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Dongqing Wang, assistant professor in the Department of Global and Community Health, won the Early Career Research Award Competition at NUTRITION 2024, the American Society for Nutrition’s annual flagship conference, in Chicago, Illinois.
The Early Career Research Award Competition is a scholarly activity that recognizes early-career nutrition scientists and clinicians and challenges them through a juried abstract review and special oral session in which they present research findings. Five finalists were chosen from the 137 applicants, of which Wang was the Grand Prize Winner. Wang’s presentation was titled “The Effects of Prenatal Nutritional Supplements on Small Vulnerable Newborn Types in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Meta-Analysis of Individual Participant Data.”
“This work underscores the importance of nutritional supplements in prenatal care in low- and middle-income countries. In particular, this work provides robust support for the switch from iron and folic acid supplementation to multiple micronutrient supplements as the standard prenatal care,” Wang said.
With funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Wang was able to conduct data harmonization across previous randomized control trials to examine the effects of prenatal multiple micronutrient supplements and small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements on vulnerable newborn types. He found that these supplements reduced the risk to varying extents, “with the greatest magnitude of effects observed for small vulnerable newborns with the greatest neonatal mortality risk,” said Wang.
This prestigious and highly competitive award acknowledges Wang’s outstanding efforts and commitment to advancing nutrition scient. Wang describes winning the award competition as a “significant milestone” in his career as a junior faculty member: “This recognition will undoubtedly enhance my professional reputation and inspire continued excellence in my research endeavors.”