Our vision

As a scientist with 10 years of research experience, Dr. Abrieux developed an expertise in insect physiology, molecular biology and genetics to tackle problems related to crop production sustainability and food security by translating basic research into applied solutions. With a profound interest for the development of innovative approaches in biotechnology he is now using his scientific skillset to position IIFH at the center of meaningful and engaging conversations at the nexus of food and health.

Tom Andriola is UC Irvine’s Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and Data and Chief Digital Officer. His office ensures the strategic use of data and technology, drives interdisciplinary partnerships, and champions digital strategies. Andriola is a global business & technology leader with a broad array of experience in the public and private sector. He has held technology and business executive roles with organizations such as Philips, Marconi PLC, Sapient and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He is active in the higher education and healthcare industries as an advocate for progress and equity, serving on the boards of OCHIN and Unizin. Andriola is also an advisor to various software startups, medical device, and life sciences companies, and maintains advisory relationships with UC Irvine’s Institute for Precision Health, UC Health’s Center for Data Driven Insights & Innovation, and with the UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health.

Shota Atsumi is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Davis. He received his Ph.D. from Kyoto University in 2002, where he worked with Dr. Tan Inoue. He was a postdoctoral researcher with Dr. John W. Little at the University of Arizona and with Dr. James C. Liao at the University of California, Los Angeles. His current research focuses on the use of synthetic biology and metabolic engineering approaches to engineer microorganisms to convert CO2 to valuable chemicals.

Having led technology, finance and healthcare teams in large corporations, small-businesses, start-ups and private equity groups for more than 15 years, Mary is well-poised to manage IIFH administrative systems, as well as provide operational support to the team. Mary’s experience and passion allow her to uniquely align IIFH processes into actionable outputs that support uncommon collaborations to address global nutritional challenges.

Dr. Keith Baar is a Professor in the Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology at the UC Davis School of Medicine. Baar remains at the cutting edge of discoveries in molecular determinants of musculoskeletal development and the role of exercise in improving health and performance. Baar’s work in musculoskeletal function, exercise, nutrition, and aging has direct clinical applications and his highly collaborative approach has compounded impact and enabled cross-disciplinary discoveries to develop resistance exercise, nutritional, and novel small molecule interventions that prevent muscle wasting from cachexia and sarcopenia and improve muscle function and quality of life.

Stephen was one of the largest investors, key developmental influencers, and President of Seeds of Change, an organic seed and food company. He later became the Global Director of Corporate Affairs for Mars, Incorporated. Under his leadership, Mars launched a global sustainability program, a global health and nutrition work stream that is based on information, renovation and innovation, and branded the corporation “Mars globally”. Stephen later became Chairman of the Mars, Incorporated Board, serving in the role for two separate terms. As Chairman he oversaw the creation of the first ever 25 year Vision for Mars, Inc., significantly evolved the Board to be more strategic and intentional, and successfully led the succession process for a new CEO. During his second term, he oversaw the creation of the first Purpose for the company in its history (“The world we want tomorrow starts with the how we do busines today.”) as well as having stewarded the creation of the Compass, a four quadrant model that sets targets which include non-financial metrics like positive societal impact with the Purpose at its center.

With over 15 years of research expertise in glycobiology, biotechnology, and bioanalytical mass-spectrometry, Dr. Barboza leads the use-inspired research portfolio in food and health focused on collaborations between industry and academic experts. Positioning IIFH as a leader at the nexus of food and health innovation, Dr. Barboza employs her experience running groundbreaking, multi-disciplinary research programs focused on elucidating the structure and functional roles that glycoconjugates, metabolites, and food play in key biological processes such as diet-microbiota-gut-brain interactions in health and disease.

Dr. Daniela Barile is a Professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology at UC Davis. Her research is centered on the chemical and biological properties of milk, with a focus on small molecules, to generate novel ingredients that can modulate the gut microbiome. The Barile Lab has established a high-throughput platform based on mass spectrometry for rapid-throughput analysis of microbiome-modulating compounds such as glycoproteins, glycans, and glycolipids as well as antimicrobial peptides. Her approach of sequential molecular deconstruction of human donor milk and dairy streams has generated valuable bioinformatic libraries of source materials and fundamental information on the underlying biological and processing conditions that give rise to their formation, preservation, and interaction with the gut microbiome. Dr. Barile has expanded her analytical work through a series of collaborative studies in animal models and in vitro, documenting selective stimulation of protective gut bacteria and investigating the interaction with pathogenic species.

