Carl L. Keen

Carl L. Keen is the Mars Chair in Developmental Nutrition, a Professor of Nutrition and Internal Medicine, and a nutritionist in Agricultural Experiment Station at University of California-Davis. His chairmanship is named in honor of a donation by the company Mars, Inc. to the university. He has been chairman of the Department of Nutrition since 1993 and a Professor of Nutrition since 1981. Keen received his PhD from University of California-Davis. His research group focuses on four main areas: the influence of diet on embryonic and fetal development; the study of gene-nutrient interactions; the study of how diet influences oxidant defense systems and cellular oxidative damage; and the effects of diet on the development and progression of vascular disease. Keen also co-wrote the Alliance for Food and Farming's "Expert Panel Report" dismissing the notion that fruits and vegetables contain unsafe pesticide residues.

Keen has served on many government boards, including California's Scientific Advisory Board for the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (since 1993), EPA Environmental Health Grant Review Panels (1990-1999), USDA Human Nutrient Requirements Study (1987-92), and the following NIH panels: Nutrition Study Section (1997-99), ALTOX Study Section (2002-2004), XNDA Study Section (2004-present).

Keen is past president of the California Nutrition Council (1998). He is also a member of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences (ASNS), the American Society of Clinical Nutrition (ASCN), the Teratology Society, the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine (SEBM), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Additionally, he has served on the following editorial boards: Magnesium Research, Journal of Nutritional Immunology, Journal of Trace Elements in Experimental Medicine, Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, Nutritional Neuroscience, and Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry.

Awards
Keen has won the following awards:
 * American Institute of Nutrition Graduate Student Research Award (1978)
 * American Institute of Nutrition Bio-Serv Award in Experimental Animal Nutrition (1985)
 * Outstanding Undergraduate Advisor in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (1985)
 * American Institute of Nutrition Research Award (Bordon Award, 1995)
 * Recognition by the International Life Sciences Institute as a highly cited researcher in the Agricultural Sciences (2002)
 * Teratology Society’s Warkany Award for research accomplishments in developmental biology (2004)