and Kidney Diseases Board of Scientific Counselors and is chair of the NIH Integrated Nutrition and Metabolic Processes Study Section. Dr. Ross is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (2003) and has served on the IOM Food and Nutrition Board (1997–2003), as a member of the Panel on Micronutrients for the Dietary Reference Intakes (1999–2001), and as a member of the Committee on Opportunities in the Nutrition of Food Sciences (1991–1993). Dr. Ross received her Ph.D. from Cornell University in biochemistry, molecular and cell biology.

STEVEN A. ABRAMS, M.D., is Professor of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston. His research focus is mineral metabolism in infants as well as calcium intake and absorption in adolescents. His work includes the study of stable isotopes of iron and zinc and the overall relationship of mineral nutriture to health. His research is supported by the United States Department of Agriculture and by the NIH. Dr. Abrams, a neonatologist, is a Diplomat of the Board of Medical Examiners, the American Board of Pediatrics, and the Sub-board of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. He has received a number of awards including the Centrum Center for Nutrition Science Award from the American Society for Nutrition Sciences and the Norman Kretchmer Memorial Award in Nutrition and Development from the American Society for Clinical Nutrition. He is a member of an advisory panel for The Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP). He is an associate editor of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Dr. Abrams is also a member of the American Society for Nutrition, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. Dr. Abrams has served as an IOM committee member for the Committee on the Use of Dietary Reference Intakes in Nutrition Labeling (2002–2003), the Panel on Calcium and Related Nutrients for Dietary Reference Intakes (1996–1997), and the Subcommitee on Upper Safe Reference Levels of Nutrients (1996–1997). Dr. Abrams received his medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

JOHN F. ALOIA, M.D., is Chief Academic Officer, Department of Academic Affairs, Winthrop-University Hospital, Mineola, New York and is Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean at State University of New York at Stony Brook. Dr. Aloia’s recent publications address differences in skeletal and muscle mass with aging in black and white women; optimal vitamin D status and serum parathyroid hormone in African American women; and the reference range for serum parathyroid hormone. His other research interest’s center on bone metabolism and, in particular, issues related to pathogenic mechanisms responsible for the development of skeletal fragility and osteoporosis. The focus of this investigation is the influence of various regulatory factors on the skeleton. Dr. Aloia is the recipient of several