York Lecturer Series

The field of international nutrition has been profoundly shaped by Dr. Nevin S. Scrimshaw, Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His interests and contributions during a career spanning four decades have ranged from nutritional anthropology to food science and technology.

In 1949, Dr. Scrimshaw became the founding director of the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP). Until his resignation in 1961, he helped develop INCAP into one of the world's most comprehensive and productive institutions devoted to the study and alleviation of global malnutrition.

Research performed at INCAP during his years there took pioneering steps toward understanding the relationship between infection and malnutrition. INCAP researchers developed the powerful concept of utilizing indigenous food resources in nutritionally complementary combinations.

As chairman of the Nutrition and Food Science Department at MIT, Dr. Scrimshaw continued to integrate nutrition-related fields with toxicology, clinical nutrition, and food policy. He currently serves as Director of Developmental Studies of the United Nations University, an institution he helped develop.

During his career, Dr. Scrimshaw has received many honors. In September of 1988, he received the Eighth Annual Bristol-Myers Award for Distinguished Achievements in Nutrition Research. He was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Nutrition in 1985. He has held the Joseph Goldberger Award in Clinic Nutrition, given by the American Medical Association, the McCollum Award of the American Society for Clinical Nutrition, and the Bolton L. Corson Medal of The Franklin Institute.

Dr. Scrimshaw has published more than 500 scientific articles about human and clinical nutrition. Recent publications include a reevaluation of minimum human protein requirements, particularly under stress; special diets to protect seriously ill patients from protein losses; supplemental milk programs for children intolerant of milk and sugar; and an assessment of world food and nutrition problems. He has also continued to explore the use of unconventional foods as supplements or alternatives to traditional foods.

Dr. Scrimshaw is a medical doctor and holds a Ph.D. in physiology. He received a Masters in Public Health from Harvard University in 1959. He is the past president of the International Union of Nutrition Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Scrimshaw is married to anthropologist Mary Ware Scrimshaw. They have four sons and a daughter.

-Biography Originally Compiled October 19, 1988