Denis Medeiros: new associate dean, research and scholarship
Tuesday, June 12th, 2007
Denis Medeiros has been named associate dean for scholarship and research for Human Ecology. A prominent scientist and leader in the field of human nutrition, Medeiros will continue as head of the Department of Human Nutrition. He has been serving as interim associate dean.
In his new duties, he will advance scholarship and research initiatives, oversee research, lead professional development opportunities for faculty and graduate students, administer agricultural experiment station projects in human ecology and develop collaborative partnerships on campus and with other organizations and institutions.
“In Human Nutrition, we are part of the solution to keeping the societal health quandaries – aging, obesity and lack of physical activity among them – at bay,” Medeiros said.
“The College of Human Ecology broadens the spectrum, paving the way for people to lead healthier, more quality-driven lives. We want our students to be change advocates, practitioners, policymakers and researchers to carry out our mission.”
Major goals, he said, are to recruit the most talented students and faculty and to insure good research outcomes.
Medeiros, whose doctorate is from Clemson University in South Carolina, has taught at Washington University School of Medicine, The Ohio State University, the University of Wyoming, Medical University of South Carolina and Mississippi State University.
Since he joined the K-State faculty in 2000, Medeiros has brought in more than $3 million in federal funding. Human Nutrition has a record enrollment of more than 300 undergraduates and nearly 40 graduate students. Medeiros and the faculty have developed international renowned programs such as the Sensory Analysis Center that offers one-of-a-kind graduate training.
He has published widely in journals such as American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and Journal of Nutrition and Journal of Food Science. He co-authored a textbook in Advanced Human Nutrition and has written chapters in a number of scientific books.
He is a member of the editorial boards of Journal of Nutrition, Experimental Biology and Medicine, Nutrition Research and Biological Trace Element and Research and of the Food Science Institute and Food Science Graduate Faculty. In 2006 he was president of Alianza, a Hispanic/Latino faculty group at KSU.
Under Medeiros’ leadership, Human Nutrition received the Outstanding Department or Unit Award for Enhancing Diversity at KSU. Medeiros was presented the Research and Extension diversity award.
He leads Kansas Bridges to the Future to increase transfer of under-represented minority students from Kansas community colleges to K-State in the biomedical sciences. The National Institute of Health funds the program.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 12th, 2007 and is filed under Dean's Blog.