全球对话｜美国营养学会ASN主席Mary Ann Johnson教授专访

VOICE OF NUTRITION

全球对话 · Vol. 6

ICNYSN Interview: Prof. Mary Ann Johnson, President of American Society for Nutrition (2018)

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Mary Ann Johnson 教授

Professor Johnson’s academic career at the University of Georgia focused on research and outreach in aging, nutrition and chronic disease self-management, as well as on training for students and health professionals in food and nutrition policies to ensure that communities and individuals of all ages have access to affordable, safe and wholesome foods. Now, as professor and chair of the department of nutrition and health sciences at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, Professor Johnson looks forward to helping the department create a vision and to mentoring faculty and staff at all career stages toward reaching their goals in research, teaching, outreach, and engagement.

玛丽安-约翰逊教授

内布拉斯加大学林肯分校 营养与健康科学系主任

美国营养学会，主席（2018年）

约翰逊教授曾在佐治亚大学工作，其学术生涯专注于老龄化、营养和慢性病自我管理的研究和推广。她同时致力于为学生和健康从业人员提供食品和营养政策方面的培训，以确保所有年龄段的社区成员都能获得负担得起的安全和有益健康的食物。 目前，约翰逊教授担任内布拉斯加州大学林肯分校的营养与健康科学系的教授和系主任，她期待为该部门勾画愿景并为在各个职业阶段的教职工提供指导，帮助他们实现在研究、教学、拓展和参与等方面的目标。

Thank you for agreeing to this interview by ICNYSN. We know you are very busy, especially with this being your first conference as American Society for Nutrition (ASN) president as well as the first independent meeting of ASN outside of Experimental Biology (EB). Major congratulations on this very successful year as ASN president. In 2018 we have seen a lot of changes: a huge increase in attendance, a greater number of specialized seminars and sessions, new student competitions and just a whole bunch of other changes. With that being said, what are some other changes that occurred this year which ASN members should pay attention too?

非常感谢您接受营养青年会的采访。我们知道您很忙，特别是这是您作为美国营养学会（ASN）主席，第一次负责组织这样的年度会议，且今年是ASN脱离美国生物实验学大会 （EB）之后第一次独立办会。我们首先对您以主席的身份为ASN过去一年的付出和所得到的成绩表示祝贺。在2018年，我们已经看到了ASN的很多变化：比如会议出席人数大幅增加，专业研讨会数量增加，也开始了一系列新的学生竞赛等。除此之外，ASN还有哪些变化呢？

Mary Ann Johnson

教授

Thank you for your kind comments! The electronic posters are fairly new. We had those last year, but I believe we should promote and do more of those in the future. We also have ASN On-Demand which has been around for several years but needs to be promoted more. What ASN On-Demand is recordings of the major sessions at ASN, allowing you to download and review later. Now it's highly unlikely we would record the 10 min oral sessions because most of it is unpublished data and we didn't feel that was appropriate. Additionally, exactly what members would want to be included with ASN On-Demand needs to be discussed.

谢谢你们！电子海报是比较新颖的一个形式。我们去年就开始了一些尝试，但我相信应该会在未来推广更多这类新颖的宣传形式。另外，ASN On-Demand已经面世好几年了，但仍需要进一步推广。ASN On-Demand记录了ASN主要研讨会的内容，可以让会员在会议结束后下载查看。现在我们不会记录10分钟的口头报告，这么做是因为大多数是未发表的数据，我们认为记录这些不合适。此外，我们需要更清晰地知道ASN成员们的需求是什么，并把它们包括在ASN On-Demand中。

What kind of changes do you think will be in the future for ASN?

您认为ASN未来会发生什么样的变化？

I'm not too sure exactly what we are going to do new at the new meeting. But something we're thinking about is if we need to have specialized meetings on popular topics like on the microbiome. The first thing that happened as I'm walking past the microbiome session was several people coming to me saying "We can't get in". It was too popular! Since there's a ton of interest in that area, should ASN be helping experts around the country have a one or two-day meeting on the microbiome, or should ASN sponsor a series of webinars that all members could archive and then be used as an educational package for people in the future. We are thinking about all these possibilities, asking ourselves "What can we provide to our members outside of the meeting throughout the entire year?" People need this information consistently and we are thinking of ways to make that possible.

