atkins science advisory board
Stephen D. Phinney, MD, PhD, Chair
Associate Editor; Professor Emeritus, University of California Davis
Dr. Phinney was educated at Antioch College, MIT and Stanford University. He taught for many years at the University of Minnesota and UC Davis Medical School. Previously a Senior Nutritionist for Monsanto and Clinical Vice President at Galileo Laboratories, and Efficas, Dr. Phinney is a renowned expert on low-carbohydrate nutrition and metabolism as well as the metabolism of saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. He bikes over 2,000 miles a year following a low-carb lifestyle.
Areas of Expertise: Low-carbohydrate nutrition and metabolism, fatty acids, inflammation, metabolic syndrome, obesity
Jeff S. Volek, PhD, RD
Associate Professor, University of Connecticut, Neag School of Education
A founding member of the Nutrition and Metabolism society, Dr. Volek actively teaches in the department of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut. His research focuses on how the body adapts to low carbohydrate diets, with emphasis on metabolic syndrome, diabetes, inflammation and cardiovascular disease. He is a regular contributor and advisor to Men's Health and is a coauthor of TheTestosterone Advantage Plan and the TNT Diet.
Areas of Expertise: Exercise and nutrition, weight loss and dieting, low carbohydrate diets, dietary Supplements
Eric H. Kossoff, MD
Assistant Professor, Neurology and Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Dr. Kossoff is one of the world’s leading authorities on the ketogenic diet—a low carbohydrate, high fat diet proven to control seizures in children. His research focuses on nonpharmacologic treatment of childhood and adult epilepsy using many different treatments other than medications, including the Atkins Diet. He is a coauthor of The Ketogenic Diet: A Treatment for Children and Others with Epilepsy. He is an active child neurologist and lectures widely on this topic.
Areas of Expertise: The effects of diet on pediatric and adult epilepsy, ketogenic diets
Elizabeth J. Parks, PhD
Associate Professor, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School
A professor of clinical nutrition, Dr. Parks studies the effects of diet and lifestyle on liver function. Lecture topics include the effects of dietary macronutrients on body fat synthesis and blood lipid levels. Dr. Parks’ research program is currently investigating how body weight and ethnicity impact the development of fatty liver disease and how weight-loss diets may improve liver function in insulin resistance. Other studies focus on how the taste of fat in meals may change metabolism.
Areas of Expertise: Clinical nutrition, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, effects of dietary macronutrients on blood lipid levels
Jaimie Davis, PhD, RD
Assistant Professor of Research, University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine
Dr. Davis is a registered dietitian and an assistant professor of preventive medicine. Her research is primarily with the overweight pediatric population and centers on the role of nutrition and physical activity in the development of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and cancer risk. She is a nationally recognized expert on diet and weight loss.
Areas of Expertise: Nutrition, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, breast cancer and other metabolic disorders
Dallas G. Hoover, PhD
Professor of Food Microbiology, University of Delaware
Dr. Hoover holds a doctorate in food science and has conducted research in the fields of food process microbiology and food safety. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Food Science and has worked in the prevention and control of food borne microorganisms using high pressure processing.
Areas of Expertise: Food process microbiology and food safety (microorganisms and enzymes in foods and beverages)
E. Allen Foegeding, PhD
W.N. Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Food Science, North Carolina State University
Dr. Foegeding studies the influence of food macromolecules on food texture and sensory quality. He is on the cutting edge of the science of food’s functional properties. His current research includes determining texture mechanisms in natural cheese and stability of proteins in beverages. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Food Science and Food Hydrocolloids.
Areas of Expertise: Proteins and their function in foods