Nutrition and Food Chemistry

Dr. Xu is a Full Professor in Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College (UIC), Zhuhai Scholar Distinguished Professor, Associate Director of UIC Key Lab -Laboratory for Health Promotion Mechanism of Medicinal Food and Folk Remedy, author of 140 peer-reviewed papers. Dr. Xu received Ph.D in Chungnam National University, South Korea. He conducted postdoctoral research work in North Dakota State University, Purdue University, and Gerald P. Murphy Cancer Foundation during 2005-2009. Dr. Xu is serving as Associate Editor-in-Chief of Food Science and Human Wellness, the Editorial Board member of several international journals. He received inaugural President’s Award for Research of UIC in 2016.

The overall goal of his research is to understand health promoting effects of phytochemicals. Specific interests include: 1) Complex relationship among diet, gut microbiota, and human health, 2) health benefits (targeted at aging, cancers, obesity, and diabetes) assessment of phyto-chemicals from natural products; 3) cellular and molecular mechanisms of bioactive components in disease prevention; 4) Dietary polysaccharides and their functional properties.

Sylvanus Thompson is an Associate Director at Toronto Public Health. His Formal Education includes a BSc (Environmental Health), a MSc (Food Safety), and PhD (Public Health Administration). Additionally Sylvanus is a Fellow of the Canadian Health Service Research Foundation (EXTRA Program) which is focused on evidence –based decision making. He has extensive training and experience in developing, implementing and evaluating public health programs and services. He is a major resource personnel on environmental public health issues particularly in food safety and quality assurance. Sylvanus is a member of several local, national and international professional organizations including National Environmental Health Association, International Federation of Environmental Health, and the American Society for Quality, the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors, and the Association of Supervisors of Public Health Inspectors of Ontario. He is the Secretary for the International Federation of Environmental Health, a Technical Advisor for the National Environmental Health Association and the ASPHIO Food Safety lead. Sylvanus was very instrumental in the development of Toronto’s award winning food inspection and disclosure system, DineSafe, and has since provided consultation to a number of countries, including the UK, Australia, China, Hong Kong and parts of the US in implementing similar systems. Toronto Public Health was the recipient of the prestigious Samuel Crumbine Consumer Protection Award for this effort. Sylvanus is a recipient of a number of professional and community awards including the National Sanitation Foundation /CIPHI Award for outstanding contribution to food safety. He has been awarded the Crumbine Medal, USA (2011) for outstanding contribution to food safety and consumer protection, the Canadian African Unsung Heroes Awards for ground-breaking contribution to public health Awards, the Public Sector Quality Fair Gold Award for consumer protection and was recognised among the "140 Faces of OEC", University of Guelph. Most recently he was recognized by Toronto Public Health and the Government of Ontario for Outstanding Community Contribution.

Food Safety, Public Health etc..

Dr. Sergiy Olishevskyy completed with distinction a BSc in Biology (2001) and an MSc in Microbiology and Immunology (2002) from Kyiv National University, the largest and most renowned university in Ukraine. He continued his post-graduate studies at the Institute of Experimental Pathology, Oncology and Radiobiology of National Academy of Science of Ukraine, where he gained a PhD degree in 2007. Dr. Olishevskyy has been engaged in many scientific projects focusing on research and development in the areas of Cancer Biology, Microbiology and Exercise Immunology. His strong, multidisciplinary scientific expertise and leadership allows him to design, develop and manage successfully different R&D projects with his laboratory teams. In 2012, Dr. Olishevskyy joined FoodChekâ„¢ Laboratories Inc. as Senior Scientific Project Manager where he continued his postdoctoral studies supported by the Industrial R&D Fellowships Program from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. He has led multiple R&D projects aimed at the development of modern approaches for the detection of pathogenic bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and E.coli O157:H7 in the food industry. In 2017, Dr. Olishevskyy was promoted to Vice President, Research and Development.

Food Microbiology including Foodborne Pathogen Detection and Enrichment Media Development

