Awards recognize leaders whose research, education, mentorship, and service are advancing nutrition science and improving health worldwide.
The American Society for Nutrition (ASN) and the American Society for Nutrition Foundation (ASNF) today announced the recipients of the 2026 National Scientific Achievement Awards. The honorees represent a diverse group of scientists, clinicians, educators, mentors, and emerging leaders whose work is advancing nutrition science and improving health around the world.
The awardees will be honored during NUTRITION 2026, taking place July 25-28 in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside Washington, DC. The meeting will bring together nutrition professionals from around the world to share discoveries and discuss issues shaping research, practice, education, policy, and health.
“One of ASN’s greatest strengths is the extraordinary community of scientists, clinicians, educators, students, and trainees who dedicate their careers to advancing nutrition science,” said Naïma Moustaïd-Moussa, PhD, DFASN, FTOS, FAHA, FNAI, President of ASN. “The 2026 award recipients represent the very best of that community. Their work is helping us better understand nutrition, improve health, and inspire the next generation of nutrition professionals.”
This year’s honorees are making a difference across nutrition science through research, clinical practice, education, mentorship, and leadership.
“Behind every scientific advance is a community of people committed to discovery, learning, and service,” said Paul M. Coates, PhD, DFASN, Chair of the ASN Foundation Board of Trustees. “This year’s honorees reflect the many people who move nutrition science forward, from established leaders whose work has transformed the field to emerging scientists who represent its future. The ASN Foundation is proud to recognize their contributions and impact.”
Lifetime Achievement Awards
George Bray Outstanding Scientific Achievements Award in Obesity Research
Endowed by Dr. George A. Bray and his wife, Marilyn M. Bray
Susan K. Fried, MS, PhD, Rutgers University
Jean-Pierre Habicht Lifetime Achievements in International Nutrition Award
Supported by donors of the Jean-Pierre Habicht Lifetime Achievement in Global Nutrition Research Award Fund
Wafaie W. Fawzi, MBBS, MPH, MS, DrPH, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Robert Suskind and Leslie Lewinter-Suskind Pediatric Nutrition Lifetime Achievement Award
Endowed by Dr. Robert Suskind and his wife, Leslie Lewinter-Suskind
Christopher P. Duggan, MD, PhD, Boston Children’s Hospital
Roland L Weinsier Award for Excellence in Medical/Dental Nutrition Education*
Michael M. Rothkopf, MD, Metabolic Medicine Consultants
Conrad A Elvehjem Award for Public Service in Nutrition
Supported by Mondelēz International
Ann L. Yaktine, MS, PhD, RD, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
David Kritchevsky Career Achievement Award
Supported by Mondelēz International
Barry M. Popkin, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Investigator and Educator Awards
The ASNF-NNF Henrik Dam Award for Scientific Discovery in Nutrition
Supported by a grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation
Anna Thalacker-Mercer, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham
ASN Foundation Mentorship Award*
David W. Threadgill, PhD, Texas A&M University
The E. V. McCollum Award*
John L. Sievenpiper, MD, PhD, FRCPC, University of Toronto and St. Michael’s Hospital
The Excellence in Nutrition Education Award*
Jinan C. Banna, PhD, RDN, University of Hawaii at Manoa
General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition Innovation Award
Endowed by the General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition
Rob M. van Dam, PhD, The George Washington University
Haleon Consumer Healthcare Nutritional Science Award
Supported by Haleon
Joshua W. Miller, PhD, Rutgers University
The Mary Swartz Rose Investigator Award*
Qing Jiang, PhD, Purdue University
The Nevin Scrimshaw Mid-Career Award in Global Nutrition
Supported by a grant from the Sight and Life Foundation and contributions from Global Nutrition Council members
Reina Engle-Stone, PhD, University of California, Davis
The Osborne and Mendel Award*
Xingen Lei, PhD, Cornell University
Robert H Herman Memorial Award*
Stavros A. Kavouras, PhD, Arizona State University
ASN Industry Recognition Award*
Shalene McNeill, PhD, RDN, LD, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
Early Career Investigator Awards
The ASNF-NNF Flemming Quaade Award for Innovative Approaches to the Prevention and/or Management of Childhood Obesity
Supported by a grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation
Rachel Whooten, MD, MPH, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children
The Bio-Serv Award in Experimental Animal Nutrition
Supported by Bio-Serv, Inc.
