Christopher Cifelli

Christopher J. Cifelli, Ph.D., currently serves as a Vice President of Nutrition Research at the National Dairy Council.  In this position, Dr. Cifelli oversees the Dairy and Public Health research platform, the goal of which is to provide scientific evidence that can be used to protect and promote dairy in public policy. Dr. Cifelli is responsible for the strategic planning, development, and management of dairy-centric research on chronic disease risk, childhood nutrition, NHANES related research, and nutrition and sustainability.  

Dr. Cifelli obtained both his B.S. degree in Biology and his Ph.D. degree in Nutritional Sciences from the Pennsylvania State University, where his graduate work focused on understanding how vitamin A status and inflammation affected retinoic acid metabolism.  Additionally, mathematical modeling was utilized to study the effects of retinoic acid supplementation on whole-body vitamin A kinetics.  During his post-doctorate work at Penn State, he examined vitamin A kinetics, storage and disposal rates in adults from different ethnic backgrounds.  In his current role at the Dairy Research Institute, Dr. Cifelli is involved in the development, design, initiation, management and communication of research projects on the health benefits associated with adequate dairy consumption, including those studies examining the effects of vitamins and minerals found in dairy on bone density, weight maintenance, and metabolic health.

Dr. Cifelli is active in several professional organizations. He currently serves as the chair of the Science and Translation Committee for the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics and is on the Board of Directors for the Yogurt in Nutrition Initiative. In addition he has authored or co-authored more than 20 peer-reviewed research manuscripts, reviews and abstracts.