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Second Annual Barmes Lecture
Scrimshaw To Give FIC Anniversary Lecture

By Irene Edwards

Dr. Nevin Scrimshaw, institute professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and senior advisor for the food and nutrition programme at the United Nations University, will deliver the second annual David Barmes Global Health lecture on Monday, Oct. 28 at 3:30 p.m. in Masur Auditorium, Bldg. 10. The lecture, entitled "Determinants of Global Health: Nutrition, Immunity and Infection," honors Barmes, who was a special expert for international health in the NIDCR Office of International Health prior to his death in 2001. It is also the first in a year-long series of global health lectures to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Fogarty International Center.

Dr. Nevin Scrimshaw A major force in the field of international nutrition, Scrimshaw's career has spanned more than five decades and his contributions have ranged from nutritional anthropology to food science and technology. His name is synonymous with the fight against malnutrition. Scrimshaw was the founding director of the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama, the first international research institute devoted to the study of malnutrition and to finding effective and feasible interventions. It was during this period that he clearly conceptualized the critical role of infection in the pathogenesis of severe protein-energy malnutrition, and the need to address both the infectious diseases and the dietary adequacy to break the cycle of malnutrition and infection. In 1961, he became head of the department of nutrition and food science at MIT and director of its clinical research center, quickly making MIT the leading center in international expertise in nutrition and nutrition policy.

A graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, Scrimshaw received his M.D. from the University of Rochester and an M.A. (biology), M.P.H. and Ph.D (physiology) from Harvard University. He has been a key leader of the UN University, including director of its world hunger programme, its food, nutrition and poverty programme and its development studies division. He is the recipient of innumerable honors and honorary degrees including the Joseph Goldberger Award in Clinical Nutrition from the AMA, the McCollum Award from the American Society for Clinical Nutrition, the Bristol Myers Prize in Nutrition and the Kellogg Prize for International Nutrition from the Society for International Nutrition Research. Scrimshaw is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine.

His career in international nutrition is one of scholarship, leadership and advocacy. Above all, he is an inspiration and a role model for young scientists around the world, consistently promoting career development and always advocating the importance of "science for global health."

All who are interested are welcome to attend the lecture and to meet with Scrimshaw at an informal reception that will follow the talk.