Houston. Prior to this appointment, he was Co-director of the Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism Division and Director of the Pediatric Clinical Research Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. Bier received his B.S. from LeMoyne College and his M.D. from New Jersey College of Medicine. Dr. Bier’s primary research interests are focused on the regulation of inter-organ transport of metabolic fuels with a special emphasis on the substrate and hormonal regulation of glucose, lipid, and protein/amino acid fuels. He has expertise in the areas of nutrition in human health and in the prevention and treatment of disease, particularly the role of maternal, fetal, and childhood nutrition on the growth, development, and health of children through adolescence; the long-term consequences of nutrient inadequacy during critical periods of embryonic and fetal life, infancy, and childhood on the pathogenesis of adult chronic diseases; macronutrients; intermediary metabolism; tracer kinetics; and diabetes, obesity, and endocrine disorders. Dr. Bier has served as President of the International Pediatric Research Foundation, Chair of the USDA/ARS Human Studies Review Committee, Councilor for the American Pediatric Society, and as a member of the 1995 USDA/HHS Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, the IOM’s Food and Nutrition Board (FNB), and the IOM Committee on Implications of Dioxin in the Food Supply. He was elected to the IOM in 1997. He currently serves on the Board of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) North America, and he is a member of the McDonald’s Global Advisory Council on Healthy Lifestyles.

Leann L. Birch, Ph.D., is the Distinguished Professor of Human Development and Nutritional Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University in University Park. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Michigan. Dr. Birch’s research has focused on the development of eating behaviors in infants, children, and adolescents. Her research explores factors shaping food preferences in infants and children, regulation of food intake in children, dieting and problems of energy balance in school-age girls, predictors of maternal child feeding styles, and parental and environmental influences on children’s dietary practices. She currently receives research support from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Dr. Birch has received national and international recognition for her work including the Lederle Award from the American Society for Nutritional Sciences. She is the author of more than 150 publications.

Ross C. Brownson, Ph.D., is Professor of Epidemiology and the Chair of the Department of Community Health at St. Louis University School of Public Health in Missouri. He was formerly Division Director with the Missouri Department of Health. He received his Ph.D. in environmental health and epidemiology at Colorado State University. Dr. Brownson is a