Shaping the future: Integrating new science and approaches into the DRI framework
September 17, 2025 | 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
2025-09-17 12:00 PM 2025-09-17 01:00 PM Shaping the future: Integrating new science and approaches into the DRI framework America/New_YorkSpeakers:
Stephanie Atkinson, PhD (McMaster University) and Valerie Tarasuk, PhD (University of Toronto)
Standing Committee for the Review of the DRI Framework
Webinar description:
Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) are nutrient standards that provide an important scientific underpinning to nutrition policy and practice. Most nutrients have several DRI values, each with different uses depending on the application.
This webinar will outline the framework within which DRI values are developed and the major steps and considerations in the process, including population vs individual-level applications, the determination of reference values for nutrient adequacy, and the mitigation of risks of excessive nutrient exposure. Based on recent reports and activities from the Standing Committee for the Review of the DRI Framework we will highlight new approaches to be applied in the upcoming review of the DRIs for macronutrients and future reviews of other nutrients. Topics include the use of systematic evidence reviews to determine reference values, the establishment of guiding principles to define chronic disease risk reduction reference (CDRR) values, the definition of the target population, and the recommendation to disband use of the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges (AMDR).
Learning Objectives:
- Overview of the DRI conceptual framework and approaches used to develop the different types of DRI values
- Identify examples of how the DRI framework has evolved since its inception
- Describe the work of the Standing Committee for the Review of the DRI Framework and its applications to the forthcoming review of DRI values for macronutrients
Moderator: Amanda MacFarlane, PhD (Health Canada)
About the Speakers:
Dr. Stephanie Atkinson - is a tenured Professor and nutrition clinician-scientist in the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University and Special Professional Staff in McMaster Children's Hospital in Hamilton, Canada. Her research program focuses on developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) that encompasses randomized clinical trials and epidemiological investigations of the environmental (nutrition), genetic and biochemical factors during fetal, neonatal and early childhood life that play a role in defining the offspring phenotype and as risk determinants for non-communicable diseases including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis as well as neurocognitive functioning. Distinguished elected positions include appointment to the inaugural Governing Council of The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (2000-2006), President of the American Society for Nutrition, and Chair of the Institute Advisory Board of the CIHR Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes. She has served as invited member or chair of expert advisory panels from Health Canada, World Health Organization/Food & Agricultural Organization, and since 1995 with the National Academies of Science, Engineering & Medicine in relation to various aspects of setting the Dietary Reference Intakes; the process for the Dietary Guidelines of America; feeding of infants and children from birth to 24 months; and guidance on protein quality and growth for clinical trials in infants.
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Valerie Tarasuk - is a Professor Emerita in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto. Her major scholarly contributions have been in the area of household food insecurity in Canada, but her research has extended to Canadian food policy and nutrition surveillance. She has participated in numerous advisory processes and reviews related to the design and interpretation of population dietary intake surveys and the development of food and nutrition policy in Canada. Her contributions have been recognized with the Earle Willard McHenry Award for Distinguished Service in Nutrition (2017), Fellow Distinctions from the Canadian Nutrition Society (2021) and American Society of Nutrition (2024), honorary doctorates from Queen’s University (2018) and the University of Guelph (2023), and her appointment to the Order of Canada (2024).
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