GEORGE G. GRAHAM, MD (1923-2007), was one of the giants of public health and a pioneer in the field of infant and childhood nutrition. A pediatrician by training, he was the first director of the Division of Human Nutrition (now called the Center for Human Nutrition) at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Dr. Graham also held a joint appointment in pediatrics at the School of Medicine. His research focused on prevention and treatment of malnutrition in children and the digestibility and nutritional quality of staple foods. During his tenure at the School of Public Health, which began in 1985 until his retirement in 2001, he was a valued teacher whose masters and doctoral students advanced to prominent positions in academia, industry, and government. He also carried out meticulous clinical and metabolic nutrition research that even today remains highly relevant in meeting modern nutritional challenges.
George G. Graham Professorship of Infant and Child Nutrition
Bloomberg School of Public Health
Established in 2004 in honor of George G. Graham through commitments made by various donors
Held by 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.