COLLEGE STATION – Dr. Robert Chapkin has been named American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow.
Chapkin is the William W. Allen Endowed Chair in Nutrition and Chronic Disease Prevention at Texas A&M. He is a University Distinguished Professor, Regents Professor and University Faculty Fellow in the Program in Integrative Nutrition and Complex Diseases. He is also a Texas A&M AgriLife Senior Faculty Fellow.
Election as an AAAS Fellow in Biological Sciences is an honor bestowed upon members by their peers, according to the association. This year, 416 members have been awarded this honor because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.
Chapkin and other new Fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue rosette pin, whose colors represent science and engineering, respectively, on Feb. 16 at the 2019 AAAS annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
Chapkin is a National Cancer Institute R35 Outstanding Investigator and is co-director of a National Institutes of Health-funded nutrition, biostatistics and bioinformatics training grant.
Chapkin’s expertise is in dietary and botanical modulators related to prevention of cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease. His research centers on colon cancer prevention by investigating the impact of dietary fat, fiber and gut microbiota status on chronic disease processes.
He has received a number of awards for his work, including the Osborne and Mendel Award from the American Society for Nutrition, NASA Space Act Award and Bio Serv Award in Experimental Animal Nutrition from the American Society for Nutrition.
Chapkin also is a member of numerous professional societies and has authored or co-authored more than 270 scientific research publications.
Chapkin earned a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and biochemistry and a master’s degree in nutrition from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, and a doctorate in nutrition and physiological chemistry from the University of California, Davis.
