USDA administrators will speak about research and funding priorities at August 15 event
The HNRCA will host “A Washington Perspective: The Importance of Nutrition and Aging Research” on Aug. 15, featuring senior USDA officials who are instrumental in setting policy at the national level and determining how funding is awarded for food, nutrition and healthy aging research.
Among the speakers are Chavonda Jacobs-Young, administrator of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service; Sonny Ramaswamy, director of the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which provides extramural funding for programs that advance agriculture-related sciences; and Pamela Starke-Reed, deputy administrator of the Agricultural Research Service.
The Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts was established in 1977 by an act of Congress and is one of six USDA human nutrition centers in the country, and the only one that focuses on the relationship between nutrition and healthy aging.
While Tufts operates the HNRCA, it is managed through a cooperative agreement with the USDA, which involves coordinating research agendas. The USDA owns and operates the HNRCA facilities on the Boston Health Sciences campus and provides $12 million of the HNRCA’s annual operating budget. The 150 HNRCA scientists, technicians and other staff are at the forefront of nutrition research and their work directly impacts the American public through innovative scientific findings and their influence on the national dietary guidelines.
“Tufts and the HNRCA are very proud of our nearly 40-year partnership with the USDA and are honored that three USDA officials key to the scientific research agenda for our country will be sharing insights with the Tufts community,” said Sarah Booth, interim director of the HNRCA.
The event will take place on Aug. 15, 10-11 a.m., at the HNRCA Auditorium, 711 Washington Street, Boston. RSVP at the program website.
