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March of Dimes Honors Dr. Kathryn Dewey For Outstanding Work in Maternal-Fetal Nutrition
BOSTON, NOV. 13, 2000 -- Kathryn G. Dewey, Ph.D., Professor of Nutrition at the University of California, Davis, today received the March of Dimes Agnes Higgins Award for outstanding achievement in the field of maternal-fetal nutrition.
The award was presented to Dr. Dewey by the president of the March of Dimes, Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA), which is being held here. The ceremony took place during a joint session of the APHA's sections on Maternal/Child Care and Food and Nutrition.
Dr. Dewey is renowned both in the United States and the developing world as an expert on the nutritional needs of breastfeeding women and their infants. Her work has led to a better understanding of various key factors in breastfeeding, and has resulted in new standards, recommendations and public policies for the health of mothers and babies. She demonstrated that mothers could engage in exercise and achieve weight loss without jeopardizing milk production, an important finding given that excess weight retention following pregnancy is a major contributor to obesity in women. She has also studied the impact of coffee consumption on the iron status of mothers and infants, and the optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding.
Dr. Dewey also has contributed greatly to the field of maternal-fetal nutrition through professional service and teaching. She is a technical consultant on infant and young child feeding for the World Health Organization and UNICEF, and a member of the March of Dimes Task Force for Nutrition and Optimal Human Development. Dr. Dewey has served as president of the Society for International Nutrition Research; as a member of the Institute of Medicine's Subcommittee on Nutrition During Lactation; and as Secretary-Treasurer of the International Society for Research on Human Milk and Lactation, among others.
She has been a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Nutrition, and guest editor of a special issue on nutrition and human lactation for the Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia. She is the author of over 140 scholarly publications.
In 1997, Dr. Dewey received the Norman Kretchmer Memorial Award in Nutrition and Development from the American Society for Clinical Nutrition.
Kathryn G. Dewey received a bachelor's degree in biology from the State University of New York at Albany. She obtained a master's degree in zoology and a Ph.D. in biological sciences from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. In 1980, she joined the University of California/Davis as an assistant professor. She was appointed to her present position in 1991. She has trained many graduate students who have gone on to teach and to contribute additional knowledge to the nutritional needs of breastfeeding mothers and their babies.
Agnes Higgins was the longtime director of Canada's Montreal Diet Dispensary, a precursor of American government nutrition programs for pregnant women. A pioneer in devising methods of nutritional assessment and counseling, she greatly advanced the understanding of diet as a crucial factor in healthy pregnancy and prevention of low birthweight. The award was created by the March of Dimes in her honor in 1980.
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