Meet Dr. Keith West, ASN President and George G. Graham Professor at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Growing With Its Members
When Keith P. West, Jr., DrPH, MPH, first joined the American Society for Nutrition, the field of nutrition looked very different than it does today. More than 40 years later, as ASN’s 2026-2027 president, he has a unique perspective on how the Society and the field have grown and changed together.
Dr. West’s ASN Member Spotlight provides a closer look at his career and long connection to the Society. ASN also recently announced its 2026-2027 leadership, including Dr. West’s election as president.
For Dr. West, one of the biggest changes over the years has been the growing opportunities for members to participate, connect, and contribute. As he puts it, ASN has “grown the field and grown with the field.”
That idea is central to how Dr. West views ASN. The Society grows as nutrition science grows. Its members help shape that growth through their expertise, ideas, time, and commitment.
Growing with the field
Dr. West remembers a time when the size of ASN was limited, and membership required two reference letters and a rigorous review. Today, while the need for references no longer exists, ASN has over 9000 members with exceptional expertise across the diverse specialties in nutrition who engage in many ways. Digital platforms, virtual networks, Groups Engaging Members (GEMs), newsletters, and other communication channels make it easier for members to connect with colleagues, find collaborators, and share their expertise.
Publications are the scientific heart of ASN.
When Dr. West joined ASN, it published The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and The Journal of Nutrition. Today, ASN’s portfolio also includes Advances in Nutrition and Current Developments in Nutrition, covering research across basic, clinical, and emerging areas of nutrition science. Unlike their historical physical publications, today’s ASN journals are available around the world with just a few clicks.
“The opportunities for connecting and engaging and contributing to knowledge have never been greater,” he says, “and I’m sure that will only increase.”
A global nutrition community
ASN is also finding new ways to engage with nutrition professionals around the world. One of Dr. West’s priorities as president is to expand ASN’s membership and partnerships in low- and middle-income countries. Nutrition science capacity has developed substantially in lower resourced countries, yet many professionals have not been able to afford ASN membership.
Through a new partnership model, eligible nutrition professionals in low-and middle-income countries who belong to participating national societies can join ASN as Affiliate Members for $20 per year. The program will offer a way for ASN to assist in connecting nutrition professionals and organizations around the world.
Dr. West sees these efforts as more than increasing membership. They create unprecedented opportunities to exchange knowledge across our global community of nutrition scholars. He has engaged with numerous nutrition experts in low- and middle-income countries, convincing him that connecting these scientists through ASN can benefit both members and the participating network of nutrition societies.
Many facets of malnutrition, food systems, diets and disease patterns vary by region, but similar burdens and risks are also emerging, such as the obesity pandemic, chronic diseases, ultra-processed foods and climate change, that can incentivize scientists in diverse cultures and habitats to join forces to find solutions. Dr. West envisions this new ASN global initiative can help do that, holding that “Science is also a form of diplomacy.”
Engaging the next generation
Dr. West notes that discoveries in omics biomarkers and in our understanding of human microbiome relevant to nutrition, and in the field of precision medicine, are creating new opportunities for nutrition scientists entering the field. On the applied side, implementation science in nutrition is now seen to be critical for guiding the development and scaling up of evidence-based interventions. These advances make collaboration across disciplines ever more important, and possible.
ASN can help bring these perspectives and capabilities together. When colleagues with different areas of expertise have a chance to work together, whether in person or virtually, they can learn faster and, as collaborative teams, accelerate understanding of nutritional determinants of health and disease.
The commitment of ASN members makes those opportunities possible. The Society’s committees, working groups, scientific programs, and other activities depend on members who volunteer their time and expertise.
“The level of commitment of voluntary time and expertise across our membership is not to be understated,” West says.
As president, he says it is a privilege to see the breadth, and find ways to support that commitment.
Trust in science
As nutrition science grows, so does the challenge of accurately communicating complex research in a world filled with competing information.
A focus of Dr. West’s presidency is to preserve the public’s trust in nutrition science. He sees a vital role for ASN in helping to protect the integrity of research findings as they get translated to the public, so that people understand what they mean.
“It doesn’t stop with the publication, it starts with the publication,” he says.
Scientific findings can be complicated, while social media and other channels often favor short, simple messages. Dr. West believes ASN can help make complex research easier to understand without losing the most important details and context behind the science.
That also means engaging the next generation of scientists, many of whom are already using digital tools in new ways. Artificial intelligence (AI) is one example. Dr. West believes scientists should be transparent about how they use AI in research, writing, reviewing and practice while ensuring that it supports rather than replaces their own thinking and judgment.
For ASN, maintaining trust means staying committed to sound science and ethical research while adapting to new technologies and ways of communicating.
ASN’s next century
As ASN approaches its centennial in 2028, Dr. West sees a Society that needs to keep evolving while holding on to the qualities that have shaped it over the years.
Investigative tools advance. Research findings evolve, and at times contradict and re-emerge differently. We are finding food systems, along with climate and diets of populations change. Yet through all of this, the pursuit of scientific integrity, valid methods, ethical practice, and truth in messaging remains.
“Malnutrition, in its many forms, are rarely eradicated,” he says, “just controlled, requiring vigilance in prevention.”
Meeting these challenges will require ASN to build on its history while staying open to new approaches to science, technologies, and ways of working. Climate change, noncommunicable diseases, food systems, ultra-processed foods, new diagnostic tools, and advances in omics are creating new opportunities for nutrition science.
Through all of this, Dr. West emphasizes the importance of scientific integrity, ethical research, and trust in the scientific process. These principles have been part of ASN for many years, and they continue to be shaped and strengthened by its members.
Growing together
Dr. West firmly believes that ASN provides opportunities for members to learn, publish, collaborate, and connect. Members, in turn, bring their expertise, perspectives, time, and passion to the Society and to the broader field.
That relationship helps ASN grow with its members and with advances in nutrition science and its applications to improve health.
As ASN looks toward its second century, Dr. West sees a bright future for our Society as a trusted, inclusive and collaborative community of scholars, without borders, advancing scientific knowledge and practice of nutrition. Just as members have helped shape ASN over the years, they will continue to shape where the Society goes next.
For current and future members, there are many ways to be part of that work. Explore ways to connect with ASN.
