Chair of LANSA’s advisory group, Professor MS Swaminathan, receives recognition for his pioneering work on food security and nutrition.

At the 20th International Congress of Nutrition held in Granada in September 2013, Professor Swaminathan was awarded the prestigious ‘Living Legend of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences’. The award acknowledges Professor Swaminathan's "outstanding research, development of nutritional sciences, national recognition, and contributions to IUNS and other international organisations".

Professor Swaminathan set up MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) with proceeds from the first World Food Prize in 1988. Since then MSSRF has been involved in pioneering research in coastal systems, biodiversity, biotechnology, ICT for rural development, and food and nutrition security. Under his chairmanship MSSRF hosted the annual session of the UN Standing Committee on Nutrition in 2002, the first time that a civil society organisation was chosen to do so. Until October 2013, Swaminathan was chair of the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition, established in 2010 as the science-policy interface of the UN Committee on World Food Security.  He also steered the formation and was elected chair of the Coalition for the Sustainable Nutrition Security in India in 2007. The Coalition comprises a diverse group of policy makers and organisations working together to champion nutrition security.

As founder of MSSRF, the lead organisation behind LANSA, Professor Swaminathan brings regional and international influence and credibility to the research consortium.