Prominent nutrition scholar and educator Penny Kris-Etherton to retire

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After more than 44 years of research and teaching in Penn State’s Department of Nutritional Sciences, Penny M. Kris-Etherton, Evan Pugh University Professor of Nutritional Sciences and Distinguished Professor of Nutrition, will retire from the University on July 31.

Research

Kris-Etherton is an internationally renowned scholar in the field of cardiovascular nutrition. Her publications have examined the ways that diet can promote or undermine human health and have provided insight into the ways that eating habits can affect personal risk of chronic diseases, micronutrient deficiencies and excesses, and other aspects of health.

Over the course of her career, Kris-Etherton's research has revealed how specific foods — including avocados, nuts, herbs and spices, and even beef — can promote health and well-being. She has published almost 500 papers in peer-reviewed literature.

Kris-Etherton's impact goes well beyond her quantifiable scientific contributions, according to Meg Bruening, department head and professor of nutritional sciences. As word of Kris-Etherton's retirement has spread, Bruening said that faculty, students, staff and former students have been contacting her regularly.

“Everyone wants to share the impact that Dr. Kris-Etherton has made on them professionally,” Bruening said. “People talk about the immense contribution that Dr. Kris-Etherton made to the field of nutritional sciences, noting her research contributions to preventing cardiometabolic disease and promoting lifelong health. They describe her work as visionary, brave, impactful and full of integrity.

“What is more, every person shared Dr. Kris-Etherton's impact on them personally: how through her entire career she intentionally lifted up others and showed positivity, grace and kindness to everyone with whom she interacted,” Bruening continued. “I have heard many stories of how Penny paid attention to individuals, remembering details and consistently demonstrating thoughtfulness. It is impossible to adequately describe how much her daily presence will be missed by her colleagues in the Department of Nutritional Sciences. We stand on the broad shoulders of this giant whom we have the fortune to call a colleague, mentor and friend.”

Service

Kris-Etherton contributed to the general public’s understanding of nutrition by serving on multiple national committees that issued dietary guidelines. She is past chair of the American Heart Association (AHA) Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health, and a fellow of the AHA, the National Lipid Association (where she served as president), and the American Society for Nutrition. Additionally, as a member of the American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee she co-authored numerous scientific statements and advisories that have made diet and lifestyle recommendations for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Over the years, Kris-Etherton has received numerous national awards for her accomplishments and contributions to the profession. In recent years, she received the 2022 Supelco Award, the highest award bestowed from the American Oil Chemists’ Society in recognition of outstanding, original research in fats, oils, lipid chemistry or biochemistry. In 2018, she was awarded the W. Virgil Brown Distinguished Achievement Award from the National Lipid Association, which is the highest honor bestowed in recognition of outstanding contributions in the diagnosis and treatment of lipid disorders. She also received the 2022 Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Distinguished Achievement Award from the American Heart Association.

Mentorship

In addition to her research and service, Kris-Etherton has mentored and supported junior faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students in her department for decades. The American Society of Nutrition recognized her outstanding mentorship and contributions to the development of successful nutrition science investigators by bestowing its Dannon Mentorship Award in 2018.

“Dr. Kris-Etherton not only provides guidance and support, but she also empowers her trainees to take on responsibilities and helps them form connections,” said Kristina Petersen, associate professor of nutritional sciences and former postdoctoral fellow in Kris-Etherton's laboratory. “She is the greatest advocate anyone could hope to have, and this has helped so many of us substantially. Dr. Kris-Etherton helped my career immeasurably by introducing me to numerous leaders in the field of nutrition, as well as organizations like the American Heart Association.

“The optimism and persistence that Dr. Kris-Etherton demonstrates have had a profound influence on many of her trainees,” Petersen continued. “When Dr. Kris-Etherton sets her mind to something, she never gives up trying to make it work and throughout the process remains enthusiastic.”

In 2020, two former students established the Penny M. Kris-Etherton Doctoral Award Fund. The award is presented to promising graduate students who are pursuing their doctoral degrees in nutritional sciences. Its purpose is to incentivize excellence in research and facilitate the department’s capacity to recruit and retain top-level doctoral candidates.

Looking forward

“The impact of Penny’s work clearly transcends the departmental level. The enduring preeminence of her research program and the impactful contributions now being made by literally dozens of her past trainees have burnished the reputation of this college for decades,” said Craig J. Newschaffer, Raymond E. and Erin Stuart Schultz Dean of the College of Health and Human Development.

As she prepares for retirement, Kris-Etherton expressed enthusiasm about the future of the department, the future of nutritional research, and her own future.

“I have been so impressed with how the Department of Nutritional Sciences has evolved,” she said. “When I started at Penn State, the emphasis was on nutrition education and basic nutrition science research. Today, the department has grown to include a broad range of research areas and many important, interdisciplinary research collaborations.

“The field of nutrition research is poised for growth and success,” Kris-Etherton continued. “Nutrition is foundational to good health and well-being, and achieving optimal nutrition status is recognized more than ever as being an important health goal for everyone. As such, there are more federal funds allotted to nutrition research so that we can evolve dietary recommendations and better support healthy lives for individuals and the population.”

Kris-Etherton was similarly positive about her own future. “Beyond some work that will continue, I plan to spend time with my family, especially my grandchildren. In February 2025, we are going to northern Sweden to see the Northern Lights.”