Science policy leader begins as director of Evidence Center at Texas A&M
Casavale to advance clarity and collaboration in food, agriculture and public health research
Kellie Casavale, Ph.D., a nationally recognized expert in nutrition science and evidence-based policy, is the new director of the Texas A&M Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Evidence Center, effective May 1.
The Evidence Center, part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, synthesizes existing research on agri-food science, policies and practices related to agricultural, environmental and human health to answer important policy questions.
Casavale brings more than 20 years of expertise in leading cross-sector scientific collaborations and systematic review programs to inform federal research and policy.
“I am thrilled to welcome a leader of Dr. Casavale’s caliber,” said G. Cliff Lamb, director of AgriLife Research. “Her expertise will propel the Evidence Center mission and strengthen AgriLife Research, which nourishes health, strengthens communities, protects natural resources and supports economies.”
Driving impact through clarity and multidisciplinary synthesis
Over her career, Casavale served in multiple science and policy roles at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, HHS. She joins the Evidence Center from her current role as senior science adviser for nutrition at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, Human Foods Program.
Building on her work at USDA, Casavale led the process to develop the Dietary Guidelines for Americans at HHS. She was instrumental in setting standards for prioritizing systematic review questions to inform dietary recommendations. She established new mechanisms to expand engagement across HHS, USDA and other departments, ensuring scientific integrity, transparency and utility of the resulting nutrition policy.
At FDA, she supported the Closer to Zero initiative launched in 2021, which aims to drive down children’s exposure to heavy metals from foods. She developed the Nutrition Research and Risk Communication arm of Closer to Zero, now a multifaceted collaborative initiative.
Looking forward
As director of the Evidence Center, Casavale will build on the vision and strategy for multidisciplinary growth and multisector collaboration. She will foster clarity of scientific information for impactful decision-making to solve public health issues in agriculture, food and nutrition.
“The work of the Evidence Center is essential to public health and a strong U.S. food supply,” Casavale said. “The superb quality and efficiency of the center makes it an asset for the federal government and the other sectors it serves. I look forward to driving our longer-term mission of advancing methods for transparent, unbiased evaluation of the impacts of agriculture on health.”
Casavale earned a doctorate in nutrition from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a bachelor’s in biology from Lander University in South Carolina.
