Penny M. Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., R.D., F.A.H.A.

Dr. Penny Kris-Etherton is Distinguished Professor of Nutrition in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University.  She has been a member of the faculty since 1979.  Dr. Kris-Etherton received her B.S. in Medical Dietetics at the Rochester Institute of Technology, her M.S. in Nutrition was awarded by Case Western Reserve University and she completed a dietetic internship at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Cleveland, OH.  Dr. Kris-Etherton earned her Ph.D. in Nutrition at the University of Minnesota and was the Katherine McCormick Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Stanford University.

Dr. Kris-Etherton's research expertise is cardiovascular nutrition.  For over 20 years, she has conducted many controlled clinical nutrition studies designed to evaluate the role of diet on risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD).  These studies have evaluated established and emerging CVD risk factors including lipids, lipoproteins, blood pressure, inflammatory markers and adhesion molecules.  She and her colleagues have studied many different populations, including healthy participants, overweight/obese subjects as well as subjects at risk for CVD.  A hallmark of much of her research is that it has integrated clinical and basic research for the purpose of evaluating underlying mechanisms that account for the clinical responses.  Early mechanistic studies focused on physiological and biochemical mechanisms.  More recently, her group has examined the molecular mechanisms at the gene level as a means to explain diet effects.  A characteristic of her studies is the collaborative, team-based approach that has integrated the expertise of many colleagues from similar and diverse disciplines. 

Dr. Kris-Etherton has served on many national committees that have established dietary guidelines and recommendations.  She served on the 2nd Adult Treatment Panel of the National Cholesterol Education Program, the Dietary Reference Intakes for Macronutrients Committee of the National Academies, the HHS/USDA Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee 2005, and the Nutrition Committee of the American Heart Association that published diet and lifestyle recommendations.  She is a Fellow of the American Heart Association, and the recipient of many awards including the Marjorie Hulsizer Copher Award the American Dietetic Association (2007), the Elaine Monsen Research Award from the American Dietetic Association Foundation (2005), the Lederle Award for Human Nutrition Research awarded by the American Society for Nutritional Sciences (1991), and the Foundation Award for Excellence in Research by the American Dietetic Association (1998).  She currently serves as President of both Shaping America's Health and the Northeast Lipid Association.  Dr. Kris-Etherton has published over 200 scientific papers, 30 book chapters and co-authored 4 books. Her research program has been funded by NIH, USDA and the private sector.