The Division of Nutritional Sciences (DNS) at Cornell University, the largest academic unit in the United States devoted to the study of and training in human nutrition, has become home to two international centers.

The DNS is now a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center in Nutrition in Maternal and Child Nutrition and in Nutrition Policy and Planning as well as the headquarters of the United Nations University Food and Nutrition Research and Training Coordination Center. By becoming a WHO Collaborating Center in Nutrition, Cornell joins 14 other such centers from around the world, such as in Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Kazakhstan, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden.

"The location of these centers at Cornell recognizes our long history of international experience in developing countries, our research and training in nutritional programs and the impressive expertise of our diverse faculty," said Cutberto Garza, M.D., director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences.

In its role as a WHO Collaborating Center, various researchers in the division will investigate topics from maternal nutritional depletion, determinants of breast feeding, breast milk adequacy, normal growth of infants and the effects of breast feeding on maternal health to the roles that malnutrition and disease have on the ill health and mortality of children and the role of nutrition in intrauterine, child and adolescent growth and development.

Other projects include evaluating and improving programs that foster the healthy feeding of young children, maternal nutrition and nutrition surveillance. The DNS/WHO center will also train academics and officials in a wide range of aspects of nutritional surveillance and in analyzing the effect of economic policies on health and nutrition outcomes.

The United Nations University (UNU) Food and Nutrition Research and Training Coordination Center (RTCC) at Cornell will serve as a coordinating center for the advancement of world-wide nutrition research. It will establish and maintain networks of institutions and individuals in developing countries that support nutrition and food-related program objectives. It also will identify potential UNU Food, Nutrition and Development Fellows in developing countries and match them with training programs that will help strengthen food and nutrition institutions in their home countries.

In addition, the RTCC will coordinate various projects, such as those on the control of iron deficiency in developing countries, international networking of food data systems and country nutrition and health transition studies.

"Through this new center, UNU expects to play a highly relevant role in integrating the activities of national institutions and international agencies to deal with major global nutritional-related health and food issues," said Nevin Scrimshaw, director of the UNU's Food and Nutrition Program for Human and Social Development, previously located in Boston. "Cornell, with its recognized excellence and breadth of competence in nutrition, food science and agriculture, is uniquely situated to assume responsibility for supporting UNU initiatives in these fields."

Although the UNU has established research and training centers in other fields, such as economics, technology transfer and software technology, this is its only center in the field of nutrition.

The RTCC will also produce the Food and Nutrition Bulletin and other UNU publications concerned with food, nutrition and development, and it will organize advisory committee meetings, workshops, task forces and fellowships.