Research Leader
USDA
Dr. Glahn was born and raised in the farm country of Lancaster County, PA, USA. He attended the Pennsylvania State University, receiving a BS in biology (1983), MS in physiology (1986), and Ph.D. in physiology (1989). He has held research positions as a research technician at the Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD; postdoctoral associate at the University of Arkansas, Department of Animal and Poultry Science; postdoctoral associate at the Mayo Clinic, Nephrology Research Unit; and currently serves as a Research Physiologist / Research Leader for the USDA at the Robert Holley Center for Agriculture and Health, Ithaca, NY, USA. He has a Courtesy Professor appointment in the Department of Food Science and the Division of Nutrition at Cornell University. Over the course of his career, he has conducted research within the fields of comparative physiology, renal physiology, renal mycotoxicology, nutritional physiology, and virology.
Dr. Glahn came to the Robert Holley Center for Agriculture and Health in Ithaca, NY in 1993, and thus has over 30 years of service as a government scientist. He currently has over 190 peer-reviewed publications, approximately 115 of which have been published during his career with the USDA.
Dr. Glahn’s research program focuses on the nutritional quality of trace minerals, specifically iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn). Deficiencies of these minerals affect over a third of the world population. His expertise is on the factors and practices that influence the intestinal absorption of these micronutrients. He utilizes a physiological approach, employing in vitro techniques (ie. cell culture) and an animal model (poultry) to determine factors, interactions and food components that affect the ability of the intestine to absorb these minerals. These models are well-established and validated relative to human nutritional trials. These models form the core of his program to assess the nutritional quality of Fe and Zn in staple food crops, develop and evaluate staple food crops and food products for nutritional quality of these minerals, and assess the nutritional quality of diets and meal plans of populations at risk for Fe and Zn deficiency. He is recognized as one of the world's leading experts in the bioavailability of these essential micronutrients.