Susan E. Carlson, PhD

Dr. Susan Carlson is the AJ Rice Professor of Nutrition and associate dean for research in the School of Health Professions at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. Dr. Carlson received her doctorate from Iowa State University and completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Wisconsin and the University of South Florida.

Dr. Carlson is director of the Doctorate in Medical Nutrition Science program at the University of Kansas Medical Center and affiliate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. She has been active in the education of clinicians about maternal and infant health for many years. Her contributions in research, scholarship, and education were recognized when she was named a University Distinguished Professor. 

Dr. Carlson was instrumental in the establishment of best-practice guidelines for the intake of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for infants and pregnant women. Her research has involved conducting numerous large clinical trials to evaluate the effect of DHA supplementation on infants and pregnant women. The studies have focused primarily on the cognitive development of infants, but also on their nutritional, physiological and neurological outcomes, following some subjects for several years.