017
Las Vegas, Nevada
http://www.ift.org
Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior Annual Meeting
July 20-24, 2017
Washington, DC
http://www.sneb.org/
International Conference on Nutrition in Medicine
July 28-29, 2017
Washington, DC
http://www.icnm17.org