Kris Grimes is a National Program Leader in the Division of Nutrition, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA. Prior to joining NIFA, Dr. Grimes served for over 14 years at Kentucky State University (KYSU) in a variety of roles, including program director, State Specialist, Lead Scientist and Principal Investigator, Dual Credit Coordinator, and Associate Professor. While at KYSU, Dr. Grimes began the Center for Family Nutrition and Wellness Education, created the Food Systems and Nutritional Sciences degree option, oversaw both EFNEP and SNAP-Ed programming, began the KYSU Food Security Initiative, and began the university’s first Center for Nutrition and Cancer Research which focuses on approaches to treatment related to lung, brain, and colon cancer.
Dr. Grimes received a Bachelor of Science (BS) from Centre College (Danville, KY) in 2002 where he double majored in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and Religion while also playing for Centre baseball team. He received his PhD in 2006 from the University of Kentucky in Nutritional Sciences. His dissertation was entitled ““Targeting Glycolysis and NF-kB for the Radiosensitization of Lung Cancer.”
Dr. Grimes currently resides in central Kentucky with his wife Crystal, sixth grade son Jackson, and his furry best friends, Sammy (an English Lab) and Scooby (a Walker Coon Hound). Dr. Grimes’ eldest son, Lucas, is proudly serving in the United States Air Force.