Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Contact Info
615 N. Wolfe St. W2041
Baltimore
Maryland
21205
US
410-955-0196
Research Interests
international health; micronutrients; vitamin A; retinol; beta-carotene; vitamin E; maternal and child nutrition; international nutrition; nutritional epidemiology; child survival; infant and child mortality; maternal mortality; child health; maternal health; anthropometry; proteomics; community trials; Bangladesh; Nepal; Indonesia; Palestine refugees.
Additional Links
Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
DrPH
Johns Hopkins University
1986
MPH
Johns Hopkins University
Overview
My research focuses on improving through nutritional means the health and survival of infants, children, adolescents and women of reproductive age in underserved populations, with special interests in the assessment and prevention of multiple micronutrient deficiencies, with special interests in vitamins A and E deficiencies, poor growth and protein-energy malnutrition. Most of my research has involved the conduct of population-based epidemiologic studies and micronutrient intervention trials, particularly in Indonesia, Nepal (founding the Nepal Nutrition Intervention Project-Sarlahi, or NNIPS, in 1988) and Bangladesh (co-founding the JiVitA Project in 2000). In recent years, my work has broadened to explore effects of developmental nutrition exposures on health later in life and the potential of plasma proteomics as a platform for nutritional assessment.
Honors & Awards
Inaugural George G. Graham Professor of Infant and Child Nutrition, 2005- present
Kellogg International Nutrition Prize 2007
G. Malcolm Trout Lecture, Michigan State University,2009
Avanelle Kirksey Lecture, Purdue University,2017
James Allen Olson Lecture, American Society of Nutrition, 2018
Fellow of the American Society of Nutrition, Class of 2020
Kellogg International Nutrition Prize 2007
G. Malcolm Trout Lecture, Michigan State University,2009
Avanelle Kirksey Lecture, Purdue University,2017
James Allen Olson Lecture, American Society of Nutrition, 2018
Fellow of the American Society of Nutrition, Class of 2020
Select Publications
Publications that reflect diversity of research and public health priorities over the past 30 years.
- Sommer A, West KP Jr. Vitamin A Deficiency: Health, Survival and Vision. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
- West KP Jr, Shamim AA, Mehra S, Labrique AB, Ali H, Shaikh S, Klemm RDW, Wu LSF, Mitra M, Haque R, Hanif AAM, Massie AB, Merrill RD, Schulze KJ, Christian P. Effect of maternal multiple micronutrient versus iron-folic acid supplementation on infant mortality and adverse birth outcomes in rural Bangladesh: the JiVitA-3 randomized trial. JAMA 2014;312:2649-2658.
- West KP Jr, Cole RN, Shrestha S, Schulze KJ, Lee SE, Betz J, Nonyane BAS, Wu LSF, Yager JD, Groopman JD, Christian P. A plasma ?-tocopherome can be identified from proteins associated with vitamin E status in school aged children of Nepal. J Nutr 2015;145:2646-2656..
- Kang Y, Wu L S-F, Shaikh S, Ali H, Shamim AA, Christian P, Labrique A, West KP. Birth anthropometry predicts neonatal and infant mortality in rural Bangladesh: a focus on circumferential measurements. Am J Clin Nutr 2022;115:1334-1343.
- Gernand AD, Schulze KJ, Stewart CP, West KP Jr, Christian P. Micronutrient deficiencies in pregnancy worldwide: health effects and prevention. Nature Rev Endocrinol, 2016;12:274-289.
Projects
Global Research Activity
Maternal Vitamin A or Beta-carotene Supplementation Trial to Reduce Pregnancy-related Mortality in Bangladesh
Impact Of Zinc Supplementation Child Mortality In Nepal
Maternal Vitamin A or Beta-carotene Supplementation Trial In Bangladesh (JiVitA-1)
Vitamin A Commodity Support
The portable field dark adaptometer: Validating a novel device for field-based screening and detection of vitamin A deficiency and night blindness, a debilitating condition associated with high maternal and child mortality
Wireless Public Health Technologies to Prevent Drowning
mCare: Enhancing survival of high-risk neonates in rural S. Asia
Nutrition Collaborative Research Support Program
Nutrition Innovation Lab
Maternal and Child Nutrition Situation Analysis in South Asia
Plasma Proteomics for Nutritional Assessment
Arsenic and immune response to influenza vaccination in pregnant women and newborns
Effect of Antenatal Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation on Fetal and Infant Mortality and Maternal Health in Bangladesh (JiVitA-3)
Malawi Impact Evaluation Project
Protein Plus: Improving infant growth through diet and enteric health
Implementation Research to Improve Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation
ROSHNI (Rights for Sanitation, Health, and Nutrition Initiative): a large scale nutrition-WASH programme in India