The Johns Hopkins Center for Human Nutrition (CHN) is a multidisciplinary effort to advance research, training, and public service in the field of human nutrition. Since 1990 it has been based at the School of Public Health, in collaboration with the School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Its mission is to generate new knowledge, train the next generation of nutrition scientists, and develop innovative approaches to domestic and international challenges in public health nutrition. The science of human nutrition has undergone a quiet revolution, thanks to major advances in molecular and cell biology and in the conduct of population-based epidemiologic studies. The importance of applied nutrition is greater than ever before. Once concerned primarily with eliminating nutritional deficiencies, nutrition programs are now focusing on the relationship between diet and the development of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Nutritional management of sick persons has also become an integral part of modern medicine. At the same time, there remains concern over the problem of malnutrition, including vitamin and mineral deficiencies, in developing countries. The CHN was created in response to the need to integrate and expand the numerous academic research activities in human nutrition taking place at the Schools of Public Health and Medicine, as well as throughout the university. One goal of the Center is to offer a multidisciplinary educational program in laboratory, clinical, and public health nutrition. The Gourman Report on Graduate Education has ranked ours in the top five among 140 nutrition programs reviewed in the United States. Further goals are to conduct research that will increase our understanding of the role of nutrition in health and disease and to develop new ways of applying that knowledge to improve the health of populations. Current areas of emphasis include maternal-infant nutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, protein-energy metabolism, and nutrition intervention programs. Since 1994, the CHN has had a cooperative agreement with the Beltsville Research Center of the US Department of Agriculture, which facilitates collaboration and provides funds for specific joint projects. In 1994 the CHN received an unrestricted Centers of Excellence Award from the Bristol Myers Squibb Company. The company funds eight such centers worldwide. The Center, through a continuous series of cooperative agreements over the past 18 years, serves as the pre-eminent micronutrient research and technical assistance team for USAID. Faculty research is funded primarily by the NIH, USAID, USDA, and several foundations, including Task Force Sight and Life at Roche, Thrasher, Nestlé, Gerber, Bristol Myers, and Ford. For further information, visit the Center for Human Nutrition website.
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