Keith P. West, Jr

KEITH P. WEST JR, DrPH ‘87, MPH ’79, the inaugural George G. Graham Professor of Infant and Child Nutrition, has worked extensively in Southern Asia and Africa, defining the extent, severity and consequences of vitamin A deficiency. An associate professor of ophthalmology and international health at the Wilmer Eye Institute, he co-authored the book Vitamin A Deficiency: Health, Survival, and Vision, with Alfred Sommer. Dr. West’s research focuses on improving through nutritional means the health and survival of infants, children, adolescents and women of reproductive age in underserved populations, with special interests in the assessment and prevention of micronutrient deficiencies (especially vitamin A) and protein-energy malnutrition. The majority of Dr. West’s research has involved conducting population-based epidemiologic studies and intervention trials. In recent years, his work has broadened to explore effects of developmental nutrition exposures later in life and nutriproteomics as a platform for micronutrient deficiency assessment. Dr. West was awarded the Kellogg Prize for International Nutrition Research in 2007.