Joseph M. Betz, Ph.D.
Director, Dietary Supplement Methods and Reference Materials Program
Office of Dietary Supplements,
National Institutes of Health

Dr. Betz is director of the Dietary Supplements Methods and Reference Materials Program at the Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health (NIH). In this role, he oversees efforts to promote development of validated analytical methods and reference materials for dietary supplements. His research interests lie in the areas of analytical methods for determination of botanical quality. He has served as AOAC International General Referee for Botanical Supplements and on two USP Expert Committees' Botanicals and Nomenclature and Labeling. Prior to joining NIH, he was vice president for Scientific and Technical Affairs at the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA). Before joining AHPA, he spent 12 years as a research chemist at the Food and Drugs Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Dr. Betz has numerous publications in the natural products area and continues to work toward ensuring the quality and safety of botanical products. He is the recipient of the American Botanical Council's first Norman R. Farnsworth award for excellence in Botanical Research and AHPA's Herbal Insight Award for contributions to the Botanical Sciences. Dr. Betz earned a Ph.D. in Pharmacognosy at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.

Dennis M. Bier, M.D.
Director, Children's Nutrition Research Center
Professor of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine

Dennis M. Bier, M.D., is professor of pediatrics, director of the USDA Children’s Nutrition Research Center, and program director of the NIH General Clinical Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine.  He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a fellow of the American Society for Nutrition, a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science and Chairman of the IOM Food and Nutrition Board.

Dr. Bier serves as editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and associate editor of the Annual Review of Nutrition. He is chairman of the Board of the International Life Sciences Institute Research Foundation, a member of the McDonald’s Global Advisory Council, the ConAgra Foods Scientific Advisory Board, and the Mars, Inc. Scientific Advisory Committee.  He has been president of the American Society for Nutrition (with Dr. Naomi Fukagawa), the American Society for Nutritional Sciences, the American Society of Clinical Nutrition, and the NIH General Clinical Research Centers Programs Directors Association. He has also been editor-in-chief of Pediatric Research, Councilor of the American Pediatric Society, Chairman of the NIH Nutrition Study Section, and Chairman of the NIH General Clinical Research Centers Committee.  In addition, he has served as a member of various other scientific advisory panels, including the HHS/USDA 1995 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, the FDA Pediatric Advisory Committee and the FDA Food Advisory Committee. 

Dr. Bier has authored more than 250 scientific publications and, for his research work, he has received the Nutrition Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the E.V. McCollum Award from the American Institute of Nutrition, the Grace A. Goldsmith Award from the American College of Nutrition, the General Clinical Research Centers Award for Excellence in Clinical Research from the NIH, the Distinguished Service Award from Washington University School of Medicine and the Professional Achievement Award from Le Moyne College.

Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D., F.A.C.N., C.N.S.
Director, Antioxidants Research Laboratory, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University

Dr. Blumberg is a professor in the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and also serves as the director of the Antioxidants Research Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.   His research has focused on the biochemical basis for the role of antioxidant nutrients and their dietary requirements in promoting health and preventing disease during the aging process via changes in status of oxidative stress. He has published more than 230 scientific articles and serves on the editorial boards of several scientific journals. Dr. Blumberg also participates in activities relevant to the incorporation of sound nutrition science into public health policy and has served as a member of the Surgeon General's Workshop on Health Promotion and Aging, Sports Medicine Committee of the U.S. Olympic Committee, WHO/FAO Consultation on Preparation and Use of Food-Based Dietary Guidelines, Food Advisory Committee of the FDA, and other committees.

Dr. Blumberg earned a Ph.D. in Pharmacology in from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He also received postdoctoral training in cyclic nucleotide metabolism at the Tennessee Neuropsychiatric Institute and the University of Calgary.

Paul Coates, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Dietary Supplements
National Institutes of Health

Paul Coates, Ph.D., has directed the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since October 1999 in its mission to strengthen knowledge and understanding of dietary supplements. He oversees a range of initiatives and programs that support research and the training of investigators and also lead to the development of information resources and tools. Under Dr. Coates' leadership, the ODS budget had grown eightfold, from $3.5 million in 1999 to nearly $28 million in 2008. He has established ODS as a strong and authoritative voice for rigorous research. As the ODS spokesperson, he has presented at many national and international scientific meetings and is frequently interviewed by the media to increase the knowledge of dietary supplements among diverse audiences.

In related work, Dr. Coates serves as a member of the Federal Steering Committee that oversees the development of nutrient recommendations for the public known as Dietary Reference Intakes. He is also the lead editor of the authoritative Encyclopedia of Dietary Supplements published by Marcel Dekker in 2006.

Zoraida DeFreitas, Ph.D.
Vice President of Research and Development, Kemin Health, L.C.
Chair, CRN Senior Scientific Advisory Council

Dr. Zoraida DeFreitas is the vice president of Research and Development at Kemin Health, L.C.  In this role, Dr. DeFreitas is responsible for Quality Control and Assurance, Technical Services, Scientific Affairs and Product & Process Innovation.  Dr. DeFreitas joined Kemin Health over ten years ago. During this time, she has supported global activities that enhanced the science and established the safety of FloraGLO® lutein from Kemin Health.  Under her leadership, Dr. DeFreitas’s team has launched several new products and continues to develop new ingredients to improve human health.  Dr DeFreitas has been the chair of the CRN Senior Scientific Advisory Council for almost four years. Before joining Kemin, Dr. DeFreitas was over three years at Quest International Flavors and Fragrances.

