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Nicki Engeseth

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Professor; Department Head

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Engeseth works to ensure optimal food quality and nutritional value of the food supply by investigating the impact of environmental growing conditions, processing, and storage on produce and oilseed quality, with emphasis on enzymatic action, lipids, and natural antioxidants.

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Jaume Amengual

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Associate Professor of Personalized Nutrition

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Amengual contributes to the reduction of cardiovascular disease by examining how carotenoids and lipid metabolism interact to mediate atherosclerosis. Using animal models and cell culture techniques, he explores the structure and function of vitamin A and its metabolites to mitigate metabolic disease progression.

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Claudia Asensio

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Research Assistant Professor

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Pratik Banerjee

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Associate Professor of Food Safety; Associate Head for Graduate Programs

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Dawn Bohn

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Teaching Associate Professor

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Mission Statement

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As a Teaching Associate Professor, I aim to provide high-level experiential learning opportunities for my students prior to entering the food industry and I encourage them to solve complex food science and ingredient technology challenges while developing novel food products. As the Director of the online MS program, I explore and utilize online education best practices in order to deliver a high quality, accessible program to working professionals that are balancing important professional and personal commitments.

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Jorden M. Brotherton

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Clinical Assistant Professor, Hospitality Management

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Jennifer Burton

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Instructor; Director, Online Masters Program in Clinical and Community Nutrition

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Keith R. Cadwallader

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Professor of Food Chemistry

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Cadwallader contributes to the understanding of fundamental and applied flavor chemistry and analysis. He identifies and characterizes key flavor (aroma) compounds, determines the interaction of flavor compounds with food matrix components, and develops methods to stabilize labile potent flavor compounds for use in foods.

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Hong Chen

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Associate Professor of Nutrition

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Chen focuses on molecular, biochemical, and nutrigenomic research that advances the knowledge of how diets affect each individual’s epigenome. Understanding nutrient regulation of genes during human development and carcinogenesis facilitates precision nutritional care for improved patient outcomes.

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Jill North Craft

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Clinical Associate Professor; Program Director and Advisor, Hospitality Management

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Mission Statement

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Ms. Craft ensures that hospitality management students develop problem-solving skills to critically analyze managerial issues and implement practical solutions. She teaches, develops, mentors, and advises students to be successful managers and hospitality industry professionals.

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Elvira de Mejia

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Professor of Food Science

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Mission Statement

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Dr. de Mejia investigates bioactive peptides and proteins in foods that promote health benefits for reducing inflammation, markers of type 2 diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease risk. She identifies and characterizes the functional properties of food components, notably flavonoids in ethnic teas, herbs, and berries.

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Sharon M. Donovan

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Professor of Nutrition; Director of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative

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Mission Statement

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The first 1,000 days of life, spanning from conception until age 2, are of critical importance to short- and long-term health outcomes for infants and children. Dr. Donovan investigates some of the most pressing health issues facing children and families, including promoting a healthy gut, brain, and microbiome through diet, preventing childhood obesity and picky eating behaviors.

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Toni Gist

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Clinical Assistant Professor

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Saima Hasnin

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Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist

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Mission Statement

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Childhood obesity is a pressing issue that disproportionately affects rural, minority, and ethnic communities across the country, contributing to increased health disparities in these groups. Dr. Hasnin\'s interdisciplinary research work and Extension activities are dedicated to developing sustainable childhood obesity prevention solutions and supporting holistic child development.

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William G. Helferich

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Professor of Nutrition; Director, Botanical Estrogen Center

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Helferich investigates diet and breast cancer growth and progression with a specific interest on botanical estrogens from soy and other dietary supplemental sources. He also has interest in how thermally abused oil can alter breast cancer metastasis using preclinical models.

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Krystal Hodge

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Assistant Professor

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Hannah D. Holscher

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Associate Professor of Nutrition

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Holscher studies how food influences gut microbes and human health. Using big data approaches, she studies the link between diet, gut microbes, and health. Her work is important because it informs dietary recommendations to improve health and well-being.

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Yong-Su Jin

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Professor of Food Microbiology

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Jin is pioneering the use of engineered microorganisms to deliver bioactive molecules and therapeutic proteins into the gut to prevent and treat gastrointestinal disease. He advances the use of engineered microorganisms for safe and sustainable production of value-added products from renewable biomass. He also optimizes genetic and metabolic processes within cells for enhanced production of target products while minimizing production of byproducts and waste.

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Justine Karduck

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Clinical Associate Professor; Director and Advisor, Didactic Program in Dietetics

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Karduck directs a top-ranked accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics, whose graduates achieve a 100% first-year pass rate on the national CDR Registered Dietitian Certification Exam. As a former clinical dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist, she utilizes many years of experience in the field to train future dietitians.