Charlotte Biltekoff, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of American Studies and Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on the cultural politics of dietary health and the values and beliefs that shape American eating habits.
Biltekoff is the author of Eating Right in America: The Cultural Politics of Food and Health, a book that rethinks what dietary advice is and does, while challenging the conversation about food and heath. She contributes to discussions about the meaning of food, health, and American culture as an author, educator, consultant, and public figure.

Dr. Chiu received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, M.A., with double majors in Biology and Music. After college, she proceeded to pursue graduate studies under the guidance of Dr. Gloria Coruzzi, Carroll & Milton Petrie Professor and Chair of Biology at New York University. She received a Ph.D. in molecular genetics from the Department of Biology at NYU. The overall goal of her thesis research was to understand the function of glutamate receptor genes (GLR) in plants by using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model organism. Even though she enjoyed her career in plant research as a graduate student, she realized that her real passion is to study how genes and proteins regulate and control animal behavior. Of particular interest is the field of circadian biology. Circadian rhythms are endogenously driven, and exist in life forms ranging from bacteria to mammals. It drives daily oscillations of physiological states and activities including sleep and feeding, and allows organisms to perform necessary tasks at biologically advantageous times of day. To study the inner workings of circadian rhythms, she joined the lab of Dr. Isaac Edery at the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine at Rutgers University, NJ, as a postdoctoral fellow to study how posttranslational mechanisms of clock proteins regulate circadian rhythms. Dr. Chiu is now continuing to investigate the regulation of animal circadian rhythms in her own lab at UC Davis by using a combination of molecular genetics, biochemical, and proteomic approaches.

Dr. Cullor is the Associate Dean and Director of the Veterinary Medicine Teaching & Research Center at UC Davis. His research focuses on immunology, infectious disease, biotechnology and food safety. His work in dairy herd infectious disease prevention has generated significant progress in fighting bovine mastitis and understanding the pathophysiology and immunology of veterinary diseases to promote public health. He has additionally worked with the Dairy Food Safety Laboratory and the California Dairy Industry as a diagnostic and education outreach resource.

Prof. Oliver Fiehn has been a pioneering figure in metabolomics, contributing to the field with over 220 publications since 1998. Initially, he worked as a group leader at the Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology in Germany. Since 2004, he has been a professor at the UC Davis Genome Center, managing both his research lab and a satellite core service lab in metabolomics. Since 2012, he has served as the Director of the NIH West Coast Metabolomics Center, leading a team of 35 with 16 mass spectrometers and coordinating with three satellite labs for integrated genomics and metabolomics research. His work focuses on understanding metabolism across human, animal, plant, and microbial systems, emphasizing the standardization of metabolomic reports and the development of databases like the MassBank of North America. Fiehn’s lab also innovates in analytical chemistry to enhance metabolomic analysis. His contributions have earned him prestigious awards, including the 2014 Molecular & Cellular Proteomics Lecture Award and the Metabolomics Society Lifetime Achievement Award. Fiehn has also played a significant role in the Metabolomics Society, frequently serving on the Board of Directors and organizing major conferences and workshops.

Kim’s passion is in working with scientific experts to solve the world’s most pressing health issues. In addition to her role at IIFH, Kim serves as Chair of Research on the board of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She has also created several executive education programs at UC Berkeley and served on the Haas School of Business board. Prior to this, she ran several business incubators, founded and sold her own technology company, and did a three-year stint in Lithuania with the Agency for International Development. Kim has a BS from Wharton and an MBA from UC Berkeley. As a leading female CEO, she has been featured in five books and has appeared on the cover of US News & World Report.

Aryeh is the Managing Partner of Barnstorm Foundry, leading the operations and stage-gated process for company building. He founded and is the Managing Partner of Cornucopian Capital, a private capital firm making impact-driven investments in early stage food and health technology companies. Aryeh is also the leading principal of SAGEN Trust Company, Inc., a private family office established after his family’s 2000 sale of Slim Fast Foods that has made numerous successful investments in early stage and growth companies across multiple industries.

