My ADA

Pennsylvania Registered Dietitian Receives American Dietetic Association’s Highest Award

FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 1, 2007

Media contacts: Jennifer Starkey, Julia Dombrowski
                          800/877-1600, ext. 4802, 4769
                          media@eatright.org

CHICAGO – Registered dietitian Penny Kris-Etherton, an internationally known authority on cardiovascular disease, dietetics education and dietary guidelines for consumers, has been named the 2007 recipient of the American Dietetic Association’s highest honor, the Marjorie Hulsizer Copher Award.

The award, named for an early 20th-century pioneer in dietetics, is given annually to an ADA member in recognition of career achievements and a lifetime of contributions to ADA and to the dietetics profession. Kris-Etherton, Distinguished Professor of Nutrition at Pennsylvania State University, will receive the award September 29 at the Opening Session of ADA’s Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo in Philadelphia. Approximately 10,000 of the nation’s top nutrition professionals and industry leaders will attend ADA’s meeting September 29 to October 2.

Kris-Etherton has been an ADA member since 1972. She is a past recipient of the ADA Foundation’s Elaine R. Monsen Award for Outstanding Research Literature in the Field of Dietetics, Food and Nutrition, and has served on numerous ADA committees and task forces on women’s health, cardiovascular disease, nutrition education and other issues. Her leadership and accomplishments in sports nutrition, lipids and heart disease earned Kris-Etherton the 1989 SCAN Achievement Award, given by ADA’s Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition practice group. Kris-Etherton was the lead author on two editions of ADA’s cardiovascular nutrition manual.

A Penn State faculty member since 1979, Kris-Etherton has published more than 200 scientific papers and abstracts, more than two dozen book chapters and co-authored four books including Nutrition in Women’s Health (Aspen 1996) and Managing Nutrition Care of Coronary Patients in Different Health Care Settings (Aspen 2001).

In 2003-04, Kris-Etherton served as one of 13 members of the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services’ Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, whose comprehensive review of current dietary recommendations report formed the basis for development of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In addition to ADA, she is active in organizations including the American Heart Association, American Society for Nutrition, American Diabetes Association and Society for Nutrition Education.

Kris-Etherton is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology. She earned a master’s degree from Case Western Reserve University and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. She did postdoctoral research at Stanford University.

With more than 67,000 members, the American Dietetic Association is the nation’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. ADA serves the public by promoting optimal nutrition, health and well-being. To locate a registered dietitian in your area, visit the American Dietetic Association at www.eatright.org.

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