For four decades, LSRO has conducted independent evaluations and provided objective scientific opinion for federal agencies and private sponsors. Our non-profit organization was established in 1962 in response to formal requests from the U.S. Army Research Office to FASEB for expert opinion in analyzing specific biomedical issues concerning the military. Headed by Director Wendell H. Griffith, LSRO set forth efforts to develop ad hoc reviews conducted by expert scientists actively engaged in research. LSRO has since composed reports written by an experienced scientific staff based on analyses of available scientific data. The organization's accomplishments include over 375 written publications and hundreds of scientific meetings hosted nationwide. Now in its 47th year, LSRO is a leading authority in providing science-based analysis and advice that has proven integral to the development of sound policies and regulations on the national level.

Governance and Organization

Under the leadership of C. Jellef Carr, director from 1967 to 1977, LSRO broadened the scope of its activities to provide advice to other government agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the Office of the Surgeon General. The size, number, and duration of studies increased further under the third director, Kenneth D. Fisher, who served from 1977 to 1995. The topics addressed also expanded to include problems of manned space flights, the assessment of electronic databases, and an effort to resolve nutritional public health issues. After the tenure of Marvin Snyder, director from 1995 to 1997, FASEB transferred management of LSRO to the American Society for Nutritional Sciences (ASNS). In 1998, Michael Falk became the fifth Director of LSRO. Subsequently, LSRO became an independent, non-profit research organization. To expand its scientific network and strengthen its roots in the scientific community, the newly created corporation forged alliances with various scientific societies. LSRO draws on its affiliated Member Societies for expert opinion and oversight, exercised through the governing Board of Directors.

A Work in Progress

In 1971, at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, LSRO launched the Select Committee on GRAS Substances (SCOGS), an extensive ten-year safety review of over 400 food ingredients. This highly successful project led to many others in the science of food and nutrition, including a review of health claims made under the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990. The most recent studies conducted by LSRO have produced comprehensive reports on the nutritional requirements for infant formulas (for both term and premature infants), and the beneficial health relationship between walnuts and coronary heart disease. Although nutrition and food related topics continue to dominate reports generated by LSRO, numerous projects have successfully explored issues that concern other branches of the environmental and life sciences.

A Look Ahead

The torrent of laboratory and clinical research data in recent decades has created vast libraries of literature and information. As demand for interpretation and analysis of these data increases, LSRO's experience, leadership, and vast scientific network have proven invaluable to an ever-growing list of clients. LSRO anticipates doubling in size within the next five years. With the primary goal of providing scientifically objective, ethical, and complete analysis of important topics in biology and medicine, the Life Sciences Research Organization is committed to serving its sponsors' needs as well as the scientific community and the public.