Skip to main content
NUTRITION 2026 Main banner

Xingen Lei, PhD (he/him/his)

Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of Nutrition
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York, United States

Xingen Lei is a Professor of Molecular Nutrition at Cornell University. He received his B.S. and M.S. in China, Ph.D. at Michigan State University, and postdoctoral training at University of Missouri-Columbia. He has developed a new generation of novel bacterial phytases that are used in 50 countries that improve feed phosphorus utilization and decrease manure phosphorus pollution by 30%. He has pioneered in applying transgenic animal models to study functional genomics of selenium nutrition in rodents and chickens and revealed dual roles of selenium and selenoproteins in redox control, crosstalk between macro- and micro-nutrient metabolism, and diabetes. Dr. Lei has served as a global leader in applying agriculture to prevent “hidden hunger” and has helped establish HarvestPlus-China Program of breeding crops for better nutrition. He has led multiple large teams to transform food animal production and explore alternative proteins for global food and nutrition security and environmental sustainability. Dr. Lei has authored 280 publications (h-index, 79) and advised 150 graduate students, postdoctoral associates, and visiting fellows. He was the founding President of North America Chinese Association for Nutrition (NACAN), and was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in 2021 and a Distinguished Fellow of American Society for Nutrition (DSASN) in 2026. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Nutrition, Associate Dean of Research and Innovation in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at Cornell University, and President of International Trace Elements and Mineral Association (TEMA).

Presentation(s):

Email Xingen