Dr. Bruce German is the Director of the Foods for Health Institute and Distinguished Professor and Chemist Emeritus in Food Science and Technology at UC Davis. His research interests include the role of milk components in food and health, the structure and function of dietary lipids, and the application of metabolic assessment to personalizing diet and health. The goal of his research is to build the knowledge necessary to improve human health through precise measurements of health and compositionally defined selection of foods. Milk is the only bio-material that has evolved under evolutionary selection to the purpose of nourishing growing mammals. Survival of both mother and offspring exerted a strong selective pressure on the biochemical evolution of lactation as a bioguided process that is both sustainable to the mother and nourishing for the infant. This evolutionary logic is the basis of the research program to discover physical, biochemical, functional and nutritional properties of milk components and to apply these properties as knowledge to improve the outcomes for mothers, babies and eventually foods for all. Together with faculty colleagues Bruce has co-founded Infinant Health, One.Bio, Digestiva Inc, and Matrubials Inc.

Dr. Gravelle’s research focuses on characterizing the relationship between structural properties and functionality in foods using a materials science approach. To this end, his research activities focus on establishing a more fundamental understanding of how the composition and molecular architecture of multi-component foods impacts their mechanical and sensory response. Particular emphasis is given to characterizing fat-filled food gels, with a target of developing rational design principals that can be used to effectively implement new and emerging ingredients (such as plant-derived proteins).

A second focus of Dr. Gravelle’s research program is the development and characterization of structured oil systems, commonly referred to as “oleogels”. This technology shows promise for mimicking the desirable functional and sensory attributes of traditional fats, while providing an opportunity to optimize the nutritional profile and reduce environmental impact. Further applications include the delivery and controlled release of bioactive compounds.

Dr. Gravelle is also currently the Editor in Chief for the Food Science subject area of the methodology-focused, interdisciplinary journal MethodsX.

Ralph Green, MD, PhD, has more than 40 years of experience in the field of vitamin B12 research. He has served on panels and expert advisory committees related to his field of expertise, including for the following organizations: American Society of Hematology, FDA, CDC, NHANES, NIH and WHO. He has more than 200 publications, most of which deal with vitamin B12 and the related topics. Dr. Green has conducted research on vitamin B12 in a variety of neurological diseases including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Dr. Henrick received her Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Biology/Chemistry from the Missouri State University, USA. Subsequently, she worked with a team of scientists that optimized and took to market the world’s fastest HIV diagnostic point of care assay. She later completed her PhD in Medical Sciences from McMaster University where her specific training and research involved the investigation of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), as well as characterization of unique forms of soluble TLR2, which led to a new understanding of the role of PRRs in mother-to-child HIV transmission via breast milk. Dr. Henrick investigates the way in which the immune system recognizes pathogens leading to inflammatory responses that have a negative impact on health, and also has a special interest companion diagnostics. She has successfully worked in academic and industry settings, both domestically and internationally. In her current role as Associate Director of Scientific Programs for the Foods For Health Institute at UC Davis, Dr. Henrick facilitates the translation of novel scientific findings to positively impact people’s lives.

Rene is a UC Davis graduate, having earned his B.S. in Cognitive Science with a computational emphasis and a double minor in Economics and Technology Management. He volunteers as a project manager at a human health nonprofit and is currently pursuing a master’s in Artificial Intelligence. Rene aspires to integrate advanced computer science and data analysis with business administration. Motivated to expand his knowledge and drive results, he brings a unique perspective to the team and is well-positioned to help IIFH build systems that drive innovation in food and health.

Working to develop a vibrant talent development pipeline for IIFH, Dana draws on a diverse background in regional food bank research and logistics, international agricultural development, student advising and mentorship, and global academic programs coordination. Dana works collaboratively with academic students, faculty and staff, and industry partners to build robust programs training the next generation of food and health business leaders.

Hunter brings both industry experience in project management and research experience in molecular biology, plant biochemistry, and microbiology to the Institute, as well as a strong interest in finding practical applications for UC Davis’s cutting-edge research. She is a UC Davis alum where she received her B.S. in Biotechnology (Emphasis in Microbiology and Fermentation). After working in the medical device industry for almost four years, Hunter draws from her expertise in project management to coordinate research projects at the Institute which have a real-world impact on people’s health and well-being.

