May 8, 2024 —
The Canadian Nutrition Society (CNS) recently announced that Harold Okema, Professor of Food and Human Nutrition Sciences, has been awarded the Earl Willard McHenry Award for Achievement in Nutrition. The announcement was made at the CNS Annual Conference, held May 2-4 in Edmonton, Alabama.
This prestigious award is presented annually to recognize outstanding achievements in Canadian nutrition. This award provides administrative or material support for teaching, inspiring students and colleagues, providing leadership through professional associations that advance the science of nutrition, and developing outstanding nutrition programs. The award will be given to those who have demonstrated merit in their work and research achievements.
The CNS citation reads:
Dr. Harold Okema’s research has contributed significantly to our understanding of diet (types of fat and protein) in kidney health and disease. His expertise with oxylipins led to the development of new methods for determining ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) requirements and the recognition of the role of oxylipins in various tissues and disease states, including the influence of sex differences. Dr. Aukema has published 134 articles (H-index 33, 3,717 citations in 2,521 documents), 228 abstracts, his 3 book chapters, and has 1 published patent.His papers have been published in leading nutrition journals [Nutrition (n=17), Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry (n-8), British Journal of Nutrition (n=9), Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism (n=6)] There are also specialized journals in the field of lipids and kidneys. His most cited paper is a review in Advances in Nutrition (Gabbs et al 2015, Advances in the understanding of oxylipins from dietary PUFAs, his 483 citations including 7 by 2024). In 2020, this review paper was recognized as the most cited paper in his 2015 edition of Advances in Nutrition (10th Anniversary Collection). Many researchers have expressed their appreciation for this comprehensive scoping review, indicating that it is used in many graduate courses in nutrition as an important source of information for understanding oxylipins.
Dr. Okema is the leader of CanU, a program that brings under-resourced children to the University of Manitoba campus and exposes them to a variety of fields, including nutrition, which is coordinated by nutrition students. This created an experiential learning opportunity to He provides nutrition programs through hands-on learning activities on eating and nutrition skills. Dr. Okema is a founding board member of CanU Canada (2011-present). Since 2011, in Winnipeg, he has helped more than 2,000 children participate in on-campus nutrition programs. This provided an opportunity for more than 170 University of Manitoba nutrition students to enhance their nutrition training by serving as coordinators and facilitators in implementing these programs through experiential learning. Dr. Okema has 33 graduate students (6 Ph.D.s and 23 M.S. students, 2 M.S. students and 2 Ph.D. students), 3 postdoctoral fellows, and 40 undergraduate students (including (some for more than one summer) and many engineers/researchers. Friends for many years. Trainees are lead authors of publications, many of which have been recognized at numerous national and international conferences.
Dr. Okema chaired the graduate program for 13 years, during which time he initiated two major revisions of graduate courses. He has served as the department’s deputy director for eight years, served as acting department director for a year and a half, and is currently on the leadership team at the Canadian Center for Health, Medicine, Agri-Food Research (CCARM), where the laboratory is located. Masu. Dr. Okema has also served on review committees for both NSERC and CIHR, served as an associate editor for both Lipids and Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism (APNM) for 8-9 years, and reviewed articles for numerous journals. , has provided grants for several organizations. on an ad hoc basis.
