Lauren Au, PhD, RD Receives the 2023 Huddleson Award

Lauren Au, PhD, RD has received the 38th annual Huddleson Award for the article, “A Qualitative Examination of California WIC Participants’ and Local Agency Directors’ Experiences during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic,” which was featured in the December 2022 issue of the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2022:122(12), 2218-2227). 

 

Dr. Au is an assistant professor of nutrition at the University of California, Davis. Au is a registered dietitian with expertise in maternal and child nutrition. Her research involves understanding how to promote healthier eating and prevent obesity through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children and the National School Lunch Program. The overall goal of her research program is to provide evidence-based research to support strong nutrition policies and reduce disparities in populations with low income. Her current projects include implementing innovative telehealth interventions, creating novel diet quality tools for infants, and improving dietary intake in federal nutrition assistance programs. Au received her doctorate from Tufts University, her masters in science from Columbia University, and her bachelors in science from UC Berkeley. She was a 2013-2014 AAAS Congressional Fellow, funded by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Ostenso Public Policy Fellowship.

 

The prestigious Huddleson Award honors a registered dietitian who was the lead author of a peer-reviewed article that made an important contribution to the dietetics profession and that was published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics during the previous calendar year.

The award, bestowed by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation, is named for Mary Pascoe Huddleson, editor of the Journal from 1927 to 1946. The award carries a $1,000 honorarium, and the winner is recognized during the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Board of Editors Webinar.

All relevant manuscripts published in the Journal over the past year are considered by the Senior and Associate Editors to develop a list of the top 5-7 papers. Impact of the paper, relevance of the topic and quality of the research are key criteria. Once the top contenders have been identified, these are sent to the Board of Editors for their consideration and evaluation. The list is rank ordered and sent back to the Editor-in-Chief for final tally and the winner is identified.

Additional manuscripts and their first authors nominated for the award this year include:

• “Barriers and Facilitators of Implementing a Clinic-Integrated Food Prescription Plus Culinary,” John Wesley McWhorter, DrPH, RDN, LD
• “Medicine Program in a Low-Income Food Insecure Population: A Qualitative Study,” John Wesley McWhorter, DrPH, RDN, LD
• “Do Multivitamin/Mineral Dietary Supplements for Young Children Fill Critical Nutrient Gaps?” Johanna T. Dwyer, DSc, RD;
• “Teachers’ Experiences Implementing a School Wellness Initiative in Anchorage, AK: A Qualitative Study,” Deborah A. Olarte, PhD, RDN
• “Frequency of Sweet and Salty Snack Food Consumption Is Associated with Higher Intakes of Overconsumed Nutrients and Weight-For-Length z Scores During Infancy and Toddlerhood,” Amy M. Moore, PhD, RD