Nancy L. Keim, PhD, RD, is a Research Chemist at the Western Human Nutrition Research Center. Dr. Keim received her PhD in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1980. She joined the USDA-ARS-Western Human Nutrition Research Center as a Research Chemist in 1985 and has served as a Research Leader and a Lead Scientist. At the University of California-Davis, Dr. Keim is an Adjunct Professor in the Nutrition Department, a member of the Graduate Group in Nutritional Biology, and serves as a member of the Institutional Review Board for Social and Behavioral Studies. She is an active member of the American Dietetic Association and has served on an expert panel to evaluate the use of indirect calorimetry in clinical practice. She is also a member of the American Society for Nutrition, the American College of Sports Medicine, and the Obesity Society. Her research interests revolve around understanding the relationships between the foods we eat, metabolic health, and body weight. Current areas of investigation include evaluating the benefits of consuming important foods such as whole grains or dairy products on energy expenditure, substrate oxidation, satiety and chronic disease risk factors; determining optimal sources and amounts of different types of dietary carbohydrates that contribute to satiety, healthy eating behaviors, and reduce risk of chronic disease; and evaluating benefits of an active lifestyle in terms of preventing obesity and related chronic diseases.

Veronica draws on diverse experience organizing and hosting regional events and outreach to provide management support for complex institute initiatives. Her administrative strengths facilitate the strategic engagements and face-paced schedule of the Faculty Director, and his team of research scientists. Previously on campus, Veronica worked with the Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology, Continuing & Professional Education, and the Davis Humanities Institute.

With a doctorate in Food Science and Technology from UC Davis, Matthew Lange is well versed in food, biological, and health sciences, and has spent the better part of his career developing cutting edge information, and education technologies for the food/beverage, health, and agricultural sectors. As CEO and Chief Science Officer of the International Center for Food Ontology Operability Data and Semantics (IC-FOODS), Dr. Lange leads global efforts to build the semantic and AI cyberinfrastructure for the emerging Internet of Food (IoF). The IoF is an enterprise, industrial, and government-scale ag⇔food⇔diet⇔health knowledge infrastructure based on semantic web standards that holds promise to fundamentally alter the way we produce, process, deliver and consume food: giving rise to ecosystems of next-generation knowledge tools that lower technical innovation barriers for creation of novel, traceable, ecologically-friendly foods, products, medicines, and lifestyle regimens: precisely personalized for health and delight–yet aggregatable for population and market analyses, and improvement of living conditions. Before leading IC-FOODS, Dr. Lange taught Food Product Innovation and Development, a capstone class for Food Science seniors at UC Davis, as well as graduate-level database engineering classes at the UC Davis School of Medicine.

Dr. Carlito B. Lebrilla is a Distinguished Professor at UC Davis in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine in the School of Medicine. His research is in Analytical Chemistry focused on mass spectrometry with applications to clinical glycomics and biofunctional food. He has co-founded several start-ups in the areas of bioactive foods and disease biomarkers. He has been awarded the Field and Franklin Medal for outstanding contributions to mass spectrometry, MCP Lectureship in Glycobiology, UCD Outstanding Researcher Award and UCD Innovator Award. He is also co-editor of Mass Spectrometry Reviews and has been on the editorial board of Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, Glycobiology, Mass Spectrometry Reviews, Journal of American Society for Mass Spectrometry, European Mass Spectrometry, and International Journal of Mass Spectrometry.

Dr. Danielle G. Lemay is a Research Scientist at the USDA ARS Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, California. She is also an Associate Adjunct Professor in the Department of Nutrition at UC Davis, and the Nutrition Cluster Lead at the USDA/NSF AI Institute for Next-Generation Food Systems (AIFS). Her lab uses bioinformatics to study how dietary components, especially fermentable carbohydrates, affect the gut microbiome and host response. Her lab also applies omics technologies and machine learning/AI to understand the effects of diet on human health.

Dr. Lustig is a neuroendocrinologist, with expertise in metabolism, obesity, and nutrition. He is one of the leaders of the current “anti-sugar” movement that is changing the food industry. He is the author of the popular books Fat Chance (2012), The Hacking of the American Mind (2017), and Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine (2021). He is the Chief Science Officer of the non-profit Eat REAL and is on Advisory Boards for a number of organizations in this space.

