Nevin Stewart Scrimshaw

Abstract

Leading authority on nutrition science. He was born in Milwaukee, WI, USA, on Jan 20, 1918, and died of heart failure in Plymouth, NH, USA, on Feb 8, 2013, aged 95 years.Nevin Scrimshaw will be remembered not only for the practical contributions he made in improving nutrition in developing countries, but for creating institutions with a global impact in advancing the discipline as a science and encouraging its wider application. “He created INCAP [the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama] which became a model for developing countries in building their capacity in nutrition science”, says Professor Irwin Rosenberg, Board Chair of the International Nutrition Foundation (INF). “He enlarged the world's nutrition capacity with his leadership of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) food science programme. He developed the United Nations University nutrition programme. And he was one of those people who said it wasn't enough to recognise a problem scientifically. It was essential to work out what to do about it.” Scrimshaw's translation of scientific ideas into practice through feeding programmes and the like has saved millions of lives. “As a record of achievement”, adds Rosenberg, “it's unique”.Scrimshaw's interest in biology began modestly enough; as a boy he put together his own butterfly collection. Much later, with a degree in biology, a PhD from Harvard, and a medical qualification from the University of Rochester, he did his military service in the Panama Canal Zone, providing care to US troops and their families. “He found he loved being in the tropics, and he learned Spanish”, says his daughter Susan Scrimshaw, a public health specialist who is now President of the Sage Colleges in New York. “When he came back to the US in the late 1940s he discovered that the Pan American Health Organization wanted to start a research body but couldn't get a senior scientist to do it because they all thought they'd be throwing away their careers. My father, at 31, said he would do it because he'd loved being in Panama so much.”As founding Director of INCAP the problems Scrimshaw tackled included endemic goitre, for which he developed a method, subsequently adopted around the world, of iodising the local salt. He also worked on childhood protein deficiency and developed Incaprina, a cheap high-protein food made of cottonseed and maize flours that is still in widespread use. “His goal”, according to Susan Scrimshaw, “became to build up the scientific infrastructure in developing countries. Most nutrition science and medicine was in Europe and the US and he believed there were good minds in other parts of the world, and that we needed to educate them. This motivation drove him his entire life.”In 1961, Scrimshaw moved back to the USA to join MIT as Professor of Human Nutrition, a post he held until his retirement in 1988. “He built the most important department of nutrition and food science in the world”, says Rosenberg. During this time he explored the relation between nutrition and infectious disease, advised in India on the development of a local equivalent of Incaprina, developed a programme of support for research on nutrition problems in southeast Asia, helped to shape world food policy, and mentored young nutrition scientists from across the globe. Scrimshaw also set up the United Nations University's World Hunger Programme. In 1982, he founded the INF of which he became President and CEO. For his “revolutionary accomplishments” to alleviate hunger and malnutrition in developing countries, Scrimshaw was awarded the World Food Prize in 1991. When he stepped down from the INF, in 2009, his name was added as a prefix to that of the Foundation. Rosenberg believes that “If there were a pantheon in the field of nutrition he would be at its apex. In the sweep of his career I think he was the most influential nutrition scientist.”Susan Scrimshaw describes her father as “a very intense man, very focused on his work. He found it difficult to do just one thing at a time. His mind worked better if he were doing several things at once.” Rosenberg agrees. “An enormously energetic man physically—he skied into his 90s—as well as intellectually.” He also recalls how Scrimshaw could charm people: “He was much beloved by his students and his colleagues.” And Scrimshaw in turn cared deeply about them. “My father felt a great obligation to other people”, says his daughter, “whether it was his colleagues or children needing better nutrition”. He leaves a wife, a daughter, and four sons.For the Nevin Scrimshaw International Nutrition Foundation see http://www.inffoundation.org Leading authority on nutrition science. He was born in Milwaukee, WI, USA, on Jan 20, 1918, and died of heart failure in Plymouth, NH, USA, on Feb 8, 2013, aged 95 years. Nevin Scrimshaw will be remembered not only for the practical contributions he made in improving nutrition in developing countries, but for creating institutions with a global impact in advancing the discipline as a science and encouraging its wider application. “He created INCAP [the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama] which became a model for developing countries in building their capacity in nutrition science”, says Professor Irwin Rosenberg, Board Chair of the International Nutrition Foundation (INF). “He enlarged the world's nutrition capacity with his leadership of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) food science programme. He developed the United Nations University nutrition programme. And he was one of those people who said it wasn't enough to recognise a problem scientifically. It was essential to work out what to do about it.” Scrimshaw's translation of scientific ideas into practice through feeding programmes and the like has saved millions of lives. “As a record of achievement”, adds Rosenberg, “it's unique”. Scrimshaw's interest in biology began modestly enough; as a boy he put together his own butterfly collection. Much later, with a degree in biology, a PhD from Harvard, and a medical qualification from the University of Rochester, he did his military service in the Panama Canal Zone, providing care to US troops and their families. “He found he loved being in the tropics, and he learned Spanish”, says his daughter Susan Scrimshaw, a public health specialist who is now President of the Sage Colleges in New York. “When he came back to the US in the late 1940s he discovered that the Pan American Health Organization wanted to start a research body but couldn't get a senior scientist to do it because they all thought they'd be throwing away their careers. My father, at 31, said he would do it because he'd loved being in Panama so much.” As founding Director of INCAP the problems Scrimshaw tackled included endemic goitre, for which he developed a method, subsequently adopted around the world, of iodising the local salt. He also worked on childhood protein deficiency and developed Incaprina, a cheap high-protein food made of cottonseed and maize flours that is still in widespread use. “His goal”, according to Susan Scrimshaw, “became to build up the scientific infrastructure in developing countries. Most nutrition science and medicine was in Europe and the US and he believed there were good minds in other parts of the world, and that we needed to educate them. This motivation drove him his entire life.” In 1961, Scrimshaw moved back to the USA to join MIT as Professor of Human Nutrition, a post he held until his retirement in 1988. “He built the most important department of nutrition and food science in the world”, says Rosenberg. During this time he explored the relation between nutrition and infectious disease, advised in India on the development of a local equivalent of Incaprina, developed a programme of support for research on nutrition problems in southeast Asia, helped to shape world food policy, and mentored young nutrition scientists from across the globe. Scrimshaw also set up the United Nations University's World Hunger Programme. In 1982, he founded the INF of which he became President and CEO. For his “revolutionary accomplishments” to alleviate hunger and malnutrition in developing countries, Scrimshaw was awarded the World Food Prize in 1991. When he stepped down from the INF, in 2009, his name was added as a prefix to that of the Foundation. Rosenberg believes that “If there were a pantheon in the field of nutrition he would be at its apex. In the sweep of his career I think he was the most influential nutrition scientist.” Susan Scrimshaw describes her father as “a very intense man, very focused on his work. He found it difficult to do just one thing at a time. His mind worked better if he were doing several things at once.” Rosenberg agrees. “An enormously energetic man physically—he skied into his 90s—as well as intellectually.” He also recalls how Scrimshaw could charm people: “He was much beloved by his students and his colleagues.” And Scrimshaw in turn cared deeply about them. “My father felt a great obligation to other people”, says his daughter, “whether it was his colleagues or children needing better nutrition”. He leaves a wife, a daughter, and four sons. For the Nevin Scrimshaw International Nutrition Foundation see http://www.inffoundation.org For the Nevin Scrimshaw International Nutrition Foundation see http://www.inffoundation.org For the Nevin Scrimshaw International Nutrition Foundation see http://www.inffoundation.org