The ASN by-laws, approved by the membership in June 2005,
established Scientific Councils. Scientific Councils are meant to
encompass a broad spectrum of nutrition research and to serve as
the basis for governance in ASN. Scientific Councils will
integrate nutrition knowledge arising from various scientific
disciplines, develop priorities for ASN, and initiate
translational and policy activities, all of which support the
mission and goals of ASN. Council activities will help to inform
policy makers in universities, funding agencies, and local,
state, and national governments. A key role for Councils in ASN
will be in society governance through representation on the
Executive Board, on society committees, including Public Policy,
Scientific Programs, Long-range Planning, and Graduate and
Professional Education. Such committees will be charged to
develop and implement programmatic and outreach activities for
ASN that are targeted to the interest areas represented by the
Council membership. Councils will have an operating budget
provided by ASN.
There are three councils.
International Nutrition
Council: The International Nutrition Council (INC) will
serve members with basic and applied research interests on all
aspects of human nutrition of relevance to both economically
less-developed countries and to disadvantaged populations and the
translation of this knowledge into training, policies and
programs. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to: (1)
under nutrition and deficiency diseases, (2) relationships
between infection and nutrition, (3) nutrition interventions and
their evaluation, and (4) the relationships between economic
development policy and nutrition. These research efforts may
include nutritional biochemistry, physiology, clinical nutrition,
nutritional epidemiology, nutritional anthropology or other
social and behavioral sciences, economics, and public health.
Current chair: Grace Marquis
Medical Nutrition Council:
The Medical Nutrition Council (MNC) will serve members who are
interested in clinical, research, educational, and/or training
aspects of nutrition and metabolism as it relates to optimal
health and the prevention and treatment of human disease. The MNC
will provide an interface between advances made in laboratory
science to clinical practice, and bridge gaps in the translation
of knowledge from the bench to the bedside to the community. The
MNC will disseminate clinical nutrition knowledge, promote
policies to prevent and treat nutrition-related diseases, train
health professionals, and monitor national dietary and disease
trends. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to: (1)
nutrition-related diseases in humans; (2) clinical nutrition
practice; (3)complementary and alternative medical nutrition; (4)
determinants and consequences of dietary and nutritional trends;
(5) national nutrition intervention programs and policies; and,
(6) nutrition training for health care professionals from
undergraduate through sub-specialty training.
Current chair: Penny Kris-Etherton
Nutritional Sciences
Council: The Nutritional Sciences Council (NSC) will serve
members with research interests encompassing the breadth of
nutrition sciences from genes to individuals, with applications
to humans and production and experimental animal species across
the lifespan. The council will facilitate improvement of the
nutritional status of individuals and populations through basic
discovery research and dissemination of nutrition advances in
community-based programs, advocacy of national policies promoting
funding of biomedical research and nutrition programs, and
promoting graduate nutrition education. Areas of interest
include, but are not limited to: (1) regulation of macronutrient
and micronutrient metabolism; (2) nutrient requirements across
the lifespan; (3) optimal nutrition for the prevention of
disease; (4) biochemical and physiological functions of dietary
bioactive components, and (5) nutrition intervention and
education in community settings.
View the NSC Website here.
ALL ASN members are eligible for council membership and can enroll by contacting us at mem@nutrition.org.