Christopher Cifelli

Christopher J. Cifelli, Ph.D., is senior vice president of nutrition research at National Dairy Council (NDC). In this role, Cifelli leads NDC’s nutrition research program and is responsible for setting the strategic research vision for the organization. He oversees the development and execution of a comprehensive research portfolio that examines the role of dairy foods within healthy eating patterns, as well as the effects of dairy foods, ingredients, and bioactive components on key health and wellness outcomes. In addition to shaping research priorities, Cifelli ensures scientific findings are clearly interpreted and communicated to a wide range of stakeholders, helping bridge emerging research with practical application across industry, healthcare, academia, and public health.

He obtained his bachelor's degree in biology and his Ph.D. in nutritional sciences from The Pennsylvania State University. His graduate research focused on understanding how vitamin A status and inflammation affect retinoic acid metabolism, and he used mathematical modeling to evaluate the impact of retinoic acid supplementation on whole-body vitamin A kinetics. During his postdoctoral work at Penn State, he continued his research on vitamin A, examining kinetics, storage, and disposal rates in adults from diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Cifelli is a fellow of the American Society for Nutrition (ASN). He remains active in several professional organizations, including ASN’s Membership Committee. He has held multiple prior leadership roles, including chair of the gut microbiome committee for the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Science, chair of the science translation committee for the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics, chair of the nutrition translation research interest group for ASN, and board member for the Yogurt in Nutrition Initiative. He has authored or coauthored more than 45 peer‑reviewed manuscripts.