Maria Marco is a Professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis, USA. Prof. Marco received her BS degree in microbiology from The Pennsylvania State University and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. She then worked as a postdoc and subsequently as a scientist at NIZO food research, The Netherlands where she also led a project supported by the TI Food & Nutrition. Prof. Marco initiated her laboratory at UC Davis in 2008. Her research focuses on lactic acid bacteria in food systems and the mammalian digestive tract. The broad objective of her work is to identify the attributes of microbes that can be used to guide improvements in food production to benefit human and animal health. Prof. Marco has led numerous projects investigating probiotic lactobacilli, emphasizing the impact of diet and delivery matrix on probiotic function. This research includes inquiry on how health can be improved by using dietary polysaccharides to modulate the structure and function of the gut microbiome. Her lab also has extensive expertise on the microbial diversity in fermented foods with specific attention to the bacterial species that have the capacity to prevent the growth and survival of foodborne pathogens and spoilage microbes. This research has received over 20 million dollars in research support from federal, state, foundational, and international agencies. Prof. Marco has mentored over 100 students, postdocs, and visiting scientists in her lab. She has over 110 publications in refereed journals and numerous patents. She received an American Society for Microbiology Distinguished Lecturer award and serves on numerous advisory and editorial boards.

Jonna is the Vice Provost of Grand Challenges and Chancellor’s Leadership Distinguished Professor of Epidemiology and Disease Ecology at UC Davis, where she founded the One Health Institute. Prof. Mazet is active in global health problem solving, especially for emerging infectious disease and conservation challenges. She was the Global Director of >$200million viral emergence early warning project, PREDICT, developed with the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Emerging Pandemic Threats Program. An elected member of the US National Academy of Medicine, she also serves on the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s Forum on Microbial Threats, One Health Action Collaborative, and Standing Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases and 21st Century Health Threats.

Dr. Milenkovic’s research aims to demonstrate impact of nutrients on development and prevention of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and to identify molecular and cellular mechanisms of actions underlying observed effects using multi-genomic and bioinformatic approaches. In the last 10 years his research has been particularly focused on protective effects of bioactive plant compounds, mainly polyphenols. His projects uses translational research approach involving in-vitro studies, animal models and clinical trials. He uses multi-omics and systems biology to integrate results from genomics studies, including modifications in expression of gene (protein coding and non-coding like microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, short non-coding RNAs), protein, epigenetics as well as in-silico docking studies to evaluate interaction between polyphenol metabolites and cell signalling proteins.

Dr. David Mills is a Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Food Science & Technology and Viticulture & Enology at UC Davis. Dr. Mills studies the molecular biology and ecology of bacteria that play an active role in gut health or fermented foods. In addition, Dr. Mills helped create the UC Davis “Milk Group” which has worked to investigate and translate the beneficial aspects of human milk. Dr. Mills has previously served as a Distinguished Lecturer for the American Society for Microbiology and currently serves on the editorial board of Applied and Environmental Microbiology. In 2012 he was named the Peter J. Shields Chair in Dairy Food Science and in 2015 he was elected a Fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology. Dr. Mills’s research has helped launch several startup companies.

Dr. David E. Olson studied chemistry and neuroscience at Stanford University and the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. His academic lab at the University of California, Davis discovered that psychedelics from multiple chemical classes promote structural and functional neuroplasticity in the cortex. They coined the term “psychoplastogen” to describe small molecules that produce rapid and long-lasting psychedelic- and ketamine-like effects on neuronal structure after a single dose, and they invented the first non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogens capable of producing sustained therapeutic effects in preclinical models after a single dose. Professor Olson’s expertise spans central nervous system medicinal chemistry, molecular/cellular neurobiology, and behavioral neuropharmacology. He is an associate editor at ACS Chemical Neuroscience and has received numerous awards including the Jordi Folch-Pi Award from the American Society for Neurochemistry, the Sigma Xi Young Investigator Award, the Life Young Investigator Award, and the Sacramento Business Journal’s 40 Under 40, among many others. He is the founding director of the UC Davis Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics and is a co-founder and the Chief Innovation Officer of Delix Therapeutics.

