Background
LaVell Henderson made important scientific and administrative contributions to nutritional science and biochemistry over a long and productive career. In particular, he contributed substantially to understanding of the metabolism of two vitamins, niacin and vitamin B-6, the amino acids tryptophan, lysine and hydroxylysine, and the elucidation of carnitine biosynthesis in mammalian cells.
He chaired the Departments of Biochemistry, St. Paul, at the University of Minnesota and Oklahoma State University. He was an active member of the American Institute of Nutrition over much of this career; he was elected a member of the AIN in 1958, a councilor in 1973 and president-elect in 1976, serving as president in 1977–1978. In 1970 he received the society’s Borden Award and was made a fellow of the society in 1986.
Biographical sketch: Swan, P.B. and Mehansho, H. (2003) "LaVell Merl Henderson (1917–1999)." J Nutr. 133:4067-4070 (PubMed)
This series is jointly sponsored by the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics and the Department of Food Science and Nutrition.
Past Lectures
| Date | Speaker | Title | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. 11, 2026 | Dr. Kathryn Wellen Cancer Biology, University of Pennsylvania | Metabolic compartmentalization and crosstalk with the epigenome in cancer | BMBB |
| Nov. 6, 2024 | Dr. Johanna Lampe Public Health Sciences Division, Fred Hutch Cancer Center | Cancer Prevention: Leveraging Diet and the Gut Microbiome | FSCN |
| Dec. 15, 2023 | Dr. Judith Storch Nutritional Sciences, Rutgers University | Cholesterol transport in Niemann-Pick C disease | BMBB |
| Nov. 30, 2022 | Dr. Kimberly Buhman Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University | Dietary Fat Absorption in Health and Disease | FSCN |
| Nov. 4, 2020 | Dr. Steven Zeisel Nutrition Research Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Precision Nutrition: Lessons from studies on the nutrient choline | FSCN |
| Nov. 20, 2019 | Dr. Michael J. Wolfgang Center for Metabolism and Obesity Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine | Hepatic Lipid Signaling and Metabolism in Diabetes and Obesity | BMBB |
| Oct. 17, 2018 | Dr. Patrick J. Stover Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University | Understanding of the One-Carbon Metabolism Network in Human Health and Disease | FSCN |
| Nov. 8, 2017 | Dr. George M. Carman Rutgers Center for Lipid Research, Rutgers University | Regulation and roles of phosphatidate phosphatase in lipid metabolism | BMBB |
| Oct. 5, 2016 | Dr. Evan D. Rosen Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School | Interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4): a critical transcriptional regulator of adipose tissue biology and muscle dysfunction | FSCN |
| Dec. 9, 2015 | Dr. Andreas Stahl Department of Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology, University of California-Berkeley | Matrix-assisted Beige Fat Implants for Metabolic Therapy | BMBB |
| Nov. 14, 2014 | Dr. Roderick H. Dashwood Professor and Director, Center for Epigenetics & Disease Prevention | Epigenetics, Diet and Cancer Prevention | FSCN |
| Dec. 11, 2013 | Dr. Howard Towle Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | ChREBP: A Glucose-regulated Transcription Factor | BMBB |
| Nov. 15, 2012 | Dr. Hector DeLuca Professor Emeritus, Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison | Vitamin D: Beyond Bones | FSCN |
| Dec. 14, 2011 | Dr. William Blaner Professor of Nutritional Medicine, Columbia University | Retinoid Storage and Signaling: Biology and Pathobiology in Liver and Pancreas | BMBB |
Dec. 7, 2010 | Dr. Todd Klaenhammer North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC | New Frontiers in Microes & Health | FSCN |
Oct. 7, 2009 | Dr. Hei Sook Sul University of California Berkeley, CA | Transcriptional Regulation of Lipogenic genes by insulin: the role of DNA-PK. | BMBB |
Nov 17, 2008 | Dr. Jose M. Ordovas Tufts University, Boston, MA | Genome-guided nutrition: fact or fancy? | FSCN |
Oct. 10, 2007 | Dr. Richard Hanson Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH | Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxykinase: the Joy of Thinking Outside the Box. | BMBB |
Dec. 6, 2006 | Dr. Jesse Gregory University of Florida, Gainesville | Better Vitamin Nutrition Through Stable Isotopes: Folate and Vitamin B6 in Human One-Carbon Metabolism. | FSCN |
Nov 16, 2005 | Dr. Samuel W. Cushman NIH, Bethesda, MD | Cell Biology of Insulin Action on Glucose Transport. | BMBB |