FDSN Seminar Series

The Department of Food Science and Nutrition hosts a number of virtual events through its Seminar Series and its Virtual Food Industry Friday series.

The FDSN Seminar Series features guest lectures by invited speakers that broaden understanding and knowledge of various scientific topics and original research in food science and nutrition. Speakers include experts from academia, federal government agencies, and the food industry. These seminars are held every Thursday at 12:45 p.m. Central Time.

Our Virtual Food Industry Friday events showcase food industry professionals, board members, and alumni who are available to meet with students, providing career path insights to the broad and important field of food, science, and technology. Speakers represent a wide range of experience and roles in the food industry such as quality, product development, packaging, regulations, research and development, and more, providing a broad perspective on the food industry. Virtual Food Industry Friday events are held every third Friday of the month during the spring and fall semester from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. CST. The open seminar forum lasts approximately 45 minutes with a 10-15 minute Q&A session included.

Fall 2023 Seminars

Date	Title	Speaker	Google Link
Sept 21	Overview of B2B Industry and Role of Technical Service Scientists in Growing the B2B Business	Neeraj Kamath	Watch the Video
Sept 28	Innovations and Opportunities in Grain Science to Address Public Health Challenges	Ram Ramakrishna, PhD	Join Zoom Meeting ID: 3123989873
Oct 5	Introduction to Brewing – Beer Fermentation Process	Devanshu Mehta	Join Zoom Meeting ID: 3123989873
Oct 12	Analyzing Transferred Nanomaterials in Foods and Beverages Under Simulated Storage Conditions	Laxmi Adhikari	Join Zoom Meeting ID: 3123989873
Oct 19	Legal Issues for Food and Beverage Start-Ups	Sean Swidler	Join Zoom Meeting ID: 3123989873
Oct 26	The Technical Path to Sales in the Food Industry	James Skidmore	In-Person Pritzker Science Center, Room 152
Nov 2	Demystifying Electron Beam Food Pasteurization: Unraveling Misunderstandings	Suresh Pillai	Join Zoom Meeting ID: 3123989873
Nov 9	Approach to Solution and Ingredient Development in Diverse Food Applications	Ragya Kapoor and Ravi Kiran Tadapaneni	Join Zoom Meeting ID: 3123989873
Nov 16	The Safety of Flavor Ingredients, Using Sound Science to Confront Chemophobia	Arthur Curran	In-Person Pritzker Science Center, Auditorium, Room 111
Nov 30	Aronia Berry Bioactives: From Field to Function	Bradley W. Bolling, PhD	Join Zoom Meeting ID: 3123989873

Spring 2023 Seminars

Date	Title	Speaker	Google Link
Feb 2	Food Science: An R&D Overview	Duey Fimreite South Chicago Packing LLC	Watch the Video
Feb 9	Capabilities of Ultraviolet Light Technologies for Food and Grain Processing	Tatiana Koutchma
Feb 16	Career Progression and Development	Isha Chadha	Watch the Video
Feb 23	A Salty Alternative: The Case for Seaweeds and Sea Plants	Sara Marshall Baker
Mar 2	Outside In, An Entrepreneurial Journey	Shwetha Shrivatsa	Watch the Video
Mar 9	The Expanding Area of Health Benefits of Brassica Vegetables	Anqi Zhao	Watch the Video
Mar 23	Application of Machine Learning in Microbiological Research	Renmao Tian	Watch the Video
Mar 30	Omic Approaches to Coffee and Health Research	Marilyn C Cornelis	Watch the Video
Apr 6	Characterization and Bioactivity of Small Peptides Following Ingestion of Dry Edible Beans	Bikram Upadhyaya
Apr 13	Genetic Analysis of Traits in Food Crops That Affect the Human Gut Microbiome—a New Approach to Drive Crop Breeding Programs Toward Human Health	Andrew K. Benson, Ph.D.	Watch the Video
Apr 20	Approximating the Needle in the Haystack: Using Simulation Models to Improve Food Safety Controls	Claire Zoellner	Watch the Video
Apr 27	Bacteriophage-Based Biocontrol of Salmonella: A One-health Approach	Thomas Brenner	Watch the Video

Fall 2022 Seminars

Date	Title	Speaker	Google Link
Sept 15	Controlling Enteric Pathogens on Wheat Grain	Teresa Bergholz	Watch the Video
Sept 22	An Introduction to Kosher and Halal Food Laws	Joe Mac Regenstein	Watch the Video
Sept 29	Optimizing Protein in a Carbohydrate World	Donald Layman	Watch the Video
Oct 6	Managing Food Safety Along the Supply Chain	Sandhya Krishnankutty
Oct 13	How Can Ultrasound Make Food Sound?	Hao Feng	Watch the Video
Oct 20	Food Safety Needs in the Egg Industry	Urvi Shah	Watch the Video
Oct 27	Anti-inflammatory Interactions of Gallotannins with the Intestinal Microbiome	Susanne U. Talcott	Watch the Video
Nov 3	Legal Issues for Food and Beverage Startups	Sean Swidler	Watch the Video
Nov 10	Use of Next-Generation Sequencing Methods for Surveillance and to Study Bacterial Adaptation	Séamus Fanning	Watch the Video
Nov 17	Nutrition in the News: Science Fact or Science Fiction	Melissa Joy Dobbins
Dec 1	Craft Distilling–Combining History and Science		Watch the Video

Spring 2022 Seminars

Date	Title	Speaker	Google Link
Jan 20	Nutrition and Immune Resilience: A Clinical Perspective	Chelsea Preiss Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist and Clinical Research Associate Center for Nutrition Research at Illinois Institute of Technology	Watch the Video
Jan 27	Interlaboratory Comparison of SARS-CoV2 Molecular Detection Assays in Use by U.S. Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories	Kaiping Deng Biologist, Staff Fellow FDA/CFSAN/OFS/DFPST
Feb 3	Disruption by the Pandemic: Future Proofing the Food Industry	Kantha Shelke Principal, Corvus Blue \| Sr. Lecturer, Johns Hopkins University
Feb