Marissa harnesses her experience in creative communications and building equitable, customer-centric engagement strategies to advance the Institute’s mission and foster the growth of a community dedicated to improving human and planetary health through food. Marissa enjoys collaborating with others to build engaging science communication strategies that promote groundbreaking work in food innovation. Her work is centered around collaborations between industry and academic partners building a positive and sustainable community identifying and advancing breakthrough innovations in food and health.

Dan is a cooperative extension specialist working on forage and bioenergy crops. He is leading trials on hemp to determine the optimal agronomic practices for hemp seed production and cropping across California.

Dr. Harold Schmitz is a Senior Scholar at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management and founding partner of The March Group (TMG), a venture firm co-located in Hong Kong and California. He served as the first Chief Science Office for Mars, Inc., during which he created the Mars Advanced Research Institute, led a world class “Food as Medicine” research team that discovered new health benefits associated with flavonoids and defined a growth paradigm for the dark chocolate industry as well as other plant-based food categories, and founded the IIFH at UC Davis. He has collaborative relationships with the National Academy of Sciences, the Lindau Nobel Laureate Foundation, and UC Davis. He is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and an advisor to the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s Center for Biosustainability and BioInnovation Institute, Givaudan’s MISTA, and the AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems co-funded by the US Department of Agriculture and the National Science Foundation. Schmitz also serves on the Board of Directors for Engage3 and Chairs the Meati Scientific Advisory Board.

Dr. Lauren Shimek is an experienced innovation leader who uses human-centered design, cross-disciplinary collaboration and technical expertise to create strategic, breakthrough food and beverage products and to drive innovation culture within organizations. With over 12 years of food innovation experience, she helps companies unlock their creative confidence and create new products that tap into people’s unmet needs and desires while being grounded in manufacturability.

Lauren Shimek is the Founder and CEO of Food.Tech.Design. While at IDEO, Lauren co-led the Food Studio and developed product and packaging innovation platforms for Fortune 500 companies as well as emerging start-ups. She pioneered the discipline of food product design at IDEO. At General Mills, Lauren created breakthrough technologies and products in bakeries and foodservice, baking and meals categories. Lauren holds a Ph.D. degree in Food Science and a B.S. degree in Biochemistry from the University of California, Davis. She is on the Board of Directors of the Institute of Food Technologists and a mentor at Indie Bio, a startup accelerator which focuses on entrepreneurs building technologies in or around the field of Biotech. She has been an adjunct professor in the Department of Food Science at the University of California, Davis, and currently teaches Design Thinking for Food, a multi-disciplinary graduate course.

Dr. Justin Siegel is a Professor at UC Davis, holding appointments in Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine (School of Medicine) and Chemistry (College of Letters and Science), and serving as Associate Director of the Genome Center at UC Davis. He has extensive experience running large-scale research and training programs within an academic-industry environment. As Faculty Director of IIFH, he is focused on making the foods we love healthy for both people and the planet. Through these efforts, Siegel has co-founded over 10 companies and organizations, many of which have gone on to form thriving global initiatives or notable commercial success.

Dr. Carolyn Slupsky holds a joint appointment in the Departments of Nutrition and Food Science & Technology at the UC Davis. Her research is focused on the nexus between food, the gut microbiome, and health, with a focus on understanding how diet and the environment impact the relationship between the gut microbiome and host metabolism. She is particularly interested in how food/nutrition and environmental exposures impact the microbiome to shape prenatal and postnatal infant and child development. Dr. Slupsky was named a UC Davis Chancellor’s Fellow in 2015 and was named the Kinsella Endowed Chair in Food, Nutrition, and Health from 2016 – 2022.

Dr. Edward “Ned” Spang is an Associate Professor of Food Science & Technology and the Director of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at UC Davis. The vision of a sustainable food system where everyone has access to sufficient, nutritious food without placing undue burden on the environment guides his efforts as an educator, researcher, and community member. For more than 15 years, Dr. Spang has pursued research to understand and improve linked food, energy, and water resource systems. The majority of his current work focuses on food loss and waste across the entire food supply chain and advancing the circular economy of food. He also serves on the Board of the Yolo Food Bank.

