Nutrition Today Board Members Bailey and Barr Named to NAS Committee Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy
Congratulations to Regan Bailey, PhD and Susan Barr PhD who have both been named to the National Academy of Sciences Committee to Assess the Dietary Reference Intake for Energy. The ad hoc committee will assess the human requirements for energy intake and expenditure and will consider age, sex, body size, body composition, level of physical activity, and race/ethnicity along with other factors that may be warranted, based on available data. Other significant variables for consideration include energy for growth and maturation and to support pregnancy; energy needs postpartum; and amounts to achieve and maintain weight loss or weight gain; requirements to support recovery from disease and treatments or interventions such as surgery; and the health consequences of chronic over- or under nutrition across the life span. Specific outcomes include an updated EER, as appropriate, for each age- sex-, and life stage group, using the risk assessment approach as described in the DRI organizing framework and identification of research gaps to address the uncertainties identified in the process of deriving the reference values and evaluation of their public health implications. Stay tuned!
New Standing DRI Committee
A standing committee for the review of the dietary reference intakes framework has been appointed by the Food and Nutrition Board, National Academy of Sciences, and Health Canada. It will work to inform new DRI reviews for macronutrients, future DRI reviews for other nutrients and DRI related issues, more broadly including their application. The committee members are Drs MRC Greenwood, chair, John W Erdman Vice Chair, and members Stephanie A Atkinson, McMaster University, Sai K Das Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutriiton Research Center on Aging, Amy H Herring of Duke University, Nancy F Krebs Univeristy of Colorado School of Medicine, Alice H Lichtenstein Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, Nadine R Sahyoun, University of Maryland College Park, Valerie Tarasuck University of Toronto, Linda V Van Horn Northwestern University and Elizabeth A Yetley, formerly of the FDA and NIH. Congratulations to all of these good scientists! Note that Drs Erdman, Atkinson, and Sayhoun are all Nutrition Today Board Members! We are proud of them.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Announces Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics and Other Key Staff Appointments
Shefali Mehta, PhD was named Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics Dr. Mehta has worked in roles across private, public and non-profit sectors including McKinsey, Syngenta, the Soil Health Partnership, amongst others. She has served as a Board member for various groups including Pheasants Forever, Minnesota Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pest Center (MITPPC), the School of Statistics at University of Minnesota, and The Gates Scholar Advisory Council, amongst others.
Marcia Bunger was named Administrator for the Risk Management Agency
Bunger joins USDA after serving as a County Executive Director for USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) for 18 years. In total, she has over 25 years of experience working for USDA in the Farm Service Agency. Bunger is also the owner and operator of a 2000-acre, family-owned farm. She will be the first person who is a member of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community and the first woman to serve as Administrator for RMA.
Colin Finan was named Senior Advisor for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Most recently, Finan served as vice president at McCabe Message Partners, a Washington based public relations firm focused on healthcare communications. At McCabe, Finan was responsible for overseeing editorial content and consumer-facing communications for more than 50 foundations and non-profit clients. Prior to McCabe, Finan worked as a manager and senior associate on the Safe Food Project at Pew Charitable Trusts. Colin was responsible for managing all federal and state outreach regarding passage and implementation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. Congratulations to all!
Publications Received
AACR Report on the Impact of COVID-19 on Cancer Research and Patient Care
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is proud to announce the release of the AACR Report on the Impact of COVID-19 on Cancer Research and Patient Care. The report describes the significant impact the pandemic has had on patients with cancer and the field of cancer research; highlights how cancer researchers have responded to the challenges posed by COVID-19; and documents lessons learned during the pandemic that can be used to improve cancer research and patient care moving forward.
