Founded in 1978, the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) is a nonprofit, worldwide foundation that seeks to improve the well-being of the general public through the advancement of science. Its goal is to further the understanding of scientific issues relating to nutrition, food safety, toxicology, risk assessment, and the environment by bringing together scientists from academia, government, and industry. ILSI's work is guided by its Code of Ethics and Organizational Standards of Conduct.  An organization chart showing the structure and reporting relationships of the ILSI Entities is available on this site.

Entities can be found by clicking here.  For a description of the structure and relationships, click here.


ILSI Bylaws

ILSI Articles of Incorporation

ILSI 2007 Consolidated Financial Report

ILSI Conflict of Interest Policy 

Organizational Structure and Organizational Chart

Leadership

ILSI is governed by a Board of Trustees composed of at least 50 percent public sector representatives, primarily academic scientists, and the remainder representatives of ILSI members.  The Board elects officers, including a President and Chairman of the Board.  The list of 2008 Board Members can be found here.

ILSI will utilize its strategic alliances and global network to bring scientific solutions to important public health issues.  ILSI has identified four key issues:

• Overweight/obesity;
• Food biotechnology;
• Functional foods;
• Risk assessment

These initiatives are in addition to ongoing efforts to provide new knowledge on:

• the role of nutrition in human health;
• alleviation of worldwide micronutrient deficiency;
• the safety of food ingredients and additives; and
• evaluation of water purification methodologies and standards.

ILSI is committed to supporting and disseminating science-based knowledge by which scientific leaders can evaluate products, technologies, and public health strategies. To that end, ILSI collaborates with international health organizations in projects that encourage global cooperation to develop science-based consensus.

Affiliations

ILSI is recognized around the world for the quality of the research it supports, the global conferences and workshops it sponsors, the educational projects it initiates, and the publications it produces. ILSI is affiliated with the World Health Organization (WHO) as a non-governmental organization and is involved in projects with WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS). ILSI also has special consultative status with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. By bringing together scientists from academia, government, industry, and the public sector, ILSI is able to foster a balanced approach to solving health and environmental problems of common global concern.

Global Network

Headquartered in Washington, DC, ILSI accomplishes this work through its worldwide network of branches, and its Research Foundation.  Branches currently operate within Argentina, Brazil, Europe, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, North Africa & Gulf Region, North America, North Andean, South Africa, South Andean, Southeast Asia Region, as well as a Focal Point in China. ILSI's global branch, the ILSI Health and Environmental Sciences Institute, focuses on global issues of human health, toxicology, risk assessment, and the environment.

The branches are supported primarily by their industry members (click here for a list of ILSI members worldwide).The ILSI Research Foundation receives the majority of its support through government funding and its own endowment, (which is composed of the Center for Health Promotion, The Human Nutrition Institute, and the Risk Science Institute),  as well as contributions from charitable foundations, corporations, and corporate foundations. Unlike the ILSI branches, the ILSI Research Foundation has no members.

The ILSI International Organizations Committee is the primary conduit for information transfer between ILSI and WHO and FAO. The International Food Biotechnology Committee, formed in 1997 in response to science related to the development, distribution, safety, and public acceptance of foods and food products produced by biotechnology, provides an important forum for gathering information on scientific and regulatory developments worldwide as they relate to food biotechnology.

ILSI Annual Reports