FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 31, 2013

Contact: HHS Press Office (202) 205-0143

HHS AND USDA announce the appointment of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee

The appointment of 15 nationally recognized experts to serve on the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee is being announced today bythe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack. The Committee’s recommendations and rationale will serve as a basis for the eighth edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The Dietary Guidelines serve as the foundation for national nutrition programs, standards, and education. In addition, the Dietary Guidelines provide key recommendations for the general population as well as specific population groups to help people choose an overall healthy diet that works for them.

“As we aim to improve the health of all Americans, we look forward to the important work of this Committee,” said HHS Secretary Sebelius. “Their guidance will help shape recommendations on how we can all live healthier lives by eating a nutritious diet—a key factor in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.”

“The President and First Lady have made it a priority to ensure Americans have access to the information they need to improve their overall health and nutrition,” said USDA Secretary Vilsack. “USDA takes great pride in partnering with the Department of Health and Human Services as we strive to reverse childhood obesity and build a healthier next generation based on the solid science that undergirds the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.”

Every five years, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are updated and published jointly by HHS and USDA. The administrative responsibility for leading the process alternates between Departments.  The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at HHS is the administrative lead for the 2015 process.

The inaugural meeting of the Committee is scheduled for June 13-14, 2013 and will be open to the public. For additional information, including meeting details, press releases, and fact sheets, please visit: www.DietaryGuidelines.gov.

The following individuals have been appointed to the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee:

Chair: Barbara Millen, Dr.P.H, R.D.: Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA (through 2009).  Dr. Millen is currently the Founder and President of Millennium Prevention, Inc., a U.S.-based start-up company with a public health mission, which develops web-based platforms and mobile applications to encourage healthy preventive lifestyle behaviors for clinical settings and corporate, academic, and community wellness initiatives.  Dr. Millen’s academic research career focused on dietary patterns and lifestyle determinants of health and chronic disease risk as well as evidence-based public health strategies to promote optimal nutrition and well-being in older adult, low-income, and minority populations.  During her 30-year tenure at Boston University, she was the Founding Chairman of the Graduate Programs in Medical Nutrition Sciences, the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development of the School of Public Health, the Chairman of the Faculty Council, and Director of Nutrition Research for the internationally-renown Framingham Heart Study.  She has advised research groups nationally and globally, including the World Health Organization, and is on the present NIH expert panels for Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults and for Lifestyle and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction. 

Vice Chair: Alice H. Lichtenstein, D.Sc.: Stanley N. Gershoff Professor of Nutrition Science and Policy, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and Director and Senior Scientist, Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, MA.    Dr. Lichtenstein has broad expertise in nutrition and cardiovascular disease reduction. She previously served as a member of the 2000 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and as a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Dietary Reference Intake Panel on Macronutrients.  Dr. Lichtenstein recently served as the vice-chair of the IOM Committee on Examination of Front-of-Package Nutrient Rating System and Symbols and as a member of the IOM Committee on the Consequences of Sodium Reduction in Populations and is the lead author on the American Heart Association’s current Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations. 

Steven Abrams, M.D.: Professor of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX. Dr. Abrams is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health and the Medical Director for the Neonatal Nutrition Program at Baylor College of Medicine. He is an expert on mineral requirements in children, including calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, and copper.  He has served on the IOM Panels on Calcium and Vitamin D and the Use of Dietary Reference Intakes in Nutrition Labeling, and on the IOM Subcommittee on Upper Safe Reference Levels of Nutrients.  Dr. Abrams currently is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition and the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Lucile Adams-Campbell, Ph.D.: Professor of Oncology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington, DC.  Dr. Adams-Campbell also serves as the Associate Director of Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Associate Dean of Community Health and Outreach at Georgetown University Medical Center Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.  Dr. Adams-Campbell is an epidemiologist who specializes in community health research, interventions, and outreach and is a current member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.  She has played a leading role in the Washington, DC cancer and public health communities.  Her research focuses on energy balance, diet and exercise.  Dr. Adams-Campbell has participated in and led several large cohort studies of African-American women, and she played a leading role in bringing the Boston University Black Women’s Health Study to the District of Columbia—the largest study of African-American women.

Cheryl Anderson, M.P.H., Ph.D.: Associate Professor, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, Calif.  Dr. Anderson is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.  Her research expertise includes chronic disease prevention in minority and underserved populations and in particular, the influence of dietary sodium and potassium on cardiovascular disease.  Dr. Anderson currently serves as a member of the IOM Food and Nutrition Board and served on the recent IOM Committee on the Consequences of Sodium Reduction in Populations.          

J. Thomas Brenna, Ph.D.: Professor of Human Nutrition, Chemistry and Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.  Dr. Brenna is also an Adjunct Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Rochester College of Medicine and Dentistry.  He is an expert in the field of fatty acid and lipid metabolism.  His research focuses on the role of omega-3 fatty acids throughout the life cycle, in particular the effect of intake during pregnancy and lactation on fetal and infant development.  Dr. Brenna has served as a panelist and author for the Expert Consultancy on Fats and Fatty Acids in Human Nutrition for the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization.

Wayne Campbell, Ph.D.: Professor, Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.  Dr. Campbell is also an Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Health and Kinesiology, Purdue University.  He is the Director of the Indiana Clinical Research Center at Purdue, which is a component of the NIH-supported Indiana Clinical and Translational Science Institute at the Indiana University School of Medicine.  Dr. Campbell’s expertise includes evaluating the effects of protein, carbohydrate, and energy intakes and exercise training on macronutrient metabolism, body composition, and muscle strength and function.  In addition, his research endeavors include studying the effects of food form, portion size, and dietary patterning on appetite and weight control with a special emphasis on the aging population.  

