Patrick J. Stover (born 1964) is an American nutrition scientist who researches

B vitamin B vitamins are a class of water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in cell metabolism and synthesis of red blood cells. They are a chemically diverse class of compounds. Dietary supplements containing all eight are referred to as a vit ...

s. Currently a professor at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, he is a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

and a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

. He has been co-

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

of the ''

Annual Review of Nutrition The ''Annual Review of Nutrition'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Annual Reviews that releases an annual volume of review articles about nutrition. It has been in publication since 1981. As of 2024, ''Journal Citation Reports' ...

'' since 2015.

Early life and education

Patrick J. Stover was born in 1964 to parents Katherine Hanlon and William Stover. His father, William H. Stover, was a decorated WWII veteran. As a Private First Class in the

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine (military), Marine Division (military), division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine E ...

, he was awarded the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

from the president of the United States “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity during action against enemy Japanese forces on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands on November 3, 1942". Stover grew up in rural Pennsylvania and he and his siblings were first generation college students. He attended

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a Private university, private Jesuits, Jesuit university in Philadelphia, Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Jesuits, Society of J ...

in Pennsylvania, graduating with a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1986. He then graduated from

VCU Medical Center The VCU Medical Center (VCU Health), formerly known as the Medical College of Virginia (MCV), is the medical campus of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), located in downtown Richmond, Virginia, United States. As MCV, VCU Medical Center merged ...

in 1990 with a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biophysics.

Career

Much of Stover's research centers on the

folate Folate, also known as vitamin B9 and folacin, is one of the B vitamins. Manufactured folic acid, which is converted into folate by the body, is used as a dietary supplement and in food fortification as it is more stable during processing and ...

, vitamin B₁₂ and

riboflavin Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is a vitamin found in food and sold as a dietary supplement. It is essential to the formation of two major coenzymes, flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide. These coenzymes are involved in ...

. Following the completion of his PhD, Stover had two

postdoctoral A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

appointments. The first was at VCU Medical Center from 1990 to 1991 with his PhD advisor Verne Schirch. Next, he went to the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

to work with Barry Shane from 1992 to 1994. He was hired at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

as an assistant professor in the nutritional sciences division in 1994 and was appointed to associate professor in 2000. In 2005, he was promoted once more to professor. In 2018, he was hired to serve as the Vice Chancellor and Dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

and director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research. He has been co-

of the ''

'' since 2015. He has made several fundamental discoveries by identifying new pathways in the field of folate biochemistry. These discoveries include identification of the pathway for the synthesis of 5-formyltetrahydrfolate, otherwise known as lucovorin, the regulation of folate metabolism by iron, the presence of de novo thymidylate biosynthesis in mitochondria including discovery of a novel

isozyme In biochemistry, isozymes (also known as isoenzymes or more generally as multiple forms of enzymes) are enzymes that differ in amino acid sequence but catalyze the same chemical reaction. Isozymes usually have different kinetic parameters (e.g. di ...

dihydrofolate reductase Dihydrofolate reductase, or DHFR, is an enzyme that reduces dihydrofolic acid to tetrahydrofolic acid, using NADPH as an electron donor, which can be converted to the kinds of tetrahydrofolate cofactors used in one-carbon transfer chemistry. ...

, and the role of

sumoylation In molecular biology, SUMO (Small Ubiquitin-like Modifier) proteins are a family of small proteins that are covalently attached to and detached from other proteins in cells to modify their function. This process is called SUMOylation (pronounced ...

in nuclear folate metabolism. His research group also identified impaired de novo thymidylate biosynthesis in the etiology of folic acid-responsive

neural tube defects Neural tube defects (NTDs) are a group of birth defects in which an opening in the spine or cranium remains from early in human development. In the third week of pregnancy called gastrulation, specialized cells on the dorsal side of the embry ...

including

spina bifida Spina bifida (SB; ; Latin for 'split spine') is a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the vertebral column, spine and the meninges, membranes around the spinal cord during embryonic development, early development in pregnancy. T ...

in mouse models. He has participated on many panels and expert committees related to folic acid fortification of the food supply and neural tube defect prevention.

Awards and honors

He received a

Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States federal government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. T ...

from President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

in 1996. The

elected him as a fellow in 2014. He served as president of the

American Society for Nutrition The American Society for Nutrition (ASN) is an American society for professional researchers and practitioners in the field of nutrition. ASN publishes four journals in the field of nutrition. It has been criticized for its financial ties to the ...

from 2015 to 2016. In 2016 he was elected as a member of the

Personal life

He is married to Denise Stover; the Stovers have four children, all of whom attended Cornell University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stover, Patrick J Living people 1964 births American nutritionists Scientists from Pennsylvania Saint Joseph's University alumni Florida State University faculty Cornell University faculty Texas A&M University faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Reviews (publisher) editors Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers Presidents of the American Society for Nutrition