Advisory Boards
Executive Advisory Board
The Executive Advisory Board is composed of members representing the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), academia and the food industry. Governance, policy and strategic direction are determined by the Executive Advisory Board in support of the institute’s mission.
Don Patterson (Pat) Adams
President and CEO
Avure Technologies, Inc.
Pat Adams has more than 30 years’ experience building, managing and growing companies in both the public and private markets. Adams was recruited to Avure as president and chief executive officer in August 2001, where his responsibilities include developing the plan to establish Avure as a separate and distinct business entity; developing and managing cost reduction and process improvement initiatives; integrating Avure and its subsidiaries on a global basis; recruiting and managing the company’s executive team; and extending the company’s relationships with major customers.
J. Stan Bailey, PhD
Director Scientific Affairs–Industry
bioMérieux, Inc.
Dr. Stan Bailey has authored or coauthored over 500 scientific publications in the area of food microbiology, concentrating on controlling Salmonella in poultry production and processing, Salmonella methodology, Listeria methodology, and rapid microbiology methods of identification. Dr. Bailey is past-president of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP). In 2002, he was named Outstanding Senior Research Scientist for the USDA, Agricultural Research Service and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and IAFP.
Patrizia Barone, PhD
Regional Regulatory Affairs Director North America
Unilever
Dr. Patrizia Barone is the Regional Regulatory Affairs Director at Unilever, leading the strategic regulatory activities for the North American region. Before joining Unilever, Patrizia held positions at Reckitt Benckiser, initially as Vice President of R&D for North America. She moved to Australia to head the Asia Pacific & South Asia R&D Laboratory, and upon her return held positions culminating as Global R&D Category Group Director - Regulatory Affairs & R&D Systems, responsible for product safety and regulatory strategies for all products globally. Earlier, Patrizia worked with Colgate-Palmolive and Miles, Inc. Household Products Division, a division of Bayer AG.
Robert E. Brackett, PhD
Vice President and Director
Institute for Food Safety and Health, Illinois Institute of Technology
As IFSH Director, Dr. Brackett is responsible for management of the institute and will continue to improve its stature as a national and international leader in the fields of food safety and nutrition science. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Brackett served for three years as Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific and Regulatory Officer with the Grocery Manufacturers Association in Washington, DC. Dr. Brackett also served as Director of the U.S Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FDA CFSAN), where he provided executive leadership to the Center’s development and implementation of programs and policies relative to the composition, quality, safety, and labeling of foods, food and color additives, dietary supplements and cosmetics.
Alan Cramb, PhD
Provost
Illinois Institute of Technology
As IIT’s Provost, Dr. Alan Cramb is responsible for the academic programs and mission of the Institute. He received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979 and subsequently spent seven years conducting and managing research within the steel industry. In 1986 he joined the department of Materials Science and Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and in 1990 became the co-director of the Center for Iron and Steelmaking, which he helped transition from a local to a fully international center with a worldwide membership. In 2000, Dr. Cramb was named Head of Carnegie’s Materials Science and Engineering Department.
Jonathan DeVries, PhD
Senior Technical Manager
General Mills/Medallion Labs
Dr. DeVries is a Senior Principal Scientist at General Mills Inc. He also serves as Technical Manager of the Medallion Laboratories subsidiary of the company, which provides analytical services to the food industry. In addition to his 20 years of involvement with NCFST, Dr. DeVries served for six years on the Official Methods Board of AOAC International, including three years as the chair. He served three years on the Board of Directors of AOAC and He served for three years as chair of the Committee of Food Industry Analytical Chemicals of the National Food Processors Association. He is a Fellow of AOAC International and member of the American Association of Cereal Chemists, American Society for Testing and Materials, and the American Chemical Society.
Matilda Freund, PhD
Senior Director, Global Food Safety
Kraft Foods
Dr. Matilda Freund leads the Global Food Safety team at Kraft Foods. Kraft is the largest food and beverage company headquartered in North America and the second largest in the world, marketing many popular brands in more than 170 countries. Dr. Freund is an expert in global food safety, including HACCP design and development on an international level. She has held various positions during her 20 years at Kraft including Product Development, Sanitation, Quality, and Production Management. At the end of 2002, Dr. Freund joined the International group and was based in Munich, Germany for five years. During her time abroad, she had the opportunity to work with numerous manufacturing sites in many countries and worked with an extensive array of products. She served as President of the European Hygienic Design and Engineering Group.
Lawrence Grab
Vice President, RD&E, Global Food & Beverage
Ecolab, Inc.
Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California Medical Center, Dr. Grab worked from 1987-1997 for Union Carbide Corp. at its Technical Research Center in Bound Brook, NJ, reaching the position of World Wide Technology Manager for the Biocides Business. He joined Ecolab in 1997, heading the microbiological services group. In 1999 he became Director of R&D for the International F&B group and from 2002-2004 he worked as Director of R&D for Latin America. Prior to his current role, Dr. Grab was Director of RD&E Food & Beverage for Ecolab in Europe, Middle East and Africa, based in Düsseldorf Germany.
