In Memoriam: Jonathan E. Rhoads, MD
Jonathan E. Rhoads, MD, one of the giants of surgical nutrition in the 20th century, died in early January 2002. Dr Rhoads and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital pioneered the development of total parenteral nutrition in the 1960s and 1970s and captivated the interest of the surgical community on the importance of nutritional interventions. In addition to his work as a professor and chief of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, he was a founder of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) and was active in a number of Philadelphia community efforts, especially those including education.
Borlaug Receives Public Welfare Medal
Norman E. Borlaug, PhD, internationally renowned leader in the war on hunger, will receive the National Academy of Science's (NAS) most prestigious award, the Public Welfare Medal, at the NAS Annual Meeting in April. A distinguished professor of international agriculture at Texas A&M University, Dr Borlaug has devoted his life to promoting self-sufficiency in grain production in countries around the world threatened with hunger, including Mexico, Pakistan, India, China, and the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. In 1970 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the Green Revolution in cereal production.
McLellan Appointed Next IFT President
Mark R. McLellan, PhD, Director and Professor, Institute of Food Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University-College Station, has been voted president-elect of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) for 2002-2003. He will succeed Philip E. Nelson, PhD, beginning in September. Dr Nelson has been an active member of IFT for 31 years and in 1995 received the IFT's Nicholas Appert Achievement Award for significant contributions to food technology. Dr McLellan is an expert in additives, agricultural methods, food processing, and a wide range of food technologies. He is a former chairman of Food Science and Technology at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.
"Sprinkles" for Anemia
H.J. Heinz has named Dr Stanley H. Zlotkin the first recipient of its Humanitarian Award for creating Supplefer Sprinkles, iron powder granules that help combat anemia. The award provides Dr Zlotkin, a pediatrician in Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, with a $750,000 grant over 3 years. The company has pledged technical and operational support to produce the supplement, says F. Kerr Dow, Heinz's vice president of nutrition and technical affairs, bringing total assistance to $1 million. Packets will be provided to children in Mongolia, and the effectiveness studied in northern Canada, China, and India. (P ittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 19, 2002)
New Chairs: CONAPP and DRI Committees
Dr Nancy F. Krebs, of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, is the new Chair of the Committee on Nutrition, American Academy of Pediatrics (CONAPP). Dr Joanne Lupton of Texas A&M University has been named Chair of the Macronutrient Panel, Dietary Reference Intakes, Institutes of Medicine, at the National Academy of Sciences. The Macronutrient report is due out later this year. Dr Susan Barr of the University of British Columbia was appointed Chair of the Subcommittee on Interpretation and Uses of the Dietary Reference Intakes, on which she has served for several years as a committee member. She replaces Dr Suzanne Murphy of the University of Hawaii Cancer Center.
Exercise Against Cancer
Nearly one third of cancer deaths in the United States each year are attributable to diet and physical activity habits, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). The new ACS nutrition and physical activity guidelines continue to recommend a varied diet of healthy, primarily plant-based foods, limiting foods high in saturated fats and alcohol, and weight loss for those who are overweight or obese. However, physical activity may play a vital role in minimizing one's risk of cancers, such as bowel or breast cancer. For example, exercise accelerates the movement of food through the digestive system, reducing the bowel lining's exposure to potentially cancer-causing substances, possibly decreasing breast tissue exposure to circulating estrogen, according to Colleen Doyle, MS, RD, Director of Nutrition and Physical Activity for the ACS. For a free copy of the ACS guide to healthy eating and activity, call toll free 800-ACS-2345 or visit http://www.cancer.org.
Jean Hankin Nutritional Epidemiology Award
Jill Reedy, a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina, received the American Dietetic Association Foundation's nutritional epidemiology award, named in honor of Jean Hankin, a distinguished epidemiologist and former Nutrition Today editorial advisory board member.
Calendar
April 22-23, 2002. 25th Annual National Food Policy Conference. Washington, DC: National Press Club. Featuring the Golden Carrot Awards Reception. Contact: the Consumer Federation of America, 1424 16th St NW, Suite 604, Washington, DC 20036; telephone: 202-387-6121.
