Director
Kellie Casavale, PhD, RDN, is the Director of the Agriculture, Food, and Nutrition Evidence Center of Texas A&M AgriLife Research. Casavale leads the vision and strategy for multi-disciplinary growth and multi-sector collaboration, serving Texas, the US, and other entities world-wide. She began her leadership in 2025, following 20 years of federal service leading cross-organizational scientific collaborations and systematic review programs to inform federal research and policy at the US Department of Agriculture, (USDA) and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). During her time at the USDA, the systematic review methodologies were founded that are relied on today for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
At HHS, Casavale led the process for developing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. She was instrumental in setting standards for prioritizing systematic review questions to inform dietary recommendations. Casavale has directly supported former Secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services in their duties to speak before Congress, implement mandates, and engage openly with non-Federal stakeholders.
In 2017, Casavale founded the Federal Data Consortium on Pregnancy and Birth to 24 Months to establish scientific collaborations to curate maternal and child health data. She also founded the Human Milk Composition Initiative in the US and Canada.
She joined the US Food and Drug Administration in 2018 where she supported multiple maternal and child health programs focused on promoting a healthy diet while limiting exposure to contaminants, including Closer to Zero and Advice About Eating Fish. She also has supported the US delegation of Codex Alimentarius on international standards for infant formula.
Casavale earned a Doctorate in Nutrition Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Lander University in South Carolina, and is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN).
Contact
Phone: (817) 207-5102