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| March 5, 2026 |
ODS Events |
ODS 2025–2026 Seminar Series
The ODS 2025–2026 Seminar Series presents virtual seminars on dietary supplement research and related topics. The series is for those interested in dietary supplement research but is open to everyone.
Wednesday, March 25, 2026, 11 a.m. ET — Immunity/Resilience
Nirmal Pugh, Ph.D. — Principal Scientist, National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi
Enitome Bafor, Ph.D. — Assistant Professor, Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida
Register to learn more.
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ODS Activities |
Supplements, Facts First Challenge
 What If Health Information Could Actually Improve the Way People Live?
Too often, the science is there, but the people who need it most never truly engage with it. ODS is determined to change that.
Launched in January 2026, the Supplements, Facts First Challenge invites innovators, creators, and health communicators to do something bold: transform ODS trust into digital impact. That means taking authoritative dietary supplement information and reimagining how it reaches the public and, more importantly, how it moves people to make healthier choices. Because information that sits on a page doesn't change behavior. Experiences do.
This challenge is a call to turn trusted NIH content into dynamic, culturally responsive tools (apps, social media, AI-powered assistants, games, and streaming content) that meet people where they already are and inspire real, lasting change in how they think about their health. For every age, every platform, and every community. Credible health information tucked away on a website doesn't shape decisions, but embedding it in the scroll, the stream, and the everyday rhythm of people's lives, does.
Here's how to get involved: submit a written proposal by April 6, 2026, outlining your vision for making trustworthy supplement information more engaging, accessible, and impactful. The strongest proposals will advance to Phase 2, where teams build and test working prototypes.
If you believe the right format can turn good science into better lives, we want to hear from you.
Learn more and register at herox.com/SupplementsFactsFirst.
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Recently Published ODS Research |
Ansai N, Williams AM, Emmerich SD, Herrick KA, Wambogo EA, Steele EM, Ogden CL. Ultraprocessed food consumption by urbanization level among United States youth and adults: cross-sectional analysis of NHANES 2013-March 2020. Am J Clin Nutr. 2026 Jan;123(1):101093. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.10.010. Epub 2025 Oct 17. PMID: 41110829; PMCID: PMC12851886.
Couch CA, Williams AM, Stierman B, Storandt R, Leachman J, Mishra S, Juan W, Gahche JJ, Wambogo E, Mineva E, Pfeiffer CM, Ogden CL. Trends in vitamin D status in the United States, 2007-2023: a cross-sectional analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Am J Clin Nutr. 2026 Jan;123(1):101078. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.09.046. Epub 2025 Oct 1. PMID: 41043509.
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Co-Funding Opportunities |
ODS provides funding support to the NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs) through our co-funding program. Co-funding allows ODS to promote dietary supplement-related science by supporting NIH extramural dietary supplement-related research project grants, training and career development grants, and scientific conferences with primary ICOs. See the list of active ODS co-funding opportunities and learn more on our Grants & Funding webpage.
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Science Spotlight |
Dietary supplements are diverse in their content and composition and are chemically complex. It is important that dietary supplement ingredients be well-characterized to best inform research study design and interpretation. The ODS Analytical Methods and Reference Materials (AMRM) program seeks to strengthen the scientific foundation of dietary supplement research by advancing rigorous analytical science and disseminating resources that ensure accurate and reliable characterization of supplements, natural products, and nutrient biomarkers. In partnership with governmental agencies and the analytical research community, AMRM promotes the development and validation of methods and resources to improve the chemical characterization of dietary supplements; facilitates laboratory quality assurance programs; and advances reference materials for the measurement of supplement ingredients, products, and clinical research samples.
In dietary supplement research, a reference material is a homogenous and stable material with one or more specified properties (chemical, physical, etc.) that is used to validate methods, calibrate instruments, and ensure quality control of laboratory measurements. To date, AMRM, in partnership with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and other analytical standards providers, has made available over 65 reference materials for high priority supplement ingredients, products, and constituents. Most recently, NIST has developed reference materials for several popular natural products, including the botanicals black cohosh and eleuthero, and is current developing American ginseng and Reishi mushroom materials.
AMRM also supports resources for researchers to advance dietary supplement science, including peer reviewed publications on new methods, reference materials, and collaborative studies; method validation guidance for quantitative and ingredient authentication methods; and a reference materials search tool database. Learn about these resources and more at the ODS website.
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Supplement Corner |
The ODS vitamin D fact sheet for health professionals now features concise summary sections that provide quick overviews of key points. Click on the expandable summaries to access all the details and references to the peer-reviewed literature.
Looking for general information? ODS also offers a Vitamin D fact sheet for consumers, in both English and Spanish. |
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About ODS
The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the nation’s medical research agency—supporting scientific studies that turn discovery into health. |
Contact Us
Office of Dietary Supplements National Institutes of Health 6705 Rockledge Drive
(Rockledge I) Room 730, MSC 7991 Bethesda, MD 20817
[email protected]
https://ods.od.nih.gov |
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