title: Driving Along the Zinc Road.
abstract: After having written hundreds of research articles, reviews, and book chapters, I find it awkward to pen an autobiography. I still do use a pen. As stated by others in the nutrition field who have written of their own experiences in a perspective article for the Annual Review of Nutrition, my course through this field of science has been serendipitous. My interest in nutrition developed during my experiences with horses and then Angus cattle and entry into an animal science degree program. As the age of molecular biology was unfolding, I pursued a PhD in nutritional biochemistry with Hamilton Eaton at the University of Connecticut followed by postdoctoral work with Hector DeLuca at the University of Wisconsin, working on vitamins A and D, respectively. At Rutgers University, one of the two institutions where I have served on the faculty, I started my research program on trace elements with a focus on cadmium toxicity but soon thereafter began my research on zinc metabolism and function. I moved to the University of Florida in 1982 for an endowed position and have been a Florida Gator ever since. At the University of Florida, research expanded to include identification of zinc-responsive genes and physiological outcomes of zinc transport influencing health and disease, particularly as related to inflammation. I had the opportunity to contribute national science policy as president of both the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology and the American Society for Nutrition. As the time of this writing, I maintain an active laboratory.
authors.affiliation: Center for Nutritional Sciences, Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-2710; email: cousins@ufl.edu.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Cousins
mesh_terms: D053180:Animal Nutrition Sciences / Q000266:history / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D000818:Animals; D001363:Awards and Prizes; D001671:Biochemistry / Q000266:history* / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D001692:Biological Transport; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D002104:Cadmium / Q000633:toxicity; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D009307:National Academy of Sciences, U.S.; D018673:Nutrition Policy / Q000266:history; D052756:Nutritional Sciences / Q000266:history* / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D010506:Periodicals as Topic; D011640:Public Policy / Q000266:history; D012109:Research Support as Topic / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012958:Societies, Scientific / Q000266:history; D014481:United States; D015032:Zinc / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D002104:Cadmium; D015032:Zinc
keywords: Autobiography; Rutgers University; University of Connecticut; University of Florida; University of Wisconsin; biochemistry; cadmium; gene regulation; metabolism; nutrition; zinc