Joel Mason, MD, and Hong Chen, PhD, received the Mary Swartz Rose Senior Investigator Award and the Mary Swartz Rose Young Investigator Award, respectively, at the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) Scientific Sessions and Annual Meeting held in conjunction with Experimental Biology 2010 in Anaheim, CA. The awards, jointly presented by ASN and the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), Washington, D.C. recognize outstanding research on the safety and efficacy of bioactive compounds for human health.

Dr. Mason, Scientist I, Vitamins and Carcinogen Lab, Human Nutrition Research Center, Tufts University, first began studying how the intake of folate and other 1-carbon nutrients modulate the risk of developing cancer in the 1980s. He currently serves on the Professional Education Committee of the American Society for Nutrition and the Editorial Board of the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. Dr. Chen, assistant professor, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois, Urbana, has established herself as an important contributor to the understanding of the role of epigenetic modifications on colon cancer and prevention, as well as how they are regulated by dietary components in colon tumor cells and animal models.

These awards are named in honor of the late Mary Swartz Rose (1874–1941), a founder and president of the American Institute of Nutrition (now known as ASN). Made possible by a $50,000 grant from CRN to fund the awards annually over five consecutive years, this is the third year the award has been given out.