我现在还不能确定我们之后会有哪些新的变化，但我们正在考虑比如是否需要就“微生物组”等热门话题举行专场会议。今年当我走过微生物组研讨会门口的时候，有一些朋友就和我说里面有太多人了，挤不进去啦。看样子，这个话题是太受欢迎了！很多人都对这个领域感兴趣，所以我们考虑ASN是否应该帮助全国专家就微生物这个话题进行为期一天或两天的会议。或ASN是否可以赞助一系列网络研讨会，以便让所有成员存档且用作教育目的。我们都在考虑这些项目的可能性，并不断问自己：“除了ASN年会以外，我们还可以为会员提供什么？”我们知道大家需要持续不断地获取新的信息，我们正在考虑如何实现这一目标。

I've watched some of the webinars that came out this year. Our previous ASN president, Marian L. Neuhouser, organized four webinars on the NIH nutrition roadmap, which I'm sure we can do statistics to measure the success of these webinars. There's also been a statistical series in our journals, which we should use more often and intentional to provide educational content that is of a broad interest.

我已经看过一些今年发布的网络研讨会。ASN前主席Marian L. Neuhouser教授组织了四次以“NIH营养路线图”为主题的网络研讨会，我相信我们可以通过数据来评估这些网络研讨会是否成功。我们的期刊中也有一个统计系列；我们应该更频繁地使用这些资源，并有意识地提供大家都关心的教育内容和服务。

Courtney, our Chief Executive, also said he's ready to do a road trip to really get at the pulse of the diversity of nutrition programs that we have across the country. Because we focus on different things, we have different culture, different needs, different student bodies, and some programs aren't well known, like my new friends at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I think ASN needs to help these programs like Lincoln become better well-known, be it through advertisement or some other method. There are really great programs all over the country and we need to help to get their name out to students. Some students may not get into really well-known programs and may not understand there's other great programs out there. So, communicating and advertising these great programs all over the country is something ASN needs to do.

我们的首席执行官Courtney也表示，他已准备好进行一次实地探访，以真正了解全国各地不同院校的营养教育项目。因为不同的学校专注于不同的项目、有不同的文化、需求和学生团体，所以有些院校的营养项目可能并不为人所知。就像我加盟的内布拉斯加大学林肯分校就是一个例子。全国各地都有很棒的营养项目，我认为ASN可以通过广告或者其他的一些办法，让更多人知晓它们，也让学生们有更多选择。有些学生可能不会进入知名院校，但可能也不知道还有其他一些很棒的院校可以申请。因此，在全国范围内传播和宣传这些优秀的营养教育项目是ASN未来需要做的事情。

Now thinking about ASN and our organization ICNYSN, as we share a lot of the same goals, advancing nutrition research, policy making, and educating the next generation of nutritional scientist. For the ASN meeting this year (2018), we posted the main topics or seminars for each day at ASN with a brief description, the findings, and future directions. And we've gotten a ton of views within a short amount of time. So, we are really hoping our organization can initiate a partnership with ASN, to establish a collaboration, and expand our membership and the opportunities between our organizations. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions on how to accomplish that goal?

ASN和我们的学会ICNYSN营养青年会有很多同样的目标，包括推进营养研究、制定政策和教育下一代营养科学家。对于今年（2018年）的ASN会议，我们在ICNYSN营养青年会的平台上发布了ASN会议的重要主题或研讨会信息，其中包括一些研究的概要、结果和未来方向。这些信息在我们的平台上获得了大量的关注。因此，我们真诚希望ICNYSN营养青年会能与ASN建立合作伙伴关系，互相扩大我们的会员群体、开发合作机会。您对如何实现这一目标有任何想法或建议吗？

Wow, this is really impressive! This is really amazing. And ASN definitely wants to have partners all over the world but operationalizing that can be pretty challenging. I think you've done a fabulous job, so the organization is only two years old? Wow! What ASN really wants to do is help empower other people and other groups who are legitimate scientists, being the voice of evidence-based nutrition research and policy practices. So that's really what we want. And I wonder, in the United States how people will get their nutritional information. I think we are going to have more general consumers questioning the information disseminated by the media and other sources. And I think ASN and organizations like yours can be a source of accredited nutritional information.

