Douglas L. Taren, PhD

Douglas L. Taren, PhD, associate dean for academic affairs and professor of public health at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public, has been named editor-in-chief of the journal Nutrition Reviews.

Dr. Taren is an internationally recognized expert in nutrition, maternal and child health, and global health, with a special emphasis on decreasing health disparities within low-income populations and countries. His research background encompasses clinical, methodological, epidemiological, and supplementation studies and translational research. 

Dr. Taren’s studies and teaching experiences in maternal and child health have been conducted in several Latin American, Asian and African countries with funding from numerous organizations including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

His research has focused on food security programs with organizations such as Save the Children, Counterparts International, TANGO International and the World Food Program. He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees for the Spoon Foundation.

Dr. Taren has worked on improving programs that prevent and treat vitamin A deficiency in Nepali pregnant women and young children, and effectiveness studies on decreasing mother-to-child HIV transmission in Kenya. He also worked on improving dietary assessment methods and community-based programs to decrease childhood obesity. Dr. Taren is currently a member of the Board of Trustees for the Spoon Foundation.

He has served on the editorial boards of three journals, including Frontiers in Nutrition: Nutrition Methodology, Public Health Nutrition, and Nutrition Today. He has authored and edited over 200 peer-reviewed articles and abstracts, books, and book chapters. 

Ranked sixth among 81 nutrition and dietetics journals, Nutrition Reviews is a monthly, international, peer-reviewed journal covering emerging topics in nutrition science, food science, clinical nutrition, and nutrition policy. 

In a news release issued by the International Life Sciences Institute, Dr. Taren said, “I have always looked to Nutrition Reviews as a source for scientifically sound information on current nutrition issues as it was the first journal that I subscribed to as a nutrition student,” said Dr. Taren. I am honored to have been selected and I look forward to working with a strong editorial and publication staff as we extend the 76-year history that Nutrition Reviews has been in publication.”

Dr. Taren is currently project director for the Western Region Public Health Training Center at the UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. The center provides free training and continuing education to the public health workforce in Region 9 of the Health Resources & Services Administration, which includes the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Hawaii and the U.S. Associated Pacific Islands.