Janos Zempleni, professor of nutrition and health sciences and animal science, will receive the 2014 Outstanding Investigator Award from a research interest section of the American Society for Nutrition.

The award, announced by the society’s Vitamin and Mineral Research Interest Section, will be presented April 26 at the 2014 Experimental Biology conference in San Diego, Calif. The annual meeting includes more than 14,000 scientists and exhibitors representing six sponsoring societies and multiple guest societies.

Zempleni studies how biotin — vitamin B7 — affects biological processes like genome stability and stem cell differentiation, and conditions like obesity and birth defects.

Molecular tools developed by Zempleni can help scientists better understand the metabolic pathways that affect conditions like diabetes and obesity. He has also discovered both synthetic compounds and dietary components that inhibit the formation of fat cells.

The American Society for Nutrition created research interest sections in the early 1990s to ensure representation of and support for various areas of nutrition research. The vitamins and minerals group encourages the development of new research techniques to better understand and promote the contributions of vitamins and minerals in health and disease prevention.