Barbara O. Schneeman, Ph.D. Receives Career Achievement Award from the American Society for Nutrition

Barbara O. Schneeman, PhD is the 2024 recipient of the David Kritchevsky Career Achievement Award, presented by the American Society for Nutrition (ASN). This prestigious award is presented in recognition of a career devoted to promoting interactions among, support for, and assistance to outstanding nutrition researchers in governmental, private and academic sectors; resulting in the application of fundamental knowledge to delivery of better nutrition products and information to the public. Dr. Schneeman will be honored as the award recipient at ANS’s annual meeting, to be held in June 2024 in Chicago IL. 

Dr. Schneeman is an Emeritus Professor of the Department of Nutrition, University of California Davis. During her tenure at Davis she served as professor, chair of the Nutrition department, and dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Science. Throughout her career, she has been fortunate to work with outstanding colleagues, including graduate students and postdocs. She is recognized for her accomplishments related to dietary fiber, gastro-intestinal function, and the development and use of food-based dietary guidelines. In 2004, she was appointed Director of the Office of Nutrition, Labeling, and Dietary Supplements at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), oversaw the development of policy and regulations for dietary supplements, labeling, food standards, infant formula, and medical foods, and served as the U.S delegate to two Codex committees. During her tenure, FDA began the process of updating Nutrition Facts labels and Codex updated their guidelines for nutrition labeling as a core policy recommendation to promote healthy diet choices and address the burden of diet-related non-communicable diseases. 

The preparation and use of food-based dietary guidelines has been a major theme across Dr. Schneeman’s career, reflecting her expertise in both nutrition and food science. She participated in the development of the technical manual for the World health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on this process and in the development of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, including as chair of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. She has served on several committees for the National Academies, including the Food and Nutrition Board, and on advisory committees for guideline development at WHO. Her many accomplishments have been recognized by awards from the Institute of Food Technology and by ASN with the Conrad Elvehjem award for public service in nutrition and as a Fellow of ASN. Dr. Schneeman is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).