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Sihui Ma

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Teaching Assistant Professor; Advisor, Food Science; Director of Assessment for the Undergraduate Food Science Program

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Braulio Macias Rodriguez

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Assistant Professor

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Zeynep Madak-Erdogan

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Associate Professor of Nutrition; Sylvia D. Stroup Scholar

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Madak-Erdogan improves the quality of life for postmenopausal women and breast cancer survivors by understanding how diet and nutrition affect hormone action. Her lab uses multiscale modeling of –omics data from patient samples, animal models, and cell lines to understand the molecular basis of metabolic regulation by nuclear receptors and therapy resistance.

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Jessica Aren Madson

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Clinical Associate Professor; Director, Graduate Dietetic Internship

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Mission Statement

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Ms. Madson mentors graduate students who participate in the dietetic internship and are pursuing the career pathway to registered dietitian nutritionist credentialing. She makes sure all interns receive the highest level of practical work-related experiences to achieve all learning competencies for success in future careers. She secures supervised practice sites that meet and exceed standards set forth by the accrediting body for the profession.

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Michael Miller

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Professor of Food Microbiology

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Miller solves problems related to various aspects of fermentation. He develops strategies to improve the safety of fermented dairy products, especially Hispanic-style cheeses. He evaluates the microbial metabolism of dietary components in the gut to maximize health benefits for humans. He develops contamination solutions for industrial fermentations.

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Manabu T. Nakamura

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Associate Professor of Nutrition

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Mission Statement

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Although prevalence of obesity is a worldwide health problem affecting the well-being of many, an effective solution is not currently available. Dr. Nakamura leads a research team to develop a robust dietary weight loss program that can be widely and reliably used to reduce obesity-related comorbidities, and empowers consumers by helping them make informed food choices.
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Sharon Nickols-Richardson

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Professor; Associate Dean and Director of Extension and Outreach

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Nickols-Richardson helps individuals and families manage body weight and prevent obesity, metabolic syndrome, and osteoporosis through a variety of dietary, physical activity, and nutrition education approaches. She promotes dietary guidelines through community-based interventions and explores consumer behaviors around vegetable choice, preparation, and consumption.

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Oguz Ozturk

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Assistant Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Ozturk\'s interdisciplinary research work is dedicated to using novel food processing technologies to improve the functional properties of food ingredients and byproducts to be used in new processes and formulations. The overarching goal of his research program is to improve the quality of foods by employing innovative technologies.
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Yuan-Xiang Pan

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Professor, Food Science and Human Nutrition; Associate Head for Undergraduate Program; Nutritional Sciences Affiliate; Personalized Nutrition Initiative, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Pan investigates how molecular mechanisms of epigenetic regulation control physiological functions and chronic disease processes. He identifies novel epigenomic mechanisms that will lead to individualized nutritional interventions for specific health outcomes to enhance the well-being of humans.

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M. Yanina Pepino

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Associate Professor of Nutrition

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Pepino advances the understanding of the effects of taste perception on ingestive behavior and nutrient metabolism. She investigates bariatric surgery-induced weight loss on taste perception, eating and drinking, and the effects of consuming nonnutritive sweeteners on taste preference and blood sugar balance.

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Shelly J. Schmidt

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Professor of Food Chemistry; Director of Assessment for the Undergraduate Food Science Program

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Mission Statement

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As a researcher, Dr. Schmidt employs a wide array of strategies to characterize the physical and chemical properties of food materials to help the food industry, as well as consumers, produce safe, nutritious, and high-quality food products. As a teacher, she is devoted to helping students develop and mature as scientists and citizens that make a difference.

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Marcia Helena Siegel

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Research Assistant Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Monaco Siegel develops strategies to optimize infant health to prevent diseases later in life by studying the benefits of breast milk and how it impacts the gut and the immune system.

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Matt Stasiewicz

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Associate Professor of Applied Food Safety

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Stasiewicz applies new tools in genomics and data science to food safety microbiology. He develops methods to identify when bacterial pathogens persist in food-associated environments and to clean corn that has been contaminated with toxins produced by fungi. His work takes global strides toward building risk-based food safety systems.

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Pawan Singh Takhar

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Professor of Food Engineering

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Takhar explores polymer mechanics coupled with movement of heat, moisture, and oil in porous foods to improve their quality during processing. He develops and solves multiscale mathematical models to improve food quality and processing technologies.

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Pablo Torres Aguilar

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Assistant Professor, Food/Nutrition Insecurity

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Damir Dennis Torrico

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Assistant Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Torrico is dedicated to advancing sensory science in food research. Specializing in taste perception and food product optimization, his lab conducts innovative research on physiological and psychological responses to food, new product development, and advanced statistical methods.

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Hazal Turasan Ozturk

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Teaching Assistant Professor

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Yi-Cheng Wang

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Assistant Professor of Food Safety and Engineering

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Changmou Xu

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Assistant Professor of Food Processing

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Mission Statement

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Develop an integrated research program to advance food product development and processing with Data/AI technology, and improve food resource utilization and agriculture sustainability. Educate students with comprehensive and cutting-edge knowledge in food processing and data technology to advance their careers.

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