Robert J. Cousins (born 1941) is an American nutritional biochemist who has researched the metabolism of heavy metals, especially zinc. He has served as president of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) and the American Society for Nutrition (ASN). He was recognized with membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 2000 and served as editor of the Annual Review of Nutrition for ten years.
Early life and education
Robert John Cousins was born in New York City in 1941 as the only child born to Doris E. Cousins () and C. Robert Cousins. His maternal grandparents were immigrants to the United States from Alsace. On his father's side, his heritage is predominantly Scottish, Irish, English, and German. He grew up in rural Kingston, New York.
Cousins attended the University of Vermont, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1963 (zoology major and chemistry minor), thus becoming the first college graduate in his family. He completed a master's degree in animal science at the University of Connecticut in 1965, followed by a PhD in nutritional biochemistry at the same university in 1968 under the mentorship of Hamilton Eaton. Cousins then joined the lab of Hector DeLuca at the University of Wisconsin (Madison) in a post-doctoral position supported through an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship to study vitamin D biochemistry.
Academic career and appointments
After completing his postdoc at the University of Wisconsin, Cousins began a position as an assistant professor at Rutgers University in their animal sciences department in 1971. In 1974 he transferred to the department of nutrition. He was promoted to associate professor in 1974, full professor in 1977 and Professor II (distinguished professor) in 1979. He served as director of the Rutgers Nutritional Sciences Graduate Program, was a member of the Biochemistry Graduate Program, and was involved in governance of biological sciences.
In 1982, Cousins accepted an offer from the University of Florida (UF) Food Science and Human Nutrition Department for a newly established endowed chair, the Boston Family Professor of Nutrition. At UF, he continued researching zinc physiology and metabolism.
In the mid-1980s, the Pew National Nutrition Program held a competition to establish five nutrition centers throughout the country. Cousins spearheaded UF's successful entry in that competition, founding the Center for Nutritional Sciences at UF. He currently serves as the director. During the same period, Cousins was elected to the council of the American Institute of Nutrition (now American Society for Nutrition).
Cousins later served on the board of directors of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). FASEB underwent a major reorganization in governance structure following the organization's Williamsburg Retreat in 1989. In 1991, Cousins was elected to serve a term as FASEB President. During that year he was involved in the Federation's focus on improving scientific integrity investigations including testifying before a United States Congress subcommittee on Proposed Regulations of the Office of Government Ethics. The following year, Cousins became chair of the newly established Public Affairs Executive Committee (PAEC) of FASEB. After his year as president, Cousins remained active in FASEB working on biomedical and life sciences research funding recommendations and the influence of lobbyists on those recommendations.
In the 1990s, Cousins was named an associate editor of the Journal of Nutrition and was elected president of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences, which later was renamed the American Society for Nutrition (ASN). Cousins served on the Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) for two terms (1997–2002), during the period when the Dietary Reference Intakes for micronutrients were being formulated. These Dietary Reference Intake recommendations still represent the standards for nutritional guidance in the US.
Cousins served two terms as editor of the Annual Review of Nutrition (2005 to 2014).
In April 2000, Cousins was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS). He currently runs an active research lab at the University of Florida and is the Boston Family Professor of Nutrition at the University of Florida.