Rate My Professor Anitra Carr

Research Professor Anitra Carr is renowned for her expertise in the roles of vitamin C in human health and disease. She is Director of the Nutrition in Medicine Research Group in the Department of Pathology and Biomedical Science at the University of Otago, Christchurch, within the Faculty of Medicine. Carr holds a BSc(Hons) from the University of Canterbury and a PhD from the University of Otago, Christchurch. Following her doctorate, she completed an American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, USA, where she was promoted to Assistant Professor. She returned to the University of Otago, Christchurch, and in 2016 was awarded the Health Research Council of New Zealand Sir Charles Hercus Health Research Fellowship to investigate vitamin C in severe infection. Promotions followed to Associate Professor in 2018 and Research Professor in 2024. For sustained research excellence, she received the University of Otago Christchurch Gold Medal in 2021.

Carr's translational research includes observational studies, pharmacokinetic analyses, and randomized controlled trials on vitamin C bioavailability, health effects, and recommended dietary intakes, particularly in severe infection and sepsis, obesity and diabetes, cancer, fatigue, quality of life, and subjective mood. Her high-impact publications have influenced international guidelines on vitamin C intakes. Key works include 'Vitamin C and Immune Function' (Nutrients, 2017), 'Toward a New Recommended Dietary Allowance for Vitamin C Based on Antioxidant and Health Effects in Humans' (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1999), 'Does Vitamin C Act as a Pro-Oxidant Under Physiological Conditions?' (FASEB Journal, 1999), and 'The Roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health' (Nutrients, 2017). With over 18,000 citations, she ranks as the top vitamin C scholar worldwide in the past five years. Carr serves on editorial boards of Nutrients and Antioxidants, as Associate Editor for Nutrition Research, and leads community outreach and a Continuing Medical Education program for healthcare professionals.