Penn State’s Nutrition Program Receives $500,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb Unrestricted Grant

March 1, 2000
University Park, Pa. – Penn State's Department of Nutrition and graduate program in nutrition have received a $500,000 research grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb, a worldwide health and personal care company, in recognition of the University's leadership in nutrition research and teaching, and in the training of health care professionals.

The five-year, unrestricted grant will support research into how nutrition and genetics impact growth, development, behavior and disease resistance. Expanding upon recent laboratory and epidemiological findings, the Department of Nutrition and the graduate program in nutrition will continue with biomolecular research in areas such as how nutrients behave, the roles of antioxidants, how the body regulates nutrients and how they in turn can regulate the body.

"This award will enable us to continue promoting a stimulating environment for faculty, staff and students to excel, learn and transfer knowledge," said J. Milner, head of the Department of Nutrition, director of the graduate program, and principal investigator for the research grant.

Milner noted plans to use the Bristol-Myers Squibb grant include:

• sponsoring a yearly nutrition and medicine workshop
• expanding learning opportunities through distance education
• promoting studies dealing with human nutrition such as infant feeding practice, diet as a modifier of cancer risk and heart-health diets
• broadening knowledge about molecular targets where bioactive components in foods may improve health
• supporting academic links by sponsoring "noontime think tanks"– gatherings of faculty and students in nutrition and related fields.

"The graduate program in nutrition at Penn State has had a strong voice in helping to shape public health policy and has been a leader in linking food, nutrition and health in academic research and teaching," said David A. Cook, Vice President, Global Scientific Affairs, Mead Johnson Nutritional Group of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. "We admire the excellence and scope of the program and are proud to welcome Dr. Milner to the international group of nutrition world leaders working with support from our Unrestricted Nutrition Grants Program."

Formed in 1983, the graduate program in nutrition draws on four different colleges in the University: Health and Human Development, Agricultural Sciences, the Eberly College of Science, and Medicine.

"Nutrition builds on the principles of a variety of disciplines including biochemistry, molecular biology, physiology, endocrinology, genetics, education, epidemiology, psychology and sociology," said Milner, who is well known in the nutrition community for integrating basic research findings into recommendations and national public health policy. "This multidisciplinary approach allows the faculty and students to respond to a broad range of contemporary nutrition issues related to growth, development and health in both human beings and animals."

The Bristol-Myers Squibb nutrition program is one of seven biomedical research grants programs funded by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation. More than $87 million has been committed to these programs to date.

New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb is a worldwide health and personal care company whose principal businesses are pharmaceuticals, consumer products, nutritionals and medical devices. It is a leading maker of innovative therapies for cardiovascular, metabolic and infectious diseases, central nervous system and dermatological disorders and cancer. The company is a leader in consumer medicines, orthopaedic devices, ostomy care, wound management, nutritional supplements, infant formulas and hair and skin products.

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