Susan Carlson

Dr. Carlson joined the University of Kansas Medical Center in 1999 as a professor in the KU School of Nursing and School of Medicine, taking appointments in Pediatrics/Neonatology and OB-GYN. She has generated more than $13 million in federal funding and more than $4 million in industry-sponsored funding for her research, mainly related to infant formulas. Her major research interest is on the effects of fatty acids that compose a large percent of brain membranes and found in human milk but not in vegetable oils typically used in the production of U.S. infant formulas.

Her work has been recognized nationally and internationally. Significant highlights include the addition of DHA and AA to U.S. infant formulas in 2002. Near the end of that year, she was made an honorary member of the American Dietetic Association in recognition for her pioneering work in identifying DHA as a conditionally essential nutrient for developing infants. Carlson also received the 2008 March of Dimes Agnes Higgins Award for outstanding achievement in the field of maternal-fetal nutrition. In 2021, she received the Alexander Leaf Award from the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids for her contributions to that Society and her translational studies of lipids in maternal and child nutrition. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s in 2022.

Learn more about Susan Carlson on the KU Medical Center website.