Michael M. Landa, PhD
Acting Director, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
US Food and Drug Administration
In May 2010, Michael M. Landa was appointed as the Acting Director, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (CFSAN FDA). His official position of record is Deputy Director for Regulatory Affairs, CFSAN, a position he has held since August 2004. He previously served as Acting Chief Counsel and Deputy Chief Counsel, FDA. Earlier in his career, he was a shareholder with Heller Ehrman; counsel and then partner with Fenwick & West; and served for various periods as Assistant and then Associate Chief Counsel for Enforcement, Medical Devices, and Veterinary Medicine, FDA (1978-1993).
Eric Larson
Founding Partner
Linden LLC
Mr. Larson has been involved in principal investing since 1985. Prior to founding Linden, Larson was Executive Vice President and Managing General Partner of FCEC, which he co-founded in 1991. He was previously a partner and investment principal at First Chicago Venture Capital, now Madison Dearborn Partners. Mr. Larson has been a board member of over a dozen public and private companies, including several roles as non-executive chairman. Larson currently serves on the boards of directors of BarrierSafe Solutions International, Behavioral Centers of America, CORPAK MedSystems and Focused Health Solutions.
Alejandro Mazzotta, PhD
Senior Director, Global Food Safety
Campbell Soup Company
Dr. Mazzotta currently leads the Microbiology and Thermal Processing departments for Campbell Soup Co. Prior to Campbell’s, he worked as Director of Food Safety and Scientific Affairs for McDonald’s Corp., as Microbiology Safety Manager for The Pillsbury Co./General Mills, and as a scientist with the National Food Processors Association. He has published, and presented at numerous domestic and international meetings and symposia on food preservation systems to control Listeria monocytogenes and Clostridium botulinum, heat resistance of foodborne pathogens, HACCP, and risk management programs in foodservice operations. Dr. Mazzotta has been appointed to the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) and has
also served on the Industry Advisory Board for the Food Allergen and Anaphylaxis Network.
Phillip L. Minerich, PhD
Vice President, Research & Development
Hormel Foods Corporate Services, LLC
Dr. Minerich has worked for Hormel Foods for more than 33 years in a variety of positions, including Quality Control, Production Management, Corp. Manager of Sanitation, R&D Packaging, R&D Food Safety Interventions, and R&D Product, Process and Package Development and Applied Research. In his current position, Dr. Minerich is responsible for managing all product, process and package development, applied research, microbiology and chemistry labs, sensory labs and process authorities for Hormel Foods. He is a member of the Minnesota Food Safety & Defense Task Force, the National Center for Food Protection and Defense, the Institute of Food Technologists’
Non-thermal Processing Division, the GMA Science Institute and Scientific & Regulatory Affairs
Councils, and the American Meat Institute’s Scientific Affairs Committee.
William E. Moeller
Operating Partner
Linden LLC and retired Senior Vice President, UnitedHealth Group
Upon his retirement in November 2008 as UnitedHealth Group Senior Vice President, Relationship and Business Development, where previously he served for seven years as President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Moeller joined Linden LLC as an Operating Partner. His career began at Citicorp, followed by over six years at First Chicago, where he was executive vice president of the North American Banking Group. Subsequently, Bill served as executive vice president and president and chief operating officer in other financial service companies. He was also president and chief executive officer of Sanwa Business Credit Corporation in Chicago.
Sean O’Connor, MD, FACP
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine/Internist and Associate
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine/Internal Medicine Ltd.
Dr. O'Connor received his MD from the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, and currently is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. He holds board certification in internal medicine, and his specialty interests focus on preventive medicine and older adult healthcare.
Eduard K. Poels, PhD
Vice President, Discovery, Global Research & Development
Mead Johnson Nutritionals
Dr. Poels joined Mead Johnson Nutritionals in 2007, where he man
ages the company’s front-end Discovery and Technology Application teams that conduct research and development in an open innovation model. Two groups for Children Nutrition and Infant Formula product development complete the department. Dr. Poels previously held positions in R&D at Unilever Research and its subsidiaries, and with Quest International, where he served as Director of Food Texture R&D, supervising the emulsifiers, enzymes, proteins and hydrocolloids development groups as well as coordinating the food texture technology platform. In 2001, he took a position as Director of Flavor R&D at Quest, supervising the Bioprocessing R&D, Flavor Ingredients R&D, Analytical Chemistry, Flavor Microencapsulation Systems, Process Development and Separation Science, Sensory and Consumer Science, Microbiology and Information Science departments.
