Robert J. Cousins

Robert John Cousins (born 1941) is an American nutritional biochemist who has researched the metabolism of heavy metals, especially zinc. He has served as president of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) and the American Society for Nutrition (ASN). He was recognized with membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 2000 and served as editor of the Annual Review of Nutrition for ten years.

Early life and education Robert John Cousins was born in New York City in 1941 as the only child born to Doris E. Cousins and C. Robert Cousins. His maternal grandparents were immigrants to the United States from Alsace. On his father's side, his heritage is predominantly Scottish, Irish, English, and German. He grew up in rural Kingston, New York. Cousins then joined the lab of Hector DeLuca at the University of Wisconsin (Madison) in a post-doctoral position supported through an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship to study vitamin D biochemistry. In 1991, Cousins was elected to serve a term as FASEB President. During that year he was involved in the Federation's focus on improving scientific integrity investigations The following year, Cousins became chair of the newly established Public Affairs Executive Committee (PAEC) of FASEB. After his year as president, Cousins remained active in FASEB working on biomedical and life sciences research funding recommendations and the influence of lobbyists on those recommendations. Cousins served on the Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) for two terms (1997–2002), during the period when the Dietary Reference Intakes for micronutrients were being formulated. These Dietary Reference Intake recommendations still represent the standards for nutritional guidance in the US. He was awarded the Bristol-Myers Squibb Award in 2003 in the nutrition research section.

E. Mead Johnson Award for Research (American Society for Nutrition), 1979 University of Florida, Eminent Scholar Chair, 1982-ongoing Osbourne and Mendel Award for Outstanding Basic Research (American Society for Nutrition), 1989 National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Diseases MERIT Award, 1992–2000 President and board chair, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 1991–1992 University of Florida, Gamma Sigma Delta Senior Faculty Award of Merit, 1993 President, American Society for Nutrition, 1997–1998 USDA Secretary's Honor Award, 2000 National Academy of Sciences, Elected Member, 2000 American College of Nutrition Research Award, 2003 Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Biomedical (Nutrition) Research, 2003 Dannon Institute Mentorship Award (American Society for Nutrition), 2011 International Society for Trace Element Research in Humans-Distinguished Scientist, 2011 American Society for Nutrition, Elected Fellow, 2011 University of Florida, Sigma Xi Senior Faculty Award, 2012 American Society for Nutrition, Elected Fellow, 2011 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Elected Fellow, 2014

Named Lectureships

John Lee Pratt Lecturer in Nutrition, Virginia Tech, 1980 Burroughs-Welcome Visiting Professorship, Auburn University, 1986 Mary S. Shorb Lecturer in Nutrition, University of Maryland, 1989 Distinguished Speaker in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, 1989 James Waddell Memorial Lecturer, University of Wisconsin, Madison 1989 Stars in Nutrition Lecturer, Pennsylvania State University, 1990 Hans Fisher Lectureship, Rutgers University, 1995 Lucille B. Hurley Lectureship, University of California, Davis, 1997 Eric Underwood Lectureship, TEMA 10, Evian, France, 1999 G. Malcolm Trout Visiting Scholar, Michigan State University, 2003 Rank Prize Lecturer, Grasmere, UK, 2008 W.O. Atwater (Agricultural Research Service, USDA), 2011 Prichard Lecture in Nutritional Sciences (Inaugural), Cornell University, 2015

Personal life In 1965, while Cousins was a student at the University of Connecticut, he met Elizabeth Ward on a blind date. They married in January 1969 in Stamford, Connecticut and have three children: Sarah, Jonathan, Allison. He has an affinity for dogs, new and vintage tube audio, jazz and classical music, cooking, Lionel trains, and British sports cars.