Joseph L. Roberts, PhD, Arizona State University
The ELR Stokstad Award
Supported by an endowment from the ELR Stokstad family
Blake R. Rushing, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The Mary Swartz Rose Early Career Investigator Award*
Rami S. Najjar, PhD, Emory University School of Medicine
The Mead Johnson Award
Endowed by the Mead Johnson Pediatric Nutrition Institute
Daiva E. Nielsen, PhD, McGill University
The National Dairy Council Endowed Dairy Science Award
Endowed by Dairy Management Inc. on behalf of the National Dairy Council
Matthew J. Lees, PhD, McMaster University
The Norman Kretchmer Memorial Award in Nutrition and Development*
Emily R. Smith, ScD, MPH, George Washington University
Outstanding Early Career I Professional Award*
Amy R. Nichols, PhD, MS, RDN, University of California, Davis
Outstanding Early Career II Professional Award*
Samantha Huey, PhD, Cornell Joan Klein Jacobs Center for Precision Nutrition and Health
The Peter J Reeds Early Career Investigator Award
Established with an initial contribution from the Children’s Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine
Kaja Falkenhain, PhD, Pennington Biomedical Research Center
The Samuel J Fomon Early Career Physician Award
Endowed by the Nestlé Nutrition Institute
Anam Bashir, MD, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
The Vernon Young International Award for Amino Acid Research
Endowed by Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
Patricia G. Wolf, PhD, RDN, Purdue University
Other Awards
Korean Nutrition Society (KNS) Award*
Chaoran Ma, MD, PhD, The University of Massachusetts Amherst
Nutrition Society of Taiwan Award*
Tzu-Wen L. Cross, PhD, Purdue University
ASN Volunteer of the Year Award*
Sarah L. Booth, PhD, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University
ASN Journal Research Publishing Awards
The Journal of Nutrition’s Milton L. Sunde Award
Endowed by the Sunde Family
Calcium and Phosphorus Retention and Excretion in Different Strains of Laying Hens during Brooding Period and Key Genes Regulating Calcium and Phosphate Transport
Qiugang Ma, PhD, China Agricultural University
Ruochen Yang, China Agricultural University
The Journal of Nutrition’s Malden Nesheim Nutrition Landscape Award
Supported by Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology
Perspective: Food Is Medicine: Hype or Hope?
Andrea J. Glenn, PhD, RD, New York University
Frank B. Hu, MD, PhD, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
The Journal of Nutrition’s A. Catharine Ross Award in Experimental Nutrition
Supported by Research Diets, Inc.
Nonfat Milk Supplementation Mitigates Hepatic Lipid Accumulation and Improves Hepatic Lipid Metabolism in an Early Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease C57BL/6N Mouse Model
Catherine B. Chan, PhD, University of Alberta
Emily Berg, MsC, University of Alberta
The Journal of Nutrition’s Teresa A. Davis Award in Growth and Protein Nutrition
Supported by donations to the Teresa A. Davis Award Fund
True Ileal Amino Acid Digestibility of Human Foods Classified According to Food Type as Determined in the Growing Pig
Suzanne M. Hodgkinson, PhD, MSc, Riddet Institute, Massey University
Paul Moughan, PhD, Riddet Institute, Massey University
Fellowship, Scholarships, and Funding Opportunities
ASNF Pilot Grant for Early Career Members
Supported by the ASN Foundation
Cristina R. Moraga Franco, PhD, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University
Gerber Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship
Endowed by The Gerber Foundation
Magdalena Olson, MSc, Arizona State University
Herbalife Nutrition Scholarship
Supported by Herbalife
Emily Shapiro, MPH, University of Washington
Haleon Predoctoral Fellowship
Supported by Haleon
C. Payton Harmon, BS, PhD, Rutgers University
ASNF Undergraduate Diversity Research Fellowship
Supported by the ASN Foundation and its generous donors
2026-2027 Class of Undergraduate Diversity Research Fellows will be announced at NUTRITION 2026
Clinical Nutrition Internship Program*
Neha Donthineni, BSA, University of Texas Medical Branch
Early Career Nutrition Seed Funding Program Pilot Grant
Supported by the National Pork Board
Susmita Chowdhury, MBBS, MPhil, FRSPH, PhD(c), Florida International University
The National Dairy Council Early Career Investigator Research Award
Endowed by Dairy Management Inc. on behalf of the National Dairy Council
Yanbo Zhang, PhD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Dennis Bier, MD Early Career Editor for The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Rachel E. Herdes, MD, Stanford Medicine
Top Reviewers for ASN Journals
Advances in Nutrition: An International Review Journal
Kripa Raghavan, DrPH, MPH, MSc, CNPP, USDA
Lauren O’Connor, PhD, Agriculture, Food, and Nutrition Evidence Center, Texas A&M AgriLife Research
Kristen Finn, PhD, DSM-Firmenich AG
Amita Bhadkaria, PhD, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Christopher Gardner, PhD, Stanford University
Maya Vadiveloo, PhD, RD, The University of Rhode Island
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Tor Strand, PhD, University of Bergen
Ranadip Chowdhury, PhD, MD, Centre for Health and Research Development
Tyler Churchward-Venne, PhD, MSc, McGill University
Russell de Souza, PhD, McMaster University
Linda Van Horn, PhD, Northwestern University
Current Developments in Nutrition
Kevin Maki, PhD, Midwest Biomedical Research
Christopher P.F. Marinangeli, PhD, RD, Protein Industries Canada
Kim Stote, PhD, MPH, RDN, Health Science, SUNY
Sahar Golpour-Hamedani, PhD, Isfahan University of Medical Science
Tong Xia, PhD, Harvard Medical School
The Journal of Nutrition
Samantha Huey, PhD, Cornell University
Tamás Decsi, MD, University of Pecs Medical School
Daniel Moore, PhD, University of Toronto
Joshua W. Miller, PhD, Rutgers University
Anne Lise Brantsæter, PhD, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
The 2026 National Scientific Achievement Award recipients will be celebrated July 25-28 in National Harbor, Maryland, during ASN’s annual flagship meeting, NUTRITION 2026.
For more information about ASN and the ASN Foundation, visit nutrition.org/foundation.