Jenny Scott
Senior Advisor to the Director, Office of Food Safety
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Jenny Scott is Senior Advisor to the Director of the Office of Food Safety at the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. In this position, she develops and implements policies, regulations and guidelines related to food safety and provides technical expertise in a variety of food safety areas. Prior to joining FDA in August 2009, Scott was Vice President of Science Policy, Food Protection at the Grocery Manufacturers Association in Washington, DC, where she held various positions over a 29-year tenure. She has been active in professional associations such as the American Society for Microbiology, the Institute of Food Technologists, and the International Association for Food Protection, of which she was President in 2000-2001. She is a fellow of both IAFP and IFT. Ms. Scott served three terms on the US National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods and currently serves as the US delegate to the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene.
Darsh Wasan, PhD
Vice President & Motorola Chair Professor in Chemical Engineering
Illinois Institute of Technology
Dr. Darsh Wasan has spent the past 40-plus years at IIT doing and being everything from department chairman, dean of engineering, vice president for research and technology, vice president for academic affairs and provost at the university. Dr. Wasan founded NCFST, working with the US Food and Drug Administration to establish the institute as an FDA Center of Excellence. He has co-authored more than 400 publications, and has been supervisor and mentor to sixty doctoral students, fifty-five M.S. students, and fifteen postdoctoral fellows. Among his numerous awards and honors, Dr. Wasan was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest honors an engineer can be given in the US.
Don Zink, PhD
Senior Science Advisor, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
US Food and Drug Administration
Dr. Donald L. Zink has been involved in food science for more than 30 years, most recently serving as Senior Science Advisor, Office of Food Safety for CFSAN in the Office of the Center Director. Between 1978 and 1983, he held faculty positions at Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and at the University of Arizona in the Department of Microbiology and the Department of Food Science. He joined Campbell Soup Company in 1983 as Manager of Process Microbiology where he worked in the area of refrigerated food safety and aseptic processing. In 1990, he joined Nestlé, where he held various positions in Quality Assurance for the Carnation Company and later served as Director of Food Safety for Nestlé USA. In 2000, he joined a new beef processing venture company, Future Beef Operations, as Vice President of Research and Development and Product Safety. Dr. Zink has served as a member of several advisory committees, including the Committee on Program and Technical Review of the US Army Natick RDEC for the National Research Council and the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods.
Technical Advisory Board
The Technical Advisory Board is composed of consortium members representing the US Food and Drug Administration and the food industry. The TAC reviews research proposals and sets annual research priorities for IFSH's National Center for Food Safety and Technology in support of its mission.
Industry TAC Representatives
Robert Koeritzer, 3M
Paul Zavitsanos, Agilent Technologies
Shane Shepherd, AmeriQual
Tim Birmingham, Almond Board
Pat Adams, Avure Technologies, Inc.
Kern Cooper, Basic American Foods
Stanley Bailey, bioMerieux, Inc.
Drew Roth, Bio Fina Group
Antony Talalay, Brassica Protection Products, LLC
Tim Haley, Bush Brothers
Alejandro Mazzotta, Campbell Soup Company
Dan Caudill, Caudill Sprouting, LLC
Darren Bates, Cavitus Pty Ltd.
Bob Salter, Charm Sciences, Inc.
Steven Bautista, Del Monte Foods
Amy Smith, DuPont Qualicon
Will Daniels, Earthbound Farm
Katie Swanson, Ecolab, Inc.
Rory Wolf, Enercon Industries
Aaron Norris, ETIA
Jonathan DeVries, General Mills/Medallion Labs
Glenn Black, Grocers Manufacturers Association
Sarah Martinez, Hills Pet Nutrition
Phil Minerich, Hormel Foods Corp. Services
Richard Wolfe, International Sprout Growers Association
Bob Sanderson, Jonathan Sprouts, Inc.
Matilda Freund, Kraft Foods
John Butts, Land O'Frost
Eric Larson, Linden, LLC
Loren Voltrep, Marmon Food Services Group
Indaue Mello-Hall, MARS
Michael Kelly, MARS/Wrigley
Tracey Johnson, Matrix MicroScience, Inc.
Brad Taylor, Mead Johnson Nutrition
Jonathan Merkle, Michael Foods, Inc.
Andrew Taylor, Michigan Research Institute
Michelle Pechonock, NASA
David Ramussen, Nestle
Sylvia Wulf, Nutrition Physiology Co.
Syed Hussain, Quantum Foods
Sue Estes, PepsiCo
Anil Shrikhande, Polyphenolics (a division of Constellation Wines)
Tom Seidel, PrintPack
Janet Payne, Purac
Stephen Robinson, SurePure Operations AG
Brian Thane, Tetra Pak, Inc.
Forrest Bayer, The Coca Cola Company
Karen Milley, The JM Smucker Company
Michael Cirigliano, Unilever
David Gombas, United Fresh
C. Patrick Dunne, US Army Natick Labs
Jenni Rench, World Technology Ingredients, Inc.
Saad Ahmed, Xenon
FDA CFSAN TAC Representatives
Nega Beru
Vincent Kelly Bunning
Don Kraemer
Steve Musser
Jenny Scott
Marleen Wekell
Don Zink