Downstate Faculty Advance Global Child Nutrition Research
By Office of the President | Jun 2, 2026
From Left to Right: Thomas Wallach, M.D.; Janet Rosenbaum, Ph.D.
Downstate researchers contributed two papers to a special issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, joining an international scientific effort to better understand how nutrition shapes childhood growth and long-term health.
Published by the Royal Society, the United Kingdom’s national academy of sciences, Philosophical Transactions has published scientific research for more than four centuries, dating back to the scientific era of Isaac Newton. Its themed editions bring together investigators from around the world to examine major scientific and public health questions.
The inclusion of Downstate faculty in this special issue places their work alongside contributions from researchers around the world in one of science’s oldest and most respected journals, with a history dating back more than 350 years.
Congratulations to Thomas Wallach, M.D., Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Assistant Professor of Pediatric Gastroenterology, and Janet Rosenbaum, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the School of Public Health, who were invited contributors to the publication, Biological, Biomedical and Environmental Drivers of Stunting.
The issue explores the complex causes and consequences of childhood stunting, a condition associated with chronic nutritional and environmental challenges that can affect physical growth, health outcomes, cognitive development, and long-term quality of life and opportunity.
The two Downstate papers approached the issue from complementary perspectives. One explored the biological mechanisms linking nutrition, intestinal health, and growth. The other analyzed population-level data to better understand how dietary protein intake may influence childhood development across countries and communities.
Dr. Wallach’s review article, co-authored with Shahzaib Khan, M.D., MBBS, Downstate Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellow, and Kara G. Margolis, M.D., a world-renowned expert in intestinal serotonin biology and pediatric gastroenterologist at NYU Langone Health, examined how limited access to animal-source foods may deprive children of essential amino acids needed for growth while also affecting intestinal health, inflammation, and immune function in ways that contribute to stunting.
The second paper, led by Dr. Rosenbaum with co-authors Samuel Abariga of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in Downstate’s School of Public Health; Yongsheng Wang of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in Downstate’s School of Public Health and Infection Control at Kings County Hospital Center; and Dr. Wallach, analyzed child health survey data from four African countries, Ghana, Mali, Sierra Leone, and the Central African Republic, where childhood nutrition, growth, and food security remain important public health concerns.
The study found that children who consumed animal-source foods had higher height-for-age and weight-for-age scores, adding to growing evidence that complete protein and essential amino acids play an important role in childhood growth and development.
By combining laboratory science with population health research, the papers connect biological processes to patterns of childhood growth observed across diverse populations. Their findings highlight the value of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing childhood stunting.
Thanks to Drs. Wallach and Rosenbaum, and their collaborating authors and research teams. Their collective work positions Downstate among an illustrious international group of investigators examining this important area of child health research.
I also want to recognize David Christini, Ph.D., Senior Vice President for Research and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies; F. Charles Brunicardi, M.D., FACS, Dean of the College of Medicine; and Kitaw Demissie, M.D., Ph.D., Dean of the School of Public Health, for supporting the scientific and collaborative work that makes research of this caliber possible at Downstate.
Dr.Wallach’s paper, Essential is Essential
Dr. Rosenbaum’s paper on Protein Consumption, Analysis of Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys