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| Indo-American appointed to key agriculture post in US |
| Lalit K Jha/PTI / Washington Jul 17, 2009, 13:47 IST |
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The Obama Administration has appointed Rajen Anand, an eminent Indian American to a key agriculture post giving him the responsibility to improve the nutrition status of the people in the country.
Anand has been appointed as executive director of the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. The Center is best known for the development of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the MyPyramid food guidance system.
"President Obama and I are firmly committed to improving the health and nutrition of the American people, and I am pleased to welcome Dr Anand back to USDA because he has a deep and broad understanding of dietary guidance, nutrition and how public policy is made," the US Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, said announcing his appointment.
"As a former professor and civil servant, Dr Anand will be a huge asset to our management team," he added.
A Democrat and a close supporter of the Clinton's, Anand had served in the same department during the Clinton Administration. He supported Obama after Hillary Clinton withdrew from the race.
In the Clinton Administration, Anand joined the center in 1995 as its Deputy Director and was promoted to executive director in 1997.
In this capacity, Anand will lead a staff comprised of nutritionists, economists, mathematicians, and food and social scientists as well as a new evidence analysis library.
The library will evaluate and rank the latest nutrition science for use by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee that is currently charged with reviewing and revising the Dietary Guidelines which will be published in 2010.
Prior to his work at USDA and in the interim, he served as professor of physiology for 30 years - including six years as department chair at California State University, Long Beach.
During his tenure at the university, he was honoured with Outstanding Professor Award and twice with Meritorious Performance and Professional Promise Awards.
A graduate from the University of California, Davis, Anand holds a doctorate in human physiology, nutrition and biochemistry and a second doctorate in veterinary medicine.
He has published over 40 scientific articles in national and international journals and made presentations at numerous professional meetings worldwide.
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