The awards recognize leaders whose research, teaching, mentoring and service advance nutrition science and improve health worldwide.
The American Society for Nutrition (ASN) and the American Society for Nutrition (ASNF) today announced the recipients of the 2026 National Scientific Achievement Awards. The awards represent a diverse group of scientists, clinicians, educators, educators and emerging leaders whose work is advancing nutrition science and improving health worldwide.
Prizes will be awarded during it Nutrition 2026which will be held July 25-28 in Mill Harbor, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC. The meeting brings 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 practitioners who have dedicated their careers to the advancement of nutritional science,” said Naima Mustaid-Moussa, PhD, DFASN, FTOS, FAHA, FNAI, ASN President. “The 2026 award winners represent the best of this community. Their work will help us better understand nutrition, improve health and inspire the next generation of nutrition professionals.”
This year’s honorees make a difference in nutrition science through research, clinical practice, teaching, mentoring and leadership.
“Behind every scientific breakthrough 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 awards reflect the many people who are moving food science forward, from established leaders whose work has shaped 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 Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement in Obesity Research
By Dr. George A. Bray and his wife, Marilyn M. Bray is given
Susan K. Fried, MS, PhD, Rutgers University
Lifetime Achievements at the Jean-Pierre Habicht International Food Prize
Supported by Jean-Pierre Habicht Lifetime Achievement Donors at the Global Nutrition Research Foundation
Vafai V. Fawzi, MBBS, MPH, MS, DrPH, Harvard School of Public Health TH Chan
Robert Suskind and Leslie Levinter-Suskind Award for Achievement in Child Nutrition
Donated by Dr. Robert Suskind and his wife Leslie Levinter-Suskind
Christopher P. Duggan, MD, PhD, Children’s Hospital Boston
Roland L Weincier Award for Excellence in Medical/Dental Nutrition Education*
Michael M. Rothkopf, MD, Consultants in Metabolic Medicine
Konrad Elvehjem Award for Community Service in Food
Supported by Mondelēz International
Anne L. Yaktin, MS, PhD, RD, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
David Krichevsky Career Achievement Award
Supported by Mondelēz International
Barry M. Popkin, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Investigator and Teacher Awards
ASNF-NNF Henrik Dam Award for Scientific Discovery in Nutrition
Supported by a grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation
Anna Thalaker-Mercer, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham
ASN Foundation Mentor Award*
David W. Threadgill, PhD, Texas A&M University
EV McCollum Award*
John L. Sevenpiper, MD, PhD, FRCPC, University of Toronto and St. Michael’s Hospital
Nutrition Education Excellence Award*
Jinan C. Banna, PhD, RDN, University of Hawaii at Manoa
General Mills Bell Institute for Health and Nutrition Innovation Award
Provided by Bell Mills Institute of General Health and Nutrition
Rob M. van Dam, PhD, George Washington University
Haleon Consumer Health Food Science Award
Powered by Haleon
Joshua W. Miller, PhD, Rutgers University
Mary Swartz Rose Investigator Award*
Qing Jiang, PhD, Purdue University
Nevin Scrimshaw Award in Global Food
Supported by a grant from the Vision and Life Foundation and contributions from members of the World Food Council
Reina Engle-Stone, PhD, University of California, Davis
Osborne and Mendel Award*
Xingen Lei, PhD, Cornell University
Robert Herman Memorial Award*
Stavros A. Kavouras, PhD, Arizona State University
ASN Industry Recognition Award*
Shalene McNeil, PhD, RDN, LD, National Cattlemen’s Association
Pre-Professional Investigator Awards
ASNF-NNF Flemming Quadade Award for Innovative Approaches to the Prevention and/or Management of Childhood Obesity
Supported by a grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation
Rachel Wooten, MD, MPH, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children
Bio-Serv Award in Experimental Animal Nutrition
Support Bio-Serv, Inc.