哇，这真是太棒了！ ASN十分希望拥有全球范围的合作伙伴，但实施这一过程可能具有挑战性。但我觉得ICNYSN营养青年会已经做得很棒，难以相信你们成立才两年就有这么好的成就。ASN真正想做的是帮助像营养科学家群体这一类的人，让他们成为循证营养研究和政策实践的代言人。这是我们真正想要的。在美国，我们经常会思考：人们是如何获取营养信息的呢？我认为接下来将有更多人来质疑媒体和其他来源传播的营养信息；我同时也认为像ASN和ICNYSN营养青年会这样的的组织可以成为可靠的营养信息的来源。

We have a partnership with ANDP, Association of Nutrition Departments and Programs, which includes 2-3 programs in each of the 50 states. We probably have around 100-150 members. What I think you should do is write up a one page introduction to your organization, who you are, what goals you have, why you would like to be affiliated with ASN, and some of your accomplishments. And when we see how many members you have, maybe a link to your website, we can see where the synergy is between our organizations, what kind of partnership we can develop. I am not making this up, ASN totally understands that our future is our young scholars. People doing their graduate work and people early in their career, we really want to be their profession home.

我们与ANDP （Association of Nutrition Departments and Programs）建立了合作关系，在每个州有2-3个项目，共50个州，大约有100-150名成员。我认为ICNYSN营养青年会可以为组织写一页关于贵机构的介绍，包括你们是谁、你们有什么目标、为什么你们想与ASN合作，以及目前取得一些成就。当我们看到你们的会员数量、或者是您网站的链接时，我们可以看到我们之间的共同愿景，我们可以从这里开始建立合作伙伴关系。ASN完全理解未来属于我们的年轻学者，我们真的想成为他们的职业之家。

Given your administrative and leadership experience, do you have any advice for our young organization as we take the next step?

鉴于您的行政领导经验，您对我们这类年轻组织有什么建议？

Yes. For your new organization and the young scholars that are the core of your membership, I would say keep your eye on research, the best research. Always be working towards of that goal. Being a producer or a consumer of the best research around the world. And be a voice for wherever you are. Figure out how to get your voice out there and go straight to the top. I know you've already interviewed Drs. Alice Lichtenstein and Walter Willett. That's fabulous! Get the best voices to be on your side！ And then really make it apparent to potential members the benefit of membership in your organization.

对于年轻的组织，且以年轻学者为核心会员群体，我的建议是：关注研究，最好的研究，且始终致力于这一目标，成为世界上最好的研究的生产者或接受者。无论身在何处，都要有自己的声音，让自己的声音拥有最强影响力。我知道你们已经采访了Alice Lichtenstein和Walter Willett教授，这太棒了！让最好的声音和你们同行！然后真正让潜在的会员明白成为你们中一员的价值。

Outside of research, we know you were heavily involved as a graduate coordinator at University of Georgia for many years. As a person who is still going to be involved in your new position at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with graduate education, what are some of the key educational components, experiences, or focused areas required in graduate education for the next generation of nutritional scientist?

在研究之外，我们知道您参与佐治亚大学研究生项目的协调和管理已经多年。您即将启程去往内布拉斯加大学林肯分校，并继续致力于研究生教育。您认为培养下一代营养科学家的时候，需要关注哪些内容？

Thank you for asking that very important question. Just in the last few days, the ASN board of directors came up with our Vision 2028, basically what ASN should look like for our members in 10 years. One of the things that came up was establishing credential standards for people who get a doctorate, master's, or undergraduate education in nutrition science. I don’t mean having a national exam or anything, but for example let's revisit what we did 10-15 year ago and see how we can update our programs to better prepare future leaders of nutrition science. For example, there are different training and educational standards for students in different areas of nutrition like Registered Dietitians, but there are still key things they all need to know to be successful in nutrition science, and we currently do not have this standardized across the country. Not that I don't like people doing their own thing and tailoring their programs to their students but doing so hurts us as a field because we're not recognized as a credited, standardized field. So, the ASN board of directors gave approval that this idea of standardized education and accreditation could move forward to begin talking with members and receiving input from students. We can't do everything but what do the members think is most important component moving forward. And that's really interesting to me. There's an excellent paper that came out 10 to 15 years ago from people like Patrick Stover and Sherry Donovan, former ASN presidents, that already very clearly laid out a lot of things that we can teach our students. The paper laid out all the different areas that they think a highly trained person in nutrition should know. We'll need to think about that as we move forward.