Professor Özlem TOKUŞOĞLU, PhD, is currently working as faculty member of the Department of Food Engineering at CELAL BAYAR UNIVERSITY, Manisa, Turkey. She earned a bachelor’s degree (1992) and master’s degree (1996) from EGE UNIVERSITY, Izmir, Turkey in the Department of Chemistry and a PhD degree (2001) from EGE UNIVERSITY, Izmir in the Department of Food Engineering. she gained associate professor (docent) degree from Presidency of Higher Education Council (YÖK), Ankara at 2007. Dr. Tokuşoğlu was a visiting scholar in the Food Science and Nutrition Department at the UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA, Gainesville,FL during 1999–2000 and was a visiting professor at the School of Food Science, WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERITY, Pullman, Washington,WA during April–May 2010. Tokuşoğlu has many times conducted academic research studies, congree and conference administrations and chair positions, delivered keynote addresses, and made academic presentations in majorly all USA States, Europe and Japan. She is recently serving as FOOD TECHNOLOGY and NUTRITION Group Chair of Conference Series LLC Group, Nevada, USA. She served as Chair of FOOD TECHNOLOGY 2015 (4th International Conference on Food Processing and Technology) in August 10–12,2015 in London, UK; as Chair of NUTRITION 2015 (4th International Conference on Nutrition) in October 26-28,2015 in Chicago, Illinois, USA; as Chair of NUTRITION 2016 (5th International Conference on Nutrition) in September 14-17, 2016 in San Antonio,Texas, USA; as Chair of FOOD TECHNOLOGY 2016 (5th International Conference on Food Processing and Technology) in October 27-29, 2016 , Rome, ITALY; as Chair of NUTRITION AND FOOD SCIENCE 2017 in 29-31 May,2017 in Osaka,JAPAN. She is currently Chair of the FOOD TECHNOLOGY 2017 in October 23–25 in Paris, FRANCE. She is CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group BOOK Editor and has published scientific edited book titled Fruit and Cereal Bioactives: Chemistry, Sources and Applications, ISBN 9781439806654 by CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, and titled Improving Food Quality with Novel Food Processing Technologies, ISBN 9781466507241 by CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group and another book is Food By-Product Based Functional Food Powders, ISBN 9781482224375 by CRC Press. Dr. Tokuşoğlu is Main Associate Editor of WILEY- Journal of Food Processing and Preservation (JFPP), USA. Professor Tokusoglu is also Manager (CEO) of the SPİL INNOVA Ltd.Şti. Food, Research and Consultancy in DEPARK Technopark, Dokuz Eylul University Technology Development Zone, İzmir, Turkey as University- Industry Relationship responsibility

Food Chemistry, Food Quality, Nutrition and Health, Food Safety and Toxicology, Shelf-life of Foods, and innovative food processing technologies in foods, beverages, and functional products.

Ian Watson’s first degree was in applied physics, followed by a Ph.D. from the engineering Faculty at the University of Glasgow in “Optimizing the gaseous discharge and optical coupling of a pulsed CO2 laser” which was specifically designed for material processing of reflective and refractory materials. In the early 1990s he began to research the effects of high power laser beams on microorganisms and laser sterilization and inactivation. He has published on the direct effect of a range of lasers and their efficacy on treating different substrates, including solids, liquids and air and a range of microorganisms from E. coli to B. globigii, an anthrax simulant. As well as building lasers and laser scanning inactivation systems he has developed combined systems for decontamination and inactivation applications. These systems comprised: lasers, UV, pulsed flash lamp systems, microwave and chemical treatments. Laser and plasma systems have been specifically designed, fabricated and successfully tested for treating air.

Microalgae Research, Decontamination and control of microorganisms, Real time detection of microorganisms and morpohology dynamics

Gustavo V. Barbosa-Cánovas received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Uruguay and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Food Engineering at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst while being a Fulbright Scholar. Quite recently he was awarded a Honoris Causa Doctorate at Polytechnic University of Cartagena, Spain. He worked as an Assistant Professor at the University of Puerto Rico from 1985-1990, during which he was granted two National Science Foundation (NSF) awards for research productivity. Next, he went to Washington State University (WSU) where he is now a Professor of Food Engineering and Director of the Center for Nonthermal Processing of Food (CNPF). Dr. Barbosa-Cánovas was editor of the journal of Food Science and Technology International published by SAGE, as well as for the journal Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies published by Elsevier and the Food Engineering Theme in the Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) published by UNESCO. Dr. Barbosa-Cánovas is the Editor-in-Chief of the Food Engineering Book Series published by Springer as well as the Food Preservation Technology Series published by CRC Press. At the same time, Dr. Barbosa-Cánovas is Editor-in-Chief of Food Engineering Reviews, published by Springer. He has edited several books on Food Engineering topics, and authored: Food Powders, Food Plant Design, Dehydration of Foods, Preservation of Foods by Pulsed Electric Fields, Unit Operations in Food Engineering, Nonthermal Preservation of Foods. Dr. Barbosa-Cánovas is also International Consultant for the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and a consultant for several major food companies around the World. Dr. Barbosa-Cánovas is the Immediate-Past-President of the International Society of Food Engineering (ISFE) and Chair of the Scientific Council of IUFoST (International Union of Food Science and Technology). He has received several prestigious awards such as the IFT Nicholas Appert Award (Highest Award in Food Science and Technology), IFT International Award and is an IFT, IFST, and IUFoST Fellow as well as Member of the Uruguayan Academy of Engineering. In 2010 he received the Sahlin Award for Research, Scholarship and Arts at Washington State University (highest research award at this University) as well as a Fulbright Fellowship. In 2013 he received another two relevant fellowship, the first granted by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) to lecture in several prestigious Japanese universities for three weeks and the second one by the University of Salerno, Italy to spend a sabbatical leave for six months to conduct research, offering lectures and teaching a senior course.

