For those of you who have not kept up with the Institute's activities over the years we should introduce you to the director, Dr. Richard J. Deckelbaum. He succeeded the late Dr. DeWitt S. Goodman in September of 1992. A professor of pediatrics, Dr. Deckelbaum received a B.Sc. and M.D. from McGill University.  He has a long professional involvement with issues of human nutrition and special concerns with nutrition in the pediatric population. He also has published extensively on lipoprotein metabolism and on the role of children's nutrition in heart disease.

Dr. Deckelbaum's primary research interests concern human plasma lipoproteins, the metabolism of intravenous lipid emulsions, and the cellular effects of dietary fats and free fatty acids.  His work has led to basic understanding of mechanisms whereby human lipoproteins are structurally remodeled in the plasma compartment, and factors modulating receptor-lipoprotein interactions. 

He also leads international NIH and USAID programs integrating the molecular biology of intestinal parasites with clinical and epidemiological manifestations of infection, with emphasis on chronic diarrhea and malnutrition.

Dr. Deckelbaum has served on numerous advisory boards and committees including: the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's (NHLBI) National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Children and Adolescents, the American Heart Association (AHA) Nutrition Committee, and as a consultant at the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences.  Dr. Deckelbaum was co-chair of the American Heart Association conference on "Heart Health in Children", chair of "Preventive Nutrition: " Pediatrics to Geriatrics" (Feb. 1997) and current chair of the March of Dimes conference on "Nutrition and Optimal Human Development" (June, 1999).  Dr. Deckelbaum also served on the USDA/HNS Dietary Guideline Advisory Committee (DGAC) for the year 2000.