感谢您提出这个非常重要的问题。就在几天前，ASN董事会提出了我们2028年的愿景：ASN在未来10年内会是什么样的？其中一件事就是为那些获得营养科学博士、硕士或本科教育的人建立资质标准。我指的并不是注入标准化考试之类的事情，而是比如重新审视我们10到15年前所做的事情，看看我们如何改进我们的教育计划，以更好地为未来的营养科学领导者助力。例如在不同的领域对学生有不同的要求和培训标准，例如注册营养师就有它一系列的培训标准。但是要在营养科学领域获得成功，还有其他重要的事情，但是我们国家目前还没有出台相应的标准。当然我并不是说我不支持每个学校为学生量身定制课程，但如果一直没有标准，可能会伤害到我们整个营养领域，因为没有统一标准我们将不被整个社会体系认定是一个有信誉的、标准化的领域。因此，ASN董事会提议通过与ASN会员的交流和聆听学生们的意见，以推动标准化教育和认证的步伐。虽然我们不能一口气干完所有的工作，但我们在往会员们认为最重要的方向推进行业的发展。这对我来说真的很有意义。要知道在10到15年前，前任ASN主席Patrick Stover和 Sherry Donovan就已经非常明确地列出了很多我们应该教给学生的东西。他们的文章列出了他们认为训练有素的营养从业人员应该具备的能力和知识。在我们前进的过程中，需要考虑这个问题。

The other thing I learned from graduate education is our field is so broad. Say someone has an interested in community nutrition because they simply want to help people get the food they need for daily living. You might ask, how much do they need to know about biochemistry and physiology? Well, it turns out that they actually need to know a lot. For example, we know from biochemistry and physiology that the older adults who are low income and/or have poor access to food have the same nutritional need or even a greater need for high quality foods, a balanced macronutrient profile, and greater access to fruits and vegetables. Don’t just serve what's left over at the food bank. Sometimes people don't really understand that until they have a foundation in biology, physiology, chemistry, and metabolism. Coming back to the person interested in community nutrition, I know they just want to help people eat better in a community setting, but there's still this fundamental knowledge that they need to know. And then for our people who are more biochemically-oriented, people doing genetics, etc., how much do they need to know about clinical nutrition and community nutrition? I still feel they need to know something.

我从研究生教育中学到的另一件事是营养领域的广阔性。假设有人因为想帮助他人获得日常生活所需的食物，对社区营养感兴趣，那么他们需要了解多少有关生物化学和生理学的知识？事实证明他们需要了解的还挺多的。例如，我们从学习生物化学和生理学中了解到，低收入和 / 或食物供应不足的老年人具有和大部分人相同的营养需求，甚至需要更多高质量的食物和均衡的常量营养素摄入，和更多的水果蔬菜。要知道，仅仅给他们食物银行里剩下的食物是远远不够的。除非人们真正理解生物学、生理学、化学和新陈代谢方面的基础知识，否则很难理解其中的原因。回到对社区营养感兴趣的人，我知道他们只是想帮助人们在社区环境中吃得更好，但他们仍然需要了解这些基本知识。同理，对于那些更注重生物化学、遗传学等基础科学的人，他们需要了解多少临床营养和社区营养的知识呢？我仍然觉得他们需要懂一些。

In my own personal experience with public health and nutrition, not saying this is the whole field, but a lot of public health people are just running around telling people to eat more fruits or vegetables without addressing the science behind this recommendation. Saying it "Prevents cancer". Well, yeah sort of but that’s not the whole picture. If you address a problem or a situation from multiple angles, you can get a better assessment. If you don't have the whole story then you can't really solve the problem. That's why being interdisciplinary and understanding multiple perspective is so important.

根据我个人在公共健康和营养方面的经验，我观察到很多公共卫生人员常常只是告诉人们吃更多的水果或蔬菜，而没有深入解决这个建议背后的科学问题。比如，我们说它“预防癌症”，的确是，但要知道这并不是全部的原因。如果从多个角度解决这些，那么对问题的理解会更加透彻。如果没有这样的全局观念，那么说实话，这类问题就得不到真正有效的解决。这就是为什么跨学科和多重视角看问题是如此重要。

For next generation of nutrition scientist, as people do not know what will be doing in five years or 10 years, I think some good advice would be to get a lot of experience in multiple areas so that you can be a part of the conversation when discussing health related issues.

对于下一代营养科学家来说，由于人们通常不知道将在五年或十年内他们会做些什么，我认为可行的建议是：争取在多个领域获得大量经验。这样在健康领域的各方面都更容易游刃有余。

「Voice of Nutrition」营养之声｜

重磅专栏上线

「Voice of Nutrition」（中文：营养之声；简称：VON），是「营养青年会」策划已久重磅上线的系列专栏。VON旨在广泛关注全球营养各细分领域，如科研、临床、政府、教育、行业及国际上的最新进展、成就与挑战，以促进不同细分领域内外的交流、互动、学习与合作。「营养之声」包括6个子栏目，2018年全面上线：

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