In Memoriam
Dr Ronald Weinsier, a long-time faculty member at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, died in November 2002, a few days after a symposium in his honor at the University of Alabama Health Sciences Center in Birmingham. Dr Weinsier was well known for his advocacy of physician nutrition education and nutritional interventions in clinical practice. His work in the prevention and management of obesity was also innovative and highly regarded. He was a member of the Year 2000 Dietary Guidelines Committee.
Isabelle A. Hallahan, former President of the American Dietetic Association and the National Nutrition Consortium, died in November at 82 years old. Ms Hallahan was a great proponent of dietetic education both nationally and internationally.
Dr Victor Herbert, renowned for proving that folic acid shortage causes megaloblastic anemia, died in November at the age of 75 years. Conducting a folic acid depletion experiment on himself when a researcher at Harvard University between 1959 and 1962, Dr Herbert ate a folate-free diet for 133 days, and described the signs and symptoms of the deficiency. As a result of his work and that of others, folic acid is now well established as an essential nutrient, with special importance in prenatal nutrition.
Layden Appointed Edelman Exec Vice President
Bill Layden was recently appointed Executive Vice President of Edelman's U.S. Food and Nutrition practice. Mr Layden comes to Edelman after leading nutrition marketing communications at Porter Novelli. Before that he directed the USDA's first Nutrition Promotion Program and served on the House Committee on Government Operations, conducting reviews of federal food safety and nutrition policy.
Search Science.gov
Visit the new Web site http://www.science.gov for a Web service that covers many federal scientific and technical databases as well as federal Web sites selected for excellence.
Reseach Award Available
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation has allotted $50,000 for a scientist who has made an outstanding contribution in metabolic research. The deadline for nominations is March 6, 2003. Visit http://www. bms.com/foundation/awards.html for more information and nomination forms.
New Food Code
Australia and New Zealand have a new Food Code that requires food labels on manufactured items to list kilojoules, protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugar, and sodium. Another innovation is that major food allergens are required to be listed so that consumers with allergies will have an easier time choosing among products.
Welcome Back, Old Friend!
The USDA Home and Garden Bulletin 72, Nutritive Value of Foods or HG 72, is again available by visiting http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/HG72/hg72.html.
National Kidney Foundation Partners for Urinary Tract Health
The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and the Ocean Spray company recently joined in an educational partnership to help spread awareness about urinary tract infections (UTIs) and how to prevent them. To find out more about free educational materials produced by the partnership, visit http://www. kidney.org or Ocean Spray's Consumer Helpline at 800-662-3263.
Miss Manners' Camp for Kids
Wish your kids (or your students) had better manners when it comes to food and eating? Consider enrolling them in the Johnson & Wales University's Etiquette Camp for Children, a 2-hour dining seminar with a 3-course lunch designed to teach the finer points of dining to 8- to 12-year-olds. The course requires formal attire and addresses table manners and eating styles, with diplomas awarded after lunch. Create your own class, or contact Johnson & Wales for more information on their session: http://www.jwu.edu.
Echinacea-St John's Wort Grant
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded a $6-million 5-year grant to establish the NIH Center for Research on Dietary Botanical Supplements at Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames. Diane Birt, Chair of the ISU Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, will direct the new NIH center, and Mark P. Widrlechner is the horticulturist at the ARS Plant Introduction Research Unit in Ames, where Echinacea is currently growing.
Dawson-Hughes Osteoporosis President
Bess Dawson-Hughes, MD, of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, was named President of the National Osteoporosis Foundation's Board of Trustees on June 6, 2002. She is a leading researcher in bone health, especially as it relates to aging and nutrition.
Healthy Schools Summit
First Lady Laura Bush, former Surgeon General Dr David Satcher, and more than 30 national organizations, including the American Dietetic Association, recently collaborated on a "Healthy Schools Summit," October 7-8, in Washington, DC, to rally the nation around childhood nutrition and fitness. For more information, visit http://www.actionforhealthykids.org.
In Memoriam: Frank Duckworth
In July 2002, Frank Duckworth, former Corporate Secretary and Vice President and General Counsel of Pfizer, Inc, died. After his retirement from Pfizer, Mr Duckworth had also served as President of the Food and Drug Law Institute in Washington, DC.