April 22-24, 2002. Consumer Food Choices and Whole Grains: A PhytoVenture Conference. Hotel Del Coronado, San Diego, Calif. Sponsored by The Oldways Preservation and Exchange Trust; telephone: 617-421-5500; fax: 617-421-5511; e-mail: [email protected]; Web: http://www.oldwayspt.org.
May 12-14, 2002. "Diet and the Genome.'' Eleventh Annual Conference of the Functional Foods for Health Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Contact: Judy Harriss at [email protected]; telephone: 217-333-6364; Web: http://www.ag. uiuc.edu/ffh/ffh. html.
June 5-8, 2002. "Food Composition Databases: Important Tools for Improving National Health,'' 26th National Nutrient Databank Conference. C.B. Pennington Conference Center, Baton Rouge, La. Contact: Catherine M. Champagne, PhD, RD, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, 6400 Perkins Rd, Baton Rouge, LA 70808-4124; telephone: 225-763-2553; fax: 225-763-3045; e-mail: [email protected].
June 13-16, 2002. Joint Annual Meetings of the Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS) and the Agriculture, Food & Human Values Society (AFHVS), Chicago, Ill. Visit: http://www.agnic.org/mtg/ 2002.html.
June 24-26, 2002. 9th World Congress on Clinical Nutrition, University of Westminster, London, England. Contact: Dr Heema Shukla at [email protected].
November 7-9, 2002. Conference on Ecolabels and the Greening of the Food Market. Boston, Mass, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University. Contact: [email protected]; Web: http://nutrition.tufts.edu/conted/ ecolabels. Abstract deadline: May 17.
June 30-July 3, 2002. Xth Food Choice Conference, Wageningen University and Research Centre, The Netherlands. Contact: K. de Graaf, F. Pepping, Dept Human Nutrition and Epidemiology, Wageningen University, PO Box 8129, 6700 EV Wageningen, The Netherlands; e-mail: [email protected]. wau.nl; telephone: 31-317-484451; fax: 31-317-483342; Web: http://www.wau.nl/vlag/fcc-10/.
July 11-12, 2002. American Institute for Cancer Research/World Cancer Research (AICR/WCR) Fund 12th Annual International Research Conference on Food, Nutrition & Cancer. Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC. Contact: AICR, 1759 R St NW, PO Box 97167, Washington, DC 20090-7167; telephone: 800-843-8114 or 202-328-7744; Web: http://www.aicr.org.
July 15-17, 2002. National Maternal Nutrition Intensive Course. University of Minnesota. For registration information, contact Kay Syme, Continuing Professional Education, University of Minnesota, 353 Classroom Office Bldg, 1994 Buford Ave, St. Paul, MN 55108-6041; telephone: 612-624-4938; fax: 612-624-6225; e-mail: [email protected]; Web: http://www.epi.umn.edu/let/. The 2002 course will also offer videostreaming of selected presentations for distance education opportunities.
September 18, 2002. "Thinking Globally-Working Locally,'' Food Safety Education Leaders conference, Radisson Hotel, Orlando, Fla. Contact Holly McPeak, USDA/FSIS, telephone: 202-720-5836 or visit http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Orlando 2002.
September 24-27, 2002. 26th Congress of the International Dairy Federation (CONGRILAIT 2002). Palais des Congres, Paris. Visit http://www.congrilait2002.com or e-mail [email protected] or write IDF, 42 rue de Chateaudun, 75314 Paris Cedex 09; fax: 33 (0) 1-42-85-20-02.
October 21-24, 2002. American Dietetic Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia. Visit http://www.eatright.org.
Site to Visit
"Tips for the Savvy Supplement User: Making Informed Decisions and Evaluating Information'' is a new consumer piece from the Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling and Dietary Supplements, of the Food and Drug Administration. To view, visit http://www.cfsan. fda.gov/dms/ds-savvy.html.
Roberts and Meydani Recognized
Susan Roberts, PhD, Chief of the Energy Metabolism Laboratory at the USDA's Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, received the Max K. Horwitt Award from St. Louis University for her outstanding scientific contributions in geriatric nutrition. Another Boston scientist, Simin Meydani of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service Boston Center's Nutritional Immunology lab, was named winner of the 2001 Grace Goldsmith Award by the American College of Nutrition.
In Memoriam
Gaurth Hansen, PhD, Provost of Utah State University for a decade in the 1970s and 1980s, and longtime advocate of nutrition education and labeling, died in Utah in February.