Dr. DeFreitas received a Ph.D. in Food Science and Animal Science from Iowa State University. She has a Masters degree in Food Technology from Iowa State University.

David Heber, M.D., Ph.D., FACP, FACBN
Director, UCLA Center for Human Nutrition

David Heber is the director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Heber has been on the faculty of the UCLA School of Medicine since 1978 and is currently professor of Medicine and Public Health and the founding chief of the Division of Clinical Nutrition in the Department of Medicine and the founding director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition at UCLA. 

Dr. Heber is board certified in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology and Metabolism by the American Board of Internal Medicine, and in Clinical Nutrition by the American Board of Nutrition.  He directed the UCLA Center for Dietary Supplements Research: Botanicals from 1999 to 2006. He has written over 195 peer-reviewed scientific articles, 25 book chapters, and professional texts, including: Dietary Fat, Lipids, Hormones and Tumorigenesis; Nutritional Oncology; and Pomegranates: Ancient Roots to Modern Medicine. He authored four books for the public including: Natural Remedies for a Healthy Heart; What Color is Your Diet? and The L.A. Shape Diet.  His main research interests are nutrition and dietary supplements for the prevention and treatment of obesity, obesity-associated conditions, and common forms of cancer.

David S. Jones, M.D.
President and Chief Medical Officer, The Institute for Functional Medicine

Dr. Jones is the president and director of Medical Education of The Institute for Functional Medicine, headquartered in Gig Harbor, Washington. He has practiced as a family physician with emphasis in functional and integrative medicine for over 30 years. He is a recognized expert in the areas of functional medicine, nutrition, lifestyle changes for optimal health, and managed care, as well as the daily professional functions consistent with the modern specialty of Family Practice. Dr. Jones is the recipient of the 1997 Linus Pauling Award in Functional Medicine.  He is the past president of PrimeCare, the Independent Physician Association of Southern Oregon (IPASO) representing the majority of physicians in the Southern Oregon area. He has served as chief of staff at the Ashland Community Hospital and as president of the Southern Oregon Society of Preventive Medicine. He was editor-in-chief of the Textbook of Functional Medicine, published in 2005.

Alan R. Kristal, Dr. P.H.
Associate Head, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Public Health Sciences Division, Cancer Prevention
Professor of Epidemiology, University of Washington, School of Public Health and Community Medicine

Dr. Kristal's primary research interests are in nutritional epidemiology, including the etiologic relationships between diet and cancer and implementation and evaluation of interventions to reduce cancer risk.  His current projects include studies on: (1) interrelationships of diet, steroid hormones, growth factors, inflammation and oxidative stress with the risk of prostate cancer; (2) effects of supplementation with vitamin E and selenium on prostate cancer risk; (3) relationships of steroid hormones, diet and obesity with the risk of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH); and (4) role of nutritional status on response to treatment for HIV and HIV-related cancer in Uganda.  He is a senior editor of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention and associate editor of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Jamie McManus, M.D.,
Chairman, Medical Affairs, Health Sciences & Education
Shaklee Corporation

Dr. McManus is the primary spokesperson for nutritional products and with her Health Sciences team is responsible for designing and implementing clinical research, as well as developing and delivering education on health and wellness and the incorporation of Shaklee products into a healthy lifestyle.

Dr. McManus earned her M.D. from the University of California at Davis, graduating with highest Honors and was awarded membership in the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. After completing her residency in Family Practice and achieving Fellowship in the American Academy of Family Practice, Dr. McManus practiced family medicine in California and Washington for 16 years with special emphasis in preventive & integrative medicine, sports nutrition and women’s health.

Catherine M. Meyers, M.D.
Director, Office of Clinical & Regulatory Affairs, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, NIH

Dr. Meyers joined the NCCAM staff in June 2009, where she currently directs the Office of Clinical & Regulatory Affairs for the Center. Previously, she'd served a three-year tenure at FDA, where she provided oversight for trials of products for extracorporeal therapies. Prior to that, she was a Senior Scientific Advisor within the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases for nearly eight years, where her efforts focused on multicenter studies of patients with kidney disease.  She is a former faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania, where her research interests focused on characterizing mechanisms of immune-mediated kidney injury. Dr. Meyers completed her M.D. at the University of Illinois,  then pursued post-graduate training in Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago and in Nephrology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Steve Mister
President & CEO, Council for Responsible Nutrition

Mr. Mister is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN). Under his leadership, CRN has experienced a refined strategic focus, increased membership, and launched new initiatives to enhance consumer confidence in the supplement industry. Prior to joining CRN, he was Director of Government Affairs at the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) where he developed and implemented a state government relations program tracking and responding to legislation in all 50 states. Before that, Mr. Mister served in several legal and legislative roles for over a decade at the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), most recently as Vice President and Associate General Counsel. He also worked as an attorney in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Wiley, Rein & Fielding in general litigation, government ethics, and federal election law practice groups, and had a stint on Capitol Hill as a media relations assistant for former U.S. Senator Charles McC. Mathias, Jr.