Joseph L. Roberts, PhD, Arizona State University
ELR Stokstad Award
Supported by the ELR Stokstad Family Charity
Blake R. Rushing, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Mary Swartz Rose Award for Early Career Investigator*
Rami S. Najjar, PhD, Emory University School of Medicine
Mead Johnson Award
Provided by the Mead Johnson Pediatric Nutrition Institute
Daiva E. Nielsen, PhD, McGill University
The National Dairy Council has awarded the Dairy Science Award
On behalf of the National Dairy Council by Dairy Management Inc
Matthew J. Lees, Ph.D., McMaster University
Norman Kretschmer Memorial Award in Nutrition and Development*
Emily R. Smith, ScD, MPH, George Washington University
Distinguished Early Career I Career Award*
Amy Nichols, PhD, MS, RDN, University of California, Davis
Outstanding Early Career Award II*
Samantha Huey, PhD, Cornell Joan Klein Jacobs Center for Precision Nutrition and Health
Peter J Reeds Early Career Investigator Award
Founded with initial contributions from the Child Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine
Kaja Falkenhain, PhD, Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Samuel J Faumon Award for Early Career Physicians
Provided by the Nestlé Nutrition Institute
Anam Bashir, MD, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Vernon Young International Prize for Amino Acid Research
By Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
Patricia G. Wolff, PhD, RDN, Purdue University
Other rewards
Korea Nutrition Society (KNS) Award*
Chaoran Ma, MD, PhD, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Taiwan Food Society Award*
Tzu-Wen L. Cross, PhD, Purdue University
ASN Volunteer of the Year Award*
Sarah L. Booth, PhD, Jean Mayer USDA Center for Human Nutrition Research on Aging at Tufts University
ASN Research Journal Publishing Awards
Food magazine The Milton L. Sunday
Given by the Sunde family
Storage and excretion of calcium and phosphorus in different strains of laying hens during growth and calcium genes regulating calcium and phosphate transport
Qiugang Ma, PhD, China Agricultural University
Ruochen Yang, China Agricultural University
Food magazine Malden Nesheim Food Landscape Award
Supported by the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University
Perspective: Food is Medicine: Hype or Hope?
Andrea J. Glenn, PhD, RD, New York University
Frank B. Hu, MD, PhD, Harvard School of Public Health TH Chan
Food magazine A. Catherine Ross Prize in Experimental Nutrition
Support Research Diets, Inc.
Nonfat milk supplementation reduces hepatic lipid accumulation and improves hepatic lipid metabolism in a C57BL/6N mouse model of steatotic liver disease associated with early metabolic disorders.
Katherine B. Chan, Ph.D., University of Alberta
Emily Berg, MsC, University of Alberta
Food magazine The Teresa A. Davis in Growth and Protein Nutrition
With donations to the Teresa A. Davis is supported
The true digestibility of ileal amino acids is classified according to the type of feed used in growing pigs.
Suzane M. Hodgkinson, PhD, MSc, Riddett Institute, Massey University
Paul Mugan, PhD, Riddett Institute, Massey University
Scholarships, bursaries and funding opportunities
ASNF Pilot Grant for Early Career Members
Supported by the ASN Foundation
Christina R. Moraga Franco, PhD, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University
Gerber Foundation Doctoral Fellowship
Granted by the Gerber Foundation
Magdalena Olson, MSc, Arizona State University
Herbalife Nutrition Scholarship
Powered by Herbalife
Emily Shapiro, MPH, University of Washington
Haleon Doctoral Scholarship
Powered by Haleon
C. Payton Harmon, BS, PhD, Rutgers University
ASNF Student Diversity Research Scholarship
Supported by the ASN Foundation and its generous donors
2026-2027 Class of Student Diversity Scholars Announced at NUTRITION 2026
Clinical Nutrition Internship Program*
Neha Dontineni, BSA, University of Texas Medical Branch
Early Bird Seed Funding Pilot Grant Program
Supported by the National Pork Board
Susmita Chowdhury, MBBS, MPhil, FRSPH, PhD (c), Florida International University
National Deirdre Council for Investigator Award
On behalf of the National Dairy Council by Dairy Management Inc
Yanbo Zhang, PhD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Dennis Bier, Early Career Editor for MD American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Rachel E. Herdes, MD, Stanford Medicine
Best review for ASN magazines
Advances in Nutrition: An International Review Journal
Kripa Raghavan, DrPH, MPH, MSc, CNPP, USDA
Lauren O’Connor, PhD, Center for Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Evidence, 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 Vadivelo, PhD, RD, University of Rhode Island
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Thor Strand, PhD, University of Bergen
Ranadeep Chowdhury, PhD, MD, Center for Health and Development Research
Tyler Churchward-Venn, PhD, MSc, McGill University
Russell de Souza, PhD, McMaster University
Linda Van Horn, PhD, Northwestern University
Current developments in nutrition
Kevin Mackey, PhD, Midwest Biomedical Research
Christopher PF Marinengeli, PhD, RD, Protein Industries Canada
Kim Stote, PhD, MPH, RDN, Health Sciences, SUNY
Sahar Golpour-Hamedoni, doctor of medical sciences, Isfahan
Tong Xia, PhD, Harvard Medical School
Food magazine
Samantha Huey, Cornell University Ph.D
Tamas Decsi, MD, School of Medicine, University of Pécs
Daniel Moore, PhD, University of Toronto
Joshua W. Miller, PhD, Rutgers University
Ann Lise Brantseter, PhD, Norwegian Institute of Health
The 2026 National Academic Achievement Award recipients will be celebrated July 25-28 in Harbor, Maryland, at the ASN Annual Meeting. Nutrition 2026.
For more information about ASN and the ASN Foundation, visit nutrition.org/foundation.
