Rachel E. Kopec is surprised by the announcement that she has been selected as a Provost Midcareer Scholar, announced by Senior Vice Provost Patrick Louchouarn, Office of Faculty Affairs.
Award recognizes professor’s innovation in nutrition research
Rachel E. Kopec was meeting with her six human nutrition research lab members at the new Pelotonia Research Center when the door opened unexpectedly. A delegation of smiling university leaders entered, complete with photographer and video camera rolling.
Both Kopec and the students gazed at the group with puzzled expressions.
Patrick Louchouarn, senior vice provost, Office of Faculty Affairs, greeted them. “Congratulations, Dr. Kopec. We’re here to celebrate you and announce that you are one of the six Scarlet and Gray Associate Professors who are receiving the award this year.”
The word congratulations, along with Kopec’s name and the award name, popped up on the small room’s video screen. The students and the delegation applauded with enthusiasm. Kopec beamed.
“This year’s cohort of scholars all received their promotion to tenure in the last three years,” Louchouarn said. “They show great promise to excel in their work in incredible ways. You will receive a research stipend for three years and carry the title of Scarlet and Gray Scholar for three years.”
Erik Porfeli, professor and chair of Kopec’s Department of Human Sciences, said, “I’m grateful to the OSU leadership for offering this award and recognizing you in the presence of your students in order to send this message: There are faculty at our university who are great teachers. There are faculty who are great researchers, and faculty who are great servants.”
“It is exceptional and rare to find an individual who is truly great in all three, and Rachel is one of those folks. I hope all of you see her as the role model she truly is.”
Innovation in scholarship: Reasons for graduate students to study with Kopec
Kopec is an associate professor in the college's Human Nutrition program and holds a Food for Health Discovery Theme Appointment in the university’s Office of Academic Affairs. She is also the faculty program lead with the university's Discovery Theme’s Precision Nutrition group.
She focuses her lab on analyzing the metabolism of foods by the body to determine what approaches improve the bioavailability and metabolism of bioactive food compounds, using state-of-the-art analytical chemistry techniques.
One major focus of her work is to develop innovative strategies to combat leading micronutrient deficiencies. For instance, she has investigated ways to boost the body’s absorption of provitamin A (e.g., beta-carotene), which is critical for vitamin A production.
This research has the potential to significantly reduce the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency, which has severe impacts on vulnerable populations — particularly women and children — worldwide.
She also has active research in improving iron absorption from foods. Kopec, along with collaborators in the university’s Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering led by Professor Sudhir Sastry, has leveraged novel food-processing treatments to increase kale iron leaf content by more than 160 times.
They have recently been investigating whether this “iron-enhanced” kale better delivers iron to intestinal cells, as compared to supplemental sources of iron.
Her most recent project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is leveraging plant-based structures that resemble heme (which imparts the red color to beef) to deliver iron. Specifically, her group is using chlorophyll to bind iron for delivery. They are also testing a soy-based source of heme typically found only in soy plant roots.
They are investigating if these sources of iron are as bioavailable as heme, which is the best natural “delivery vehicle” for iron found in dietary sources.
Kopec currently serves as the Graduate Studies Chair for the Discovery Theme Working Group and executive director of her program’s Human Nutrition Industry Advisory Board. In each of these roles, Kopec is committed to creating opportunities that help students explore diverse career paths within the field of nutrition.
Beyond Ohio State, Kopec demonstrates significant leadership and expertise in her field. She is editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Nutrition Association. She is chair of the Carotenoid and Retinoid Interest Group of the American Society for Nutrition, as well as on the membership committee of the Metabolomics Association of North America.
In addition to her leadership roles, Kopec contributes her expertise as a grant reviewer for the federal government and various international funding agencies, ensuring the continued advancement of research in human nutrition and related disciplines.
Don Pope-Davis, dean of the college, wrote Kopec’s award nomination based on recommendations from her colleagues in the Human Nutrition program.
“Dr. Kopec is a remarkable scholar who not only excels in research and creative expression, but also in teaching and service,” Pope-Davis wrote. “Through her innovative contributions to the classroom, dedication to mentoring students and postdoctoral trainees and extensive service to both the university and broader community, Dr. Kopec consistently demonstrates the leadership, vision and impact that this prestigious award seeks to honor.”
