Constance Kies

Constance Virginia Kies (December 13, 1934 – November 30, 1993) was an American nutrition scientist and dietitian. Kies worked as a public school teacher for three years before going against the traditional gender norms of her time and completing an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Over the duration of her 30-year career at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Kies researched nutritional biochemistry. She demonstrated relationships between minerals, proteins, and dietary fiber through pioneering human subject research. Her findings led to advancements in human knowledge of copper and protein metabolism. She was honored with the Borden Award and was a fellow of the American College of Nutrition. Kies was a feminist and a member of the National Organization for Women and the Women's Equity Action League. She died of uterine cancer three months after her diagnosis.

Early life and education Kies was born on December 13, 1934, in Blue River, Wisconsin. Her mother had been an educator and her father was superintendent of the school system. As a child, her family, including Kies and her three sisters, Cosette, Camilla, and Carolyn Kies' dissertation was titled "Effect of Essential to Non-essential Amino Acid Relationships in Adult Man and in the Rat".

As a graduate researcher, Kies worked in the laboratories of Hellen Linkswiler and May Reynolds in the department of home economics. She was a research assistant tasked with managing the nutrition program's "diet squads" of research participants in metabolic studies. She also worked as a part-time dietitian at the Wisconsin General Hospital. Her research focused on nonspecific nitrogen including nonessential amino acids, excess essential amino acids, and nonprotein sources including urea and diammonium citrate.

Career After completing her doctorate, Kies joined the University of Nebraska (NU) in 1963 as an assistant professor in the department of food and nutrition. She was promoted to associate professor in 1965 and full professor in 1968. She would remain at Lincoln for the remainder of her 30-year career. Her investigations focused on nutritional biochemistry.

Kies became a well-known researcher who attended numerous domestic and international conferences. In 1987, Kies received a distinguished visiting faculty award from the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China through which she worked with the Ministry and the Department of Food Hygiene at Shandong University.

In 1973, Kies' work in the agronomy program entailed testing the nutritional value of new lines of wheat developed by plant breeders. The NU food and nutrition department chair Hazel Metz Fox remarked that Kies was a "creative researcher" who was adept in both basic and applied research. Kies' research focus explored human nutritional requirements and the nutritional value of processed foods.

Kies investigated the nutritional needs of children with Fox. Focusing on preschool-aged children, they studied the urine levels of creatinine, nitrogen, thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and niacin. They also compared differences between low and high-income children. In 1989, Kies led a study on human nutrition in bottle-fed, breast-fed diabetic, and breast-fed non-diabetic babies. The department was specifically analyzing the manganese, potassium, and sodium levels in diabetic and non-diabetic mothers and their infants. This involved collecting nearly 2,000 dirty diapers a day. This "dirty diaper" study first began at the University of Nebraska Omaha but later moved to the East Campus at NU.

Kies researched nitrogen balance and the use of urea as a nitrogen source for ruminants. Her research revealed that urea could be effectively used in human metabolism to maintain a nitrogen balance. She found that protein quantity was just as important as protein quality. Kies and Fox demonstrated that increases in low-quality protein foods can support nutritional requirements of human adults.

Kies shifted from researching nonspecific nitrogen to inter-nutrient metabolism. She was most interested in the relationships between minerals, dietary fiber, and fat. Her laboratory examined hemicellulose, cellulose, and pectin. They found that hemicellulose increased the levels of zinc, copper, and magnesium in fecal excretions. She also found that supplementing hemicellulose improved urinary excretion of vitamin C. Kies discovered that pectin and zinc decreased urinary excretion of vitamin C. Her later research explored the relationship between dietary fat and mineral absorption. She observed correlations between the absorption rate of iron, zinc, and manganese and decreased intake of dietary cholesterol and fat. She found that consuming dietary fiber reduced total and LDL-cholesterol. Kies found that calcium supplements increased copper absorption while magnesium, selenium, and potassium decreased it. Kies demonstrated that phytates, tannins, and dietary fiber inhibited dietary copper utilization.

Personal life Kies was interested in Inuit and Native American weaving, carving, sculpture, and pottery because she was intrigued by pieces she could touch. She was also a fan of reading and classical music. Kies died of uterine cancer in Lincoln, Nebraska, on November 30, 1993, at the age of 58. She was cremated and her ashes were placed in her family's plot in Platteville, Wisconsin. Services were held at the home economics auditorium on NU's East Campus.

Awards and honors Kies received the Borden Award and $1,000 from the American Home Economics Association in 1973 in recognition of her research in the field of nutrition and experimental foods. She was honored with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville's alumni award in 1974. In 1983, Kies won the Outstanding Research Award from Ross Laboratories. In 1986, she received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Chemical Society. She became a fellow of the American College of Nutrition in 1989. Also in 1989, she received the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award from the College of Home Economics. She was nominated for the Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award by the College of Home Economics in 1989, 1990, and 1991.

Selected works

Books

Book chapters

Journal articles