His primary interest is in finding effective and less harmful methods of preserving food through the study, development, and application of nonthermal technologies.

Gary Stoner, PhD., is professor emeritus in the College of Medicine, Ohio State University. His areas of expertise are chemical carcinogenesis and cancer chemoprevention. His early research was focused on lung cancer and tobacco carcinogenesis. Later he investigated the cancer preventative effects of naturally-occurring isothiocyanates and found them to be potent inhibitors of N-nitrosamine carcinogenesis. He then pioneered a “food-based” approach to cancer prevention using freeze-dried black raspberries. The berries significantly reduce tumorigenesis in the oral cavity, esophagus and colon of rodents and regress premalignant lesions in these same tissues in humans. His laboratory identified multiple mechanisms of cancer prevention by berries. His research is documented in more than 350 peer reviewed publications. He has received numerous awards for his research including the US NIH Merit Award and he is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award and an Honorary Doctorate from Montana State University.

Identification and use of naturally-occurring compounds to prevent cancer of the oral cavity, esophagus and colon

Osama Ibrahim is a highly-experienced Principal Research Scientist with particular expertise in the field of microbiology, molecular biology, food safety, and bioprocessing for both pharmaceutical and food ingredients. He is knowledgeable in microbial screening /culture improvement; molecular biology and fermentation research for antibiotics, enzymes, therapeutic proteins, organic acids and food flavors; Biochemistry for metabolic pathways and enzymes kinetics, enzymes immobilization, bioconversion, and Analytical Biochemistry. Dr. Ibrahim was external research liaison for Kraft Foods with Universities for research projects related to molecular biology and microbial screening and holds three bioprocessing patents. In January 2005, he accepted an early retirement offer from Kraft Foods and in the same year he formed his own biotechnology company providing technical and marketing consultation for new start up biotechnology and food companies.

Biochemistry, microbiology, molecular biology, food safety, and bioprocessing

Professor Benjamin Simpson is a graduate in Biochemistry from Memorial University of Newfoundland, where he also carried out postdoctoral work till December 1985. He joined the Food Science Department at McGill in June 1987 after spending a period of time at the Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida at Gainesville in the USA, as a Research Associate from January 1986 to April, 1987. His research program involves the post-mortem biochemistry of marine organisms, in relation to enzymes. Specifically on digestive enzymes from marine animals, their characterization to discover their unique properties that may make them better suited for particular applications compared with their traditional counterparts; role of enzymes in color and texture deterioration in fish and shellfish and development of strategies to control the deleterious effects of enzymes in foods during processing and storage; and the use of enzymes in transforming discards from food harvesting / processing into value added products of commercial relevance. Examples of the value-added products prepared by the enzyme assisted procedures include natural food pigments, proteins, bioactive peptides, flavor compounds and chitin, etc., for use as food processing aids. Dr. Simpson is responsible for teaching Food Commodities, Food Chemistry and Enzymology.

Food Commodities, Food Chemistry and Enzymology

Mingruo Guo is a food chemist and inventor, specializes in the areas of functional foods, whey based environmentally safe products, prebiotics and probiotics, infant formula, herbs and nutritional food development. His ongoing research projects include whey protein-based, environmentally safe adhesive and glue products; milk, soy and oat-based symbiotic foods; soy-based coffee creamer; application of limited proteolysis of milk proteins in infant formula; and functional goat-milk yogurt kefir. He is author of the textbook \\\"Functional Foods- Principles and Technology\\\", published in 2007. He serves as a consultant to both trouble shoot and help food manufacturers develop new products. He has a patent on spray drying technology and two others pending on functional foods and whey protein based wood finishes. The environmentally safe wood finish was awarded as one of the top 10 Green Products in the US.

Mingruo Guo’s research areas includes: Environmentally safe products from whey; component interactions in infant formula and nutritional products; the chemistry and technology of fermented dairy products; ultrasound treatment of milk and apple cider; pre- and probiotics; functional properties of food proteins such as whey proteins.

Alison Burton Shepherd is a queen’s nurse and tutor in nursing at Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery Kings College London. She has over 80 publications which have been peer reviewed. She is also a registered nutritionist and is on the Editorial Board of the Journal for Food and Nutritional Disorders (USA) and is a regular contributor to Network Health Dieticians. She still works in a clinical capacity as a nurse advisor for a private out of Hours Company where she works autonomously from home.

Nutrition