The Ralph Holman Lifetime Achievement Award of the AOCS Health and Nutrition Division recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to the Division’s area of interest, or whose work has resulted in major advances in health and nutrition.
This award commemorates Ralph Holman’s lifetime service to the study of essential fatty acids and their impact on human health and to the Society. Dr. Holman was not only an accomplished biochemist, but a devoted father and husband, a man of integrity and a role model for students and young scientists.
What does the recipient receive?
- Plaque
- US $500 honorarium
- Up to a US $1,000 travel allowance
- Complimentary Health and Nutrition Division meal ticket
- Opportunity to present an award lecture at the AOCS Annual Meeting
Who is eligible?
Scientists who have made significant lifetime contributions in areas of interest to health and nutrition
How do I nominate someone?
Login to the Awards Portal to submit the following nomination materials and answer two questions about the nominee by August 19.
- Letter of nomination describing the candidate’s research and service in the fields of fats, oils and related materials
- At least three letters of support from individuals familiar with the candidate’s accomplishments
- Curriculum Vitae which includes a full list of publications and patents
Most Recent Recipient
Marie-Caroline Michalski, Research Director, CarMeN laboratory, INRAE
Marie-Caroline Michalski (Food Engineer, PhD, ENSAIA, Nancy, France) is Research Director at the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE). From 1999, in STLO laboratory (Rennes), she developed pioneering food science research on milk fat globules. In 2005, she joined CarMeN laboratory in Lyon to elucidate how different types of fats, oils and lipid-containing foods impact human cardiometabolic health.
Dr. Michalski has been a leading contributor to new concepts in the prevention and nutritional management of obesity, such as the “food matrix effect”, “fast vs. slow fat” (Prog Lipid Res 2013, AJCN 2013, coauthor BMJ 2019) and lipid-induced endotoxemia (JCEM 2015). Her group recently revealed the benefits of bioactive lipids of milk and plant origins, via their interaction with the gut microbiota. Coordinating a consortium of academic and industrial partners, she demonstrated the benefits of milk polar lipids on reducing cardiometabolic risk factors (Gut 2020, JCI-Insight 2021). Altogether, her works led to several research developments and industrial applications internationally, including in infant nutrition.
In CarMeN laboratory, Dr. Michalski leads a team supported by the French Foundation for Medical Research. She is an active member of lipid and nutrition scientific societies, invited to speak internationally and committed to training the next generation. Author of over 100 publications, Dr. Michalski has been awarded the European Young Lipid Scientist Award (EuroFedLipid, 2006), the Knight of the Agricultural Merit (2015), and the Chevreul Medal (SFEL, 2022). She is regularly interviewed in mainstream media, as recently in the New York Times.