Roy Steiner, PhD, is the Senior Vice President for the Food Initiative at The Rockefeller Foundation, where he leads a team focused on creating a more nourishing, regenerative, and equitable food system. Roy has dedicated his career to technology innovation, growth strategies and international development. He has worked with organizations around the world to address food insecurity and deliver pioneering technologies to remote parts of the world.

Dr. Ilias Tagkopoulos is a Professor of Computer Science and the Genome Center at UC Davis. He leads the Integrative Biology and Predictive Analytics laboratory that focuses on genome-scale predictive models and experimental systems/synthetic microbiology. He is the Director of the USDA-NIFA/NSF AI Institute of Next-Generation Food Systems (AIFS), a $20M, 50+ faculty collaboration between UC Davis, UC Berkeley, UIUC, Cornell, ANR, and USDA, with a mission to build the AI tools for a more resilient, efficient, and equitable food system. He has been a scientific corporate advisor, and founder of six companies, three of which relate to AI in Life Sciences. His work addresses challenges in heterogeneous data integration, multi-scale omics modeling, deep learning and AI, optimal experimental design and discovery, and decision making under uncertainty, with applications in clinical, industrial, and nutrition data.

Dr. Ameer Taha is an Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology at UC Davis. He specializes in food chemistry and biochemistry. Dr. Taha studies the mechanisms of oxidized fatty acid formation in food, and investigates their role on brain neurophysiology and function. He uses lipidomic approaches to probe and quantify oxidized fatty acid products formed under various food processing conditions, and investigate their absorption kinetics and impact on brain neurophysiology using electrophysiology and molecular assays. Understanding the mechanisms of oxidized lipid formation and their impact on brain function will aide in devising methods to minimize their formation during food processing and in establishing dietary safety limits.

Dean Unnava’s research focuses on issues related to brand loyalty, consumer response to advertising and sales promotions and consumer memory. His work has appeared in the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Marketing Letters, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Journal of International Consumer Marketing and Advances in Consumer Research. He is on the editorial review boards of the Journal of Consumer Research and Journal of Consumer Psychology.

Unnava’s teaching experience includes courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including marketing management and strategy, marketing research, consumer behavior, promotional strategy, human memory processes and international marketing. He was named Outstanding Undergraduate Teacher by the student chapter of American Marketing Association seven times, won the Westerbeck Undergraduate teaching award twice, and was awarded the Bostic-Georges service award in 2014.

Unnava joined the Graduate School of Management in June 2016 following 32 years at The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business, where he earned his Ph.D. and served as the W. Arthur Cullman professor of marketing. At the Fisher College of Business, Unnava also served as the associate dean of undergraduate programs, associate dean of executive education, and director of doctoral programs in business.

Unnava is also one of the founders of Angi (formerly Angie’s List). He is currently on the board of directors of PRIDE Industries and serves on the board of the Bay Area Council.

Unnava earned his Ph.D. in business administration from The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business, his Post Graduate Diploma in management from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, and his B.Tech. in electronics engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University.

Bernhard has worked with Unilever Germany, RJR Nabisco, New Jersey and the Buehler Group in Switzerland as VP Global R&D Food. Later in his career, Bernhard joined General Mills, Inc. in Minneapolis as Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President for Technology Strategy. He led Strategic Technology Development resulting in major productivity gains and product innovations, he led the GMI Game Changer Program and created a ‘Technology Venturing’ initiative, enabling faster and high impact innovations and expanding GMI’s innovation pipeline. Bernhard has authored/co-author over 150 patents, he is Honorarium Professor at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany, Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota, and a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists, Chicago. Bernhard has been an invited participant in round table discussions at the White House Office for Science and Technology Policy on global protein security under the Obama administration. In 2015, Bernhard founded the Seeding The Future Foundation, nonprofit organization that seeds and supports innovative solutions to help improve the global food system. He currently serves as the CEO of Seeding The Future and as a board member at several influential organizations across the US and Europe.

Dr. Selina Wang is an Associate Professor of Cooperative Extension at the Department of Food Science and Technology. She led the UC Olive Center’s chemistry study on the quality and purity of supermarket olive oil from 2009 to 2011 which received worldwide attention and helped establish the new olive oil standards for the State of California in 2014. In 2020, her research group published the first extensive study of commercial avocado oil quality and purity. Her current mission-oriented research focuses are food quality and purity; fruit and vegetable processing; and food sustainability.