Ananda S Prasad

Dr. Ananda Prasad was the first scientist to recognize the essentiality of zinc for human health and to recognize that zinc deficiency is a common problem globally in 1963. This led the US Congress to declare zinc as an essential nutrient for human health, and in 1974, the National Academy of Sciences established recommended dietary allowances for zinc. He has received many awards and honors for this discovery, including a Goldberger Award from the American Medical Association, an Outstanding...See more

Dr. Ananda Prasad was the first scientist to recognize the essentiality of zinc for human health and to recognize that zinc deficiency is a common problem globally in 1963. This led the US Congress to declare zinc as an essential nutrient for human health, and in 1974, the National Academy of Sciences established recommended dietary allowances for zinc. He has received many awards and honors for this discovery, including a Goldberger Award from the American Medical Association, an Outstanding Research Award from American College of Physicians, the Mahidol Award from the Kind of Thailand, the Medal of Honor from the Mayor of Lyon in France, and an Honorary Doctorate from the Claude Bernard University in Lyon. He has published over 300 papers and 15 books and is the founder and emeritus editor of the American Journal of Hematology. See less