Beyond Recommended Dietary Intakes: Understanding Bioavailability and the Importance for the Growing Child

Steven Abrams, MD

Professor of Pediatrics 
Dell Medical School 
University of Texas 
Austin, TX, USA

Steven A. Abrams is the Director of the Dell Pediatric Research Institute and a Professor of Pediatrics. He has developed and championed the use of stable isotopes to determine mineral requirements and physiological turnover rates in infants and children. He has also developed mass spectrometric methods and analytical approaches that allow populations throughout the world to obtain critical data needed for food fortification strategies to be effective.

His research has also furthered understanding of the physiological basis for hormonal changes during growth affecting bone formation and turnover using mathematical modeling techniques adapted by his team for infants and small children. He has conducted research studies using mineral isotopes in more than 20 countries and, for 25 years, operated the largest nutritional research lab in the world, analyzing biological samples for mineral isotope enrichment. He has frequently consulted with governments and has been a trainer for the International Atomic Energy Agency in developing the skills of scientists in countries including Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, and South Africa on isotopic techniques as applied to human nutrition. 

He has also authored dozens of methodological papers and a textbook relating disease processes to nutrient metabolism. He frequently consults with companies related to product design to incorporate key nutrients, especially calcium and iron, in their products. In 2016, he received the highest award in the pediatric nutritional research community, the Samuel J. Fomon Nutrition Award, for his contributions to helping improve the health of children through the application of mineral stable isotope research. 

Abrams has served as a member of the Committee on Nutrition of the American Academy of Pediatrics and is now chair of that committee. He has published numerous editorials advocating for healthy nutrition and other healthcare needs of children. From 2012-15, he was a member of the Dietary Advisory Committee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, being the first pediatrician member of that committee in 25 years. That committee advises the U.S. government on all its nutrition programs. He has served as an adviser to international governments on nutrition policy, especially in Peru and Panama, where he has met with government leaders to help develop strategies to fight malnutrition. Abrams routinely interacts with underrepresented minority students in advocating for their role in scientific discovery and has been a mentor to many such students advancing in their scientific careers.

Rachel Johnson, RDN

Manager, External Engagement
Abbott Nutrition
Chicago, IL, USA

Rachel Johnson, RDN, worked as a hospital-based clinical dietitian for several years before joining Abbott Nutrition. In her clinical roles, she provided comprehensive nutrition support services to various patients, including inpatient and outpatient nutrition management and counseling. Since joining Abbott, she has drawn on her extensive clinical background to provide expertise to drive Abbott’s scientific programs and nutrition portfolio around diabetes and pediatric malnutrition. She has spent most of her Abbott career working in Abbott’s Research and Development, supporting international scientific and innovation programs. Currently, she is responsible for driving external engagement activities to meet the educational needs of healthcare professionals around the globe as part of Abbott’s Scientific and Medical Affairs team.