WASHINGTON — Twenty experts have been appointed to serve on the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Richard Mattes, Ph.D., a professor at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., and a member of the Grain Foods Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board, is one of the 20.

The independent advisory committee will review scientific evidence on topics and questions identified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The committee then will provide a report that, along with public and agency comments, will help inform the U.S.D.A. and the H.H.S. in developing the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. More information may be found here.

The committee will hold a public meeting in the coming weeks. Throughout the committee’s deliberations, the public and other stakeholders will be encouraged to provide comments and feedback.

“In our continuing commitment to transparency and customer service, we invite the American public to engage in this process,” said Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue when the committee was announced Feb. 21. “We want to hear from everyone and all viewpoints. I encourage everyone with an interest to attend public meetings and to send comments through the Federal Register once the committee begins their work.”

The review process for the next edition of the Dietary Guidelines will take a life-stage approach and for the first time will include pregnant women and children from birth to 24 months, as mandated by the 2014 farm bill.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are updated every five years and serve as the cornerstone of federal nutrition programs and policies.

“The scientists we selected to serve on the committee are national leaders in the areas of nutrition and health,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. “H.H.S., U.S.D.A. and all Americans will benefit from the collective experience and expertise of the committee, which will conduct a rigorous examination of the scientific evidence on several diet-related health outcomes, including the prevention of cancer, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, which are three of the leading causes of death in the United States.”

Dr. Mattes is a distinguished professor of nutrition science at Purdue University, adjunct associate professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine and affiliated scientist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center.  His research focuses on the areas of hunger and satiety, regulation of food intake in humans, food preferences, human cephalic phase responses, and taste and smell.

The scientific advisory committee includes:

●Jamy Ard, M.D., of Wake Forest University;

●Regan Bailey, Ph.D., of Purdue University;

●Lydia Bazzano, M.D., Ph.D., of Tulane University;

●Carol Boushey, Ph.D., of the University of Hawaii;

●Teresa Davis, Ph.D., of Baylor College of Medicine;

●Kathryn Dewey, Ph.D., of the University of California -- Davis;

●Sharon Donovan, Ph.D., of the University of Illinois;

●Steven Heymsfield, M.D., of Louisiana State University;

●Ronald Kleinman, M.D., of Harvard University;

●Heather Leidy, Ph.D., of the University of Texas;

●Richard Mattes, Ph.D., of Purdue University;

●Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, Ph.D., of the University of North Carolina;

●Timothy Naimi, M.D., of Boston University;

●Rachel Novotny, Ph.D., of the University of Hawaii;

●Joan Sabaté, M.D., of Loma Linda University;

●Barbara Schneeman, Ph.D., of the University of California-Davis;

●Linda Snetselaar, Ph.D., of the University of Iowa;

●Jamie Stang, Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health;

●Elsie Taveras, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Chan School of Public Health; and

●Linda Van Horn, Ph.D., of Northwestern University.