Taryn Smith Awarded British Nutrition Foundation 2020 Early Career Scientist Award
Taryn Smith is the recipient of a 2020 BNF Drummond Early Career Scientist Award of the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF). This award recognizes early career excellence in the field of nutrition science. Taryn, who completed her PhD at the University of Surrey in the UK and is currently a postdoctoral fellow with the Institute for Global Nutrition, has been acknowledged for her work on thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency, a condition known as beriberi that is identified in infants that have an inadequate intake of this vitamin from breast milk, under circumstances in which the mother herself has insufficient thiamine intakes and status. She is currently coordinating a hospital-based study in northern Laos to investigate thiamine responsive disorders in Laotian infants and young children.
Taryn commented: “Throughout my career, I hope to make an impact in supporting our understanding of the effects micronutrient deficiencies have on health outcomes in high-risk populations, particularly infants, children and pregnant and lactating women, while developing targeted strategies to improve health and nutritional status. I am delighted to have been selected as a runner-up for the Early Career Scientist Award; it is a huge privilege.” Taryn has also been invited to write a review paper for the BNF Drummond Early Career Scientist Award section of Nutrition Bulletin, which will be published online in November and in print in December.
The BNF’s Science Director, Sara Stanner, commented: “The BNF Drummond Early Career Scientist Award is one of only two awards in the UK to celebrate the achievements of early career scientists working in the field of nutrition, and it’s fantastic to have received such high quality applications from all around the globe – with submissions from the UK, Italy, The Netherlands, Denmark, Australia and the USA. In today’s competitive research environment, awards like this play an important role in identifying excellence at the early career stage and help to pave the way for potential leaders of the future, attracting the funding and support they need to develop their research.”
About the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF)
Making nutrition science accessible to all.
BNF was established 50 years ago and exists to deliver authoritative, evidence-based information on food and nutrition in the context of health and lifestyle. The Foundation’s work is conducted and communicated through a unique blend of nutrition science, education and media activities. BNF’s strong governance is broad-based but weighted towards the academic community. BNF is a registered charity that attracts funding from a variety of sources, including contracts with the European Commission, national government departments and agencies; food producers and manufacturers, retailers and food service companies; grant providing bodies, trusts and other charities. Further details about our work, governance and funding can be found on our website (www.nutrition.org.uk) and in our Annual Reports.
Link to full press release: https://www.nutrition.org.uk/press-office/pressreleases/early-career-2020.html