Meet Dr. Julia Finkelstein, associate professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Cornell University and a long-time ASN member. She has dedicated her career to advancing knowledge of nutrition and one-carbon metabolism and to improving the health of women and children worldwide.
In 2025, Dr. Finkelstein received the ASN Foundation (ASNF) and the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF) Henrik Dam Award for Scientific Discovery in Nutrition, which recognizes mid-career professionals whose research has made outstanding contributions to understanding micronutrients, nutritional status, and metabolism. The award includes more than $315,000 in funding and the opportunity to deliver an award lecture at ASN’s annual NUTRITION meeting. Her award lecture, Periconceptional One-Carbon Metabolism and Maternal and Child Health, presented at NUTRITION 2025 in Orlando, FL, is available to watch for free on DiscoverNUTRITION through the end of the year.
Her work reflects the purpose of the award by combining scientific rigor with a commitment to translating research into better health outcomes.
A Lifelong Passion for Nutrition, Epidemiology, and Maternal and Child Health
Dr. Finkelstein describes her path into nutrition science as a love story with nutrition, metabolism, and epidemiology.
“I really fell in love with nutrition and one-carbon metabolism through the lens of epidemiology and maternal and child health,” she explained. “Understanding how nutrients interact in human physiology, and how nutritional problems disproportionately affect populations such as women of reproductive age, pregnant women, and young children, has always driven my work.”
Her research focuses on the design of nutritional interventions to improve maternal and child health. “Even seemingly ‘simple’ nutritional problems like anemia are really complex once you start to unpack them,” she said. “The way nutrients interact together in human health and disease is important to consider in the design of impactful interventions.”
Growing Up with ASN
Dr. Finkelstein calls ASN her academic family.
“Academically, I’ve grown up in the ASN community,” she said. “My first oral presentation, my first poster, my first foray into academia all started at ASN meetings when I was still a graduate student.”
As her career developed, she found multiple areas that resonated with her. “Global nutrition was always home, and I also found my way into vitamins and minerals, and of course, maternal perinatal and pediatric nutrition,” she explained.
She was recently elected Chair of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) B-vitamins and One-Carbon Metabolism section, which she describes as a full-circle moment, for someone who began her career in ASN as a graduate student.
Recognition and Research Expansion
Receiving the inaugural Henrik Dam Award, was humbling and motivating, and occurred at a critical time.
The support provided by the award has allowed Finkelstein to expand her work, including strengthening her population-based research program in India and leveraging a biorepository in India and the United States in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It also enabled her to explore ancillary questions on the role of key nutrients in metabolism and women’s health across the life cycle.
“The award funding has allowed us to leverage our biorepository to look at other research questions, and to bring some of this international work home to New York State,” Finkelstein said. “It provides me with an opportunity to start to bring this research to communities with the greatest need here in the US.”
2025 ASNF-NNF Henrik Dam Award Lecture On Demand
Watch Dr. Julia Finkelstein’s award lecture, Periconceptional One-Carbon Metabolism and Maternal and Child Health, presented at NUTRITION 2025 in Orlando, FL.
Free through December 31, 2025!
Encouraging ASN Members to Nominate or Apply
Dr. Finkelstein encourages ASN members to consider nominating themselves or their colleagues for the Henrik Dam Award.
“Don’t hesitate. Apply. Throw your hat in.” she said. “Even if you do not get to the final round or the award does not come at this time, the process itself—reflecting on your research and gathering nominations from experts in your field—can be incredibly valuable.”
She shared her own experience of initial hesitation. When she first saw the posting, she wondered if a population-based scientist would even be considered. “When my director, Sander, reached out and encouraged me, it made me pause, I realized that putting my hat in the ring was the right step,” she said. “I encourage anyone who is eligible to apply.”
Nominations for the ASNF – NNF Henrik Dam Award and many other honors are being accepted through December 1, 2025. Explore award opportunities and help celebrate excellence in nutrition science.
The Value of Mid-Career Support
Dr. Finkelstein also reflected on why ASN’s support for mid-career scientists is critical.
“There are moments in a scientist’s career when additional support can make an enormous difference. Early career is critical, and mid-career is one of those times. You are leading your own research program, mentoring trainees, and building towards long-term goals. Support at this stage allows mid-career scientists to open new avenues of research as well as lift up early-career scientists in our teams, to take on that extra student or postdoc, and pay it forward.”
She noted that mid-career awards fill a unique gap. “Early-career awards are important, and lifetime achievement awards recognize leaders later on, yet mid-career scientists can fall between those categories. ASN’s strategic awards for mid-career scientists provide the support, time, and flexibility needed to advance research and mentorship. These awards create opportunities that strengthen the entire nutrition community.”
Navigating Challenges and Encouraging the Next Generation
Reflecting on her own career, Dr. Finkelstein acknowledges that the path of a scientist is rarely linear. “Nothing is a straight line. Everything will happen, although not always in the way or on the timeline you expect.”
Her message to early- and mid-career scientists is one of persistence and connection: to stay the course, seek collaboration, and trust that the zigs and zags of the journey will ultimately lead you forward.
She compares career growth to sailing: from afar, it can look like a smooth arc across the water to your destination, yet in the moment, in the boat you are constantly adjusting direction. “Don’t be discouraged if it does not seem like a straight path,” she added. “And when a great opportunity or mentor opens a door, walk through it.”
Reflecting on the current research landscape, she noted the unique challenges of the moment, both in the US and globally. “This is a very challenging moment. My advice is to lean into your community—your colleagues, your mentors, and ASN. Mentorship is not only top down; it goes both ways. Support each other, lift each other up, and remember this moment will pass.”
Looking Ahead: Nutrition and Women’s Health Across the Lifespan
Dr. Finkelstein’s next chapter will focus on nutrition and women’s health across the lifespan.
“I started in nutrition during pregnancy and reproductive-age women, and I am excited to expand my work to encompass nutrition and women’s health from adolescence through midlife and beyond – to improve the health of women across the lifespan. We need to shine more light on nutrition and women’s health at every stage.”
She is also building a nutrition and women’s health research program in New York State, inspired to address challenges close to home. “Nutrition and women’s health challenges here in the United States have continued to grow. Thanks to the support and flexibility provided by the Henrick Dam Award, I have an opportunity to bring some of this work home – to invest in research that connects science with real-world solutions, both here at home and abroad.”
Nominate a Mid-Career Scientist for the Henrik Dam Award
Nominations for the ASNF-NNF Henrik Dam Award for Scientific Discovery in Nutrition are being accepted through December 1, 2025. Explore this and other award opportunities at nutrition.org/awards. Help recognize and support the next generation of leaders in the field of nutrition.
