Movers and Shakers
Caballero Joins Pan American Health and Education Foundation Board
International Nutritionist and Nutrition Today Editorial Advisory Board member, Benjamin Caballero, has recently been named a trustee of the Pan American Health and Education Foundation. His expertise will prove valuable to the Pan American Health and Education Foundation and the hemisphere, particularly in support for initiatives geared to the development of policies and programs to combat childhood obesity in Latin America and the Caribbean. Dr Caballero is a professor of International Health and Pediatrics and director of the Center for Human Nutrition at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. His research focuses on childhood malnutrition and obesity. Congratulations, Ben!
King Inducted in Agricultural Research Service Hall of Fame
Former Nutrition Today Editorial Advisory Board member Janet King, PhD, was inducted into the Agricultural Research Service Hall of Fame. She is 1 of 3 nutrition scientists in the history of this award to receive this honor. Dr King is a professor of nutrition and internal medicine, University of California, Davis, a professor of nutrition, University of California, Berkeley, and a scientist at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute.
She is member of the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine. She chaired their Food and Nutrition Board and is currently a member of the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources of the National Research Council. She has served on Expert Consultations for the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization and is a member of the International Zinc Consultative Group. She has been an associate editor of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition since 1993. She also directed the US Department of Agriculture's Western Human Nutrition Research Center at the University of California, Davis. The 2007 awardees were honored at a dinner and recognition ceremony in early September at the US National Arboretum, Washington, DC. Congratulations, Janet!
Flier Named Dean of Harvard Med
Jeffrey S. Flier, the George C. Reisman Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, is the new dean of Harvard's faculty. A member of the Harvard Medical School faculty since 1978, Flier has served for the past 5 years as chief academic officer of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, one of Harvard's leading affiliated hospitals, where he is also the Harvard faculty dean for academic programs. He has been closely involved in recent discussions of the future of Harvard-wide science, as a founding member of the Harvard University Science and Engineering Committee, and previously through his service on the University Planning Committee for Science and Engineering.
A prominent authority on diabetes and obesity, Flier is known for his research into the molecular mechanisms of insulin action and insulin resistance, as well as the molecular pathophysiology of obesity. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and an elected fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In addition, he is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians.
Freidman Awarded Danone Prize
The Danone Institute International awarded New York researcher Jeffrey Friedman, MD, Marilyn M. Simpson Professor at Rockefeller University and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, with the prestigious Danone International Prize for Nutrition for his revolutionary findings that link genetics and obesity, through his discovery of the hormone leptin.
Dr Friedman received a $163,000 grant from Danone Institute International, a nonprofit organization created by Groupe Danone, the parent of United States-based The Dannon Company.
Dr Friedman's acceptance of the 6th Danone International Prize for Nutrition during the European Nutrition Conference in Paris coincides with the 10th anniversary of the Dannon Institute, the US counterpart of the Danone Institute, which is dedicated to supporting research and education on the relationship between health and nutrition.
News From the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Board of Directors meeting announced that the 2007 to 2008 board members are the following:
[black small square] President: Vincent W. Vanek
[black small square] Vice president: Stephen A. McClave
[black small square] President-elect: Kelly A. Tappenden
[black small square] Secretary/Treasurer: Jay M. Mirtallo
[black small square] Immediate past president: Marion F. Winkler
[black small square] Directors: Todd Wayne Canada; Vanessa J. Kumpf; Ainsley M. Malone; Lawrence A. Robinson; Charles W. Van Way; John R. Wesley, Rhoads Foundation President
During the meeting, the board reaffirmed the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition's support for the Board Certification Nutrition Support Pharmacist (BCNSP) certification of pharmacists in nutrition support. In addition, the board spent considerable time focused on strategic management and future directions.
McCormick Science Institute Sponsors New Award at the American Society for Nutrition
The American Society for Nutrition is pleased to announce the establishment of the McCormick Science Institute Research Award, made possible with an endowment from the McCormick Science Institute. This $2,500 award, to be given for the first time this year, will be presented annually to an investigator conducting clinical or translational research and whose research work has contributed importantly to understanding the potential health benefits of culinary herbs and spices in humans. These funds, generously provided by the McCormick Science Institute, will help to focus attention on important research accomplishments in the rapidly developing area of specific health benefits of phytochemicals, such as those found in spices and herbs, and ensuring that recommendations for intake of these phytochemicals are based on the best science. The McCormick Science Institute was recently established by McCormick Company, Inc, to advance scientific knowledge on the potential human health benefits of culinary herbs and spices and to disseminate this information to a variety of stakeholders including consumers and the professional community.
In Memoriam
Ralph Paffenbarger
Ralph Paffenbarger, 84, was a pioneering epidemiologist who taught at Harvard School of Public Health in the 1960s to 1990s and remained an adjunct professor until recently. Dr Paffenbarger initiated the College Alumni Health Study, which includes Harvard College graduates. The study first linked physical activity and exercise to lower risk of heart disease-spurring the aerobic exercise movement of the 1980s and prompting changes in federal health recommendations. The Alumni Health Study continues and is presently run by Harvard School of Public Health associate professor, I-Min Lee, who considers Dr Paffenbarger her mentor. He held a joint academic appointment at Stanford and lived until recently in Berkeley, Calif. He is survived by his wife, Jo Ann (Schroeder), and 4 children.
John R. Hogness
Dr John R. Hogness, who served as the first president of the Institute of Medicine from 1971 to 1974, died in Seattle on July 2, 2007. He was 85. Dr Hogness stepped down from the Institute of Medicine to become president of the University of Washington in Seattle, where he had previously served as dean of the School of Medicine and as executive vice president. Dr Hogness was a courageous pioneer in all his pursuits, and this spirit served him especially well in his position as the first president of the Institute of Medicine. He had no precedents to follow, and that suited him as well. What he did from the outset was to set a high standard for excellence in our work and to translate into practice the values of independent judgment, balanced expertise, and neutral convening power that guide the Institute of Medicine to this day.
Calendar
Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective
November 1-2, 2007
Washington, DC
For more information, call 1-800-843-8114, or go to http://www.aicr.org.
American Public Health Association 134th Annual Meeting and Exposition
November 3-7, 2007
Washington, DC
For more information, go to http://www.apha.org/meetings.
1st Congress of the International Society of Nutrigenetics/Nutrigenomics (ISNN)
November 12-13, 2007
Athens, Greece
For more information, go to http://www.isnn.info.
EFFoST/EHEDG Joint Conference 2007
Food-New Options for the Industry-Practical Application of Research Results
November 14-16, 2007
Lisbon, Portugal
For more information, go to http://mail.elsevier-alerts.com.