Steven Clinton, M.D., Ph.D.: John B. and Jane T. McCoy Chair of Cancer Research, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Professor, Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University School of Medicine, Columbus, OH.  Dr. Clinton also holds appointments in the Department of Human Nutrition in the College of Education and Human Ecology and in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences in the College of Public Health.  He is a physician-scientist who has devoted his career to research in cancer etiology and prevention.  Dr. Clinton’s research focuses on epidemiology, clinical trials, community research, and experimental models, as well as cell and molecular systems.  He has published extensively on the role of dietary energy balance and obesity in cancer risk, on a variety of foods associated with cancer prevention properties, as well as on several nutrients including vitamin D, calcium, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin E.  He served on the IOM Committee on Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin D and Calcium.

Gary Foster, Ph.D.: Director, Center for Obesity Research and Education, Laura Carnell Professor of Medicine, Public Health and Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Foster is an international expert on obesity.  His research interests include the behavioral determinants and treatment of obesity, the effects of various macronutrients on weight loss, and the effects of obesity and weight loss on diabetes and sleep apnea.  Dr. Foster also investigates the prevention of obesity in children in community settings, such as schools, corner stores, supermarkets, and YMCAs.  The focus of his work has been on low income, ethnically diverse populations who disproportionately suffer from obesity and its consequences.  Dr. Foster has been President of the Obesity Society. He currently serves on the American Heart Association Nutrition Committee.

Frank Hu, M.D., Ph.D.: Director, Harvard Transdisciplinary Research in Energetics and Cancer Center, Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.  Dr. Hu also serves as Director, Boston Nutrition and Obesity Research Center Epidemiology and Genetics Core, a Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, and a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital.  Dr. Hu is an epidemiologist and an expert in the areas of dietary and lifestyle determinants of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.  He is the principal investigator for the diabetes component of the Nurses’ Health Study. Dr. Hu has served as an academic leader in a variety of roles, including on the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Obesity Guidelines Expert Panel and the IOM Committee on Preventing the Global Epidemic of Cardiovascular Disease.

Miriam Nelson, Ph.D.: Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Boston, MA.  Dr. Nelson is Founder of the Strong Women Initiative and Co-Founder of ChildObesity180 at Tufts University.  She is an expert on nutrition and physical activity, with extensive research experience integrating the science of energy balance into national-scale approaches. Dr. Nelson served as Vice Chair of the Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee in 2008 and was a member of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.  She currently chairs the Science Board of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition.

Marian Neuhouser, Ph.D., R.D.: Full Member, Cancer Prevention Program, Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA.  Dr. Neuhouser is also an Affiliate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Core Faculty in the Graduate Program in Nutritional Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington.  Dr. Neuhouser is a nutritional epidemiologist with broad experience in large clinical trials, including the Women’s Health Initiative and the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial, small-scale controlled dietary interventions, and large observational cohorts.  She has expertise in the role of numerous dietary components in cancer risk, including carbohydrates, dietary fiber, and vitamin D.  Her research focuses on methods to improve diet and physical activity assessment, diet and physical activity in relation to energy balance, diet-related health disparities, and dietary factors related to breast and prostate cancer prevention and survivorship.  

Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, Ph.D.: Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT. Dr. Pérez-Escamilla also serves as Director, Office of Public Health Practice at the Yale School of Public Health.  He is an internationally recognized scholar in the area of community nutrition for his work in pregnancy and lactation, food security, obesity, diabetes, and food safety.  Dr. Pérez-Escamilla has specialized experience with Hispanic and low-income Americans, as well as populations in low and middle income countries.  His research program seeks to understand how best to promote breastfeeding, causes and consequences of food insecurity, and how to improve diabetes self-management through community health workers.  Dr. Pérez-Escamilla has published numerous articles that have led to improvements in breastfeeding promotion, iron deficiency anemia among infants, household food security measurement, and community nutrition education programs worldwide.  He chairs the Global Nutrition Council of the American Society for Nutrition and is a member of the IOM Food and Nutrition Board. Previously, Dr. Pérez-Escamilla served as a member of the IOM Committee to Re-examine IOM Pregnancy Weight Guidelines and was a member of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. 

Anna Maria Siega-Riz, Ph.D., R.D.: Professor, Departments of Epidemiology and Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC.  Dr. Siega-Riz is also the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the School of Public Health and Program Leader for the Reproductive, Perinatal, and Pediatric Program in the Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Dr. Siega-Riz has focused her research on maternal nutritional status, including maternal obesity and gestational weight gain and their effect on birth outcomes as well as the determinants of early childhood obesity.  She studies dietary patterns among Hispanic adults and children, in general, and served on the Scientific Advisory Panel for the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study.  Dr. Siega-Riz has served on multiple committees for the IOM, examining topics from the WIC food packages to standards for systematic reviews in health care and currently serves on the advisory council of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Mary Story, Ph.D., R.D.: Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs and Professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.  Dr. Story is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine at the University of Minnesota.  Dr. Story concurrently serves as Director of the National Program Office for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Healthy Eating Research Program that supports research on environmental and policy strategies to promote healthy eating among children to prevent childhood obesity.  She has conducted numerous school and community-based environmental intervention and obesity prevention studies for children, adolescents, and families.  Dr. Story was elected to the IOM in 2010 and is currently a member of the IOM Food and Nutrition Board and the Standing Committee on Childhood Obesity Prevention.

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Last revised: May 31, 2013