Hollingsworth Next IFT President
Ann Hollingsworth, PhD, President of Better Built Foods of Carrollton, Ga, was recently elected the next President of the Institute of Food Technologists. An expert on meat science, Hollingsworth received her doctorate from the University of Nebraska and has worked in industry research and development.
Calendar
March 18-20, 2003. American Dietetic Association Public Policy Workshop. Washington, DC. For more information, contact the American Dietetic Association (ADA) at http://www.eatright.org.
April 11-15, 2003. Experimental Biology 2003: Translating the Genome. San Diego, Calif. For more information visit: http://222.faseb.org/meetings/eb2003.
April 25-27, 2003. 13th Annual Advances and Controversies in Clinical Nutrition. Scottsdale, Ariz. Contact: Mayo School of Continuing Medical Education, telephone: 800-462-9633 or 904-953-7146; fax: 904-953-2954; e-mail: [email protected] or visit http://www.mayo.edu/cme.
May 21-24, 2003. International Conference on Diet and Optimum Health. Portland, Ore. Contact: Balz Frei, PhD, Conference Chair, Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, 571-Weniger Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331-6512; telephone: 541-737-5075; fax: 541-737-5077; or visit http://lpi.orst.edu/conf2003/Conference.html.
May 23-26, 2003. National WIC Association 2003 Annual Conference. New York For more information, visit http://www.nwa2003nyc.com.
May 26-28, 2003. Prevention of Obesity. The Swedish Society of Medicine, Stockholm, Sweden. For more information, contact The Swedish Society of Medicine, Anita Lundmark, PO Box 732, SE-101 35 Stockholm, Sweden.
May 29-30, 2003. Acrylamide in Food: Are Children a Special Population at Risk? Sheraton Crystal City, Arlington, Va. Contact Shelia McGregor, Life Sciences Research Office, 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814-3998; telephone: 301-530-7030; fax: 302-571-1876; or visit http://www.lsro.org.
July 9-11, 2003. Functional Foods for Health 12th Annual Conference: "Botanical and Dietary Supplements for Women's Health: Frontiers in Research," Radisson Hotel Schaumburg, Schaumburg, Ill. Contact Judy Harriss, Functional Foods for Health Program, University of Illinois, 1302 W Pennsylvania Ave, Room 103, Urbana, IL 61801; telephone: 217-333-6364; e-mail: [email protected]; or visit http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/~ffh/ffh.html.
July 10-12, 2003. 2nd Congress of the International Academy Nutrition & Aging (IANA). University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM. Contact Continuing Medical Education, UNM, Medical Building 2, Room 101, Albuquerque, NM 87131-5126; telephone: 505-272-3942; fax: 505-272-8604; e-mail: vwinter@salud. unm.edu, or visit http://www.healthandage.com/html/min/iananda/content/albuquerque.htm.
July 26-30, 2003. Society for Nutrition Education. Philadelphia, Pa. For more information, contact: Jackie Williams, Membership and Communications Director, telephone: 317-571-5618; e-mail: [email protected] or visit http://www.sne.org.
December 9-12, 2003. Global Biotechnology Forum 2003: Bioindustries in Development. Conception, Chile. Contact: UNIDO, Biodiversity Unit, PO Box 300 A-1400, Vienna, Austria; telephone: 43-1-26026-3565; fax: 43-1-26026-6810; e-mail: [email protected]; or visit: http://www.unido.org.
May 28-31, 2004. International Congress of Dietetics 2004. Chicago, Ill. Contact: Karen Lechowich, American Dietetic Association, telephone: 01-312-899-4775; e-mail: [email protected]; visit http://www. internationaldietetics. org; or write ICD 2004, c/o ADA International Alliance Program, 216 West Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60606, USA.
Add to Your Internet Files
Copies of the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity are available at http://www. surgeongeneral.gov/library. NIH obesity guidelines and many other good materials can also be found at http://www.nhlbi.nih. gov./guidelines/obesity. Information on understanding adult obesity is available at http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/health.htm.
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