Image

Assistant Professor of Nutrition Chaoran Ma and nutrition doctoral student Judy Kim have been recognized with 2026 national awards from the American Society for Nutrition (ASN). Both will be honored during ASN’s annual flagship meeting, NUTRITION 2026, July 25-28 in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C.

Ma has been named the recipient of the Korean Nutrition Society (KNS) Award, presented by ASN and the American Society for Nutrition Foundation. She joins a diverse group of 2026 National Scientific Achievement Award honorees, including scientists, clinicians, educators, mentors and emerging leaders recognized for advancing nutrition science and improving health around the world.

“I am honored and grateful to receive this recognition from the ASN and Korean Nutrition Society,” Ma says. “This award is meaningful to me because it highlights the importance of collaboration with Korean investigators to address nutrition-related questions relevant to diverse populations. I deeply appreciate the support of my collaborators, colleagues and research team, and I look forward to continuing research that advances nutritional epidemiology and promotes population health.”

Image

Ma currently serves as chair of ASN’s Diet and Cancer Research Interest Section. Her research focuses on age-related chronic diseases, particularly cancer and neurodegeneration, and how modifiable factors, including diet and lifestyle behaviors, influence disease risk, progression and outcomes. She also studies how genetic, metabolic and gut microbial factors contribute to individual responses to diet and the biological mechanisms linking dietary and behavioral factors to chronic disease.

The Korean Nutrition Society Award was established in 2010 by KNS and ASN to strengthen collaboration between the organizations and promote excellence in nutrition research conducted by North American ASN members engaged with Korean collaborators or studies.

Kim has been selected to receive ASN’s 2026 George Bray Obesity Research Student Award, which recognizes outstanding student research related to pediatric nutrition. She was selected from 147 presenting authors based on her abstract, “Fluctuation of Energy and Hormones Attenuates PPARgamma and Remodels Lipid Droplet-Coating Proteins in a Yo-Yo Model of Human Adipocytes.”

Kim conducts her research under the mentorship of Associate Professor of Nutrition Soonkyu Chung. In addition to receiving a $500 prize, she has been invited to present her research during the George Bray Outstanding Scientific Achievements Award in Obesity Research Lecture, which this year will be delivered by Susan Fried of Rutgers University.

The Bray Outstanding Scientific Achievements Award in Obesity Research and the George Bray Obesity Research Student Award were endowed in 2020 by longtime ASN member and obesity research pioneer Dr. George A. Bray and his wife, Marilyn M. Bray.