To access the report and video briefing go to: https://www.aacr.org/professionals/research/aacr-covid-19-and-cancer-report-2022
In Memorium
Randall 'Randy' Lee Mynatt PhD
Dr. Randall 'Randy' Lee Mynatt passed away in Baton Rouge, LA on November 10, 2021. Randy was born in Knoxville, TN to Emerson and Cecil Mynatt on September 28, 1962. Growing up in East Tennessee, Randy graduated from Halls High School and the University of Tennessee, receiving his Ph.D. in 1991. After several post-doctoral fellowships, Dr. Mynatt accepted the position as Director of Transgenics at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in 1997. He was a brilliant scientist who leaves a lasting legacy in the fields of obesity and diabetes. The models and methods he developed, along with his research, led to several high impact scientific papers which have been cited by thousands of scientists worldwide. We send our deepest condolences to his family and colleagues.
Jeremiah Stamler, MD
Nutrition Today mourns the loss of Jerry Stamler, a trailblazing cardiologist who helped people understand the critical connection between healthy lifestyle and heart health. A pioneer in helping to curb the epidemic of hypertension, Stamler in the 1970s put the cardiovascular risk factors of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, a high-fat diet and smoking on the map. His findings were considered controversial and were met with opposition, but he stuck by his research. Colleagues credit his work as a major force behind the significant decline in heart disease death rates since the 1960s.
Stamler was the founding chair of the preventive medicine department at Northwestern University, where he was still working on cutting-edge research at the time of his death. He trained and mentored hundreds of health professionals around the world. He authored and co-authored over 2,000 peer-reviewed manuscripts, studies and books that have shaped U.S. public policy for decades, and he was a relentless activist for the causes he cared about. We send our condolences to his children and many colleagues who he inspired and mentored through the years.
Catherine Cowell, Ph.D
Catherine Cowell, Ph.D, a leading public health nutritionist has died at 100 years of age. Dr. Cowell served 45 years as the Director of the Bureau of Nutrition, New York City. Her work and research involved community nutrition. Catherine studied ways to evaluate community health and nutrition and help people improve their lives. As Director she assessed how different ethnic groups in 'the five boroughs, the 22 health districts, the 5 days of the week[horizontal ellipsis]' perceived their health needs. She taught public health, nutrition, and food and health often related to obesity in infants and children at Columbia University, School of Public Health, New York University, City University of New York, University of Iowa, and Albert Einstein School of Medicine. She received a bachelor of science degree from Hampton University, Master of Science in Nutrition from University of Connecticut and her Ph.D. from New York University. In 1949, Dr. Cowell started as city's nutritionist in East Harlem Health District and by 1970 she was the first non-physician to direct the Bureau. Using her research on infant and child feeding and how food habits are developed, she was a contributor to two editions of a textbook by Simko, Cowell, and Gilbride: Nutrition Assessment: A Comprehensive Guide for Planning Intervention' particularly a chapter on 'Strategies and practical approaches - Case models on nutrition assessment,' Nutrition assessment and appropriate intervention are both productive and cost effective for hospitalized patients and for those in need in the community setting. As Director her research centered on at-risk population groups: large Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program serving infants and young children enrolled in Well-Baby Clinics. More recently, Michelle Obama appointed her in 2007 to her Board for Childhood Obesity. We send our condolences to her incredible legacy of family and colleagues.
CALENDAR
May 22-25, 2022
Today's Dietitian Spring Symposium
Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa
Bonita Springs, Florida
http://www.todaysdietitian.com/ss22/
May 31-June 4, 2022
American College of Sports Medicine 69th Annual Meeting
San Diego, California
http://www.acsmannualmeeting.org
June 3-7, 2022
American Diabetes Association 82nd Scientific Sessions
Hybrid - New Orleans, Louisiana and Online
https://professional.diabetes.org/scientific-sessions
June 14-16, 2022
ASN NUTRITION 2022 LIVE ONLINE
http://www.nutrition.org
Online
June 27-30, 2022
ILSI 2022 Annual Meeting
https://ilsi.org/
Hybrid - Brussels, Belgium and Online
July 10-13, 2022
IFT- FIRST
https://www.iftevent.org/
Hybrid - Chicago, Illinois and Online
October 8-11, 2022
Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE)
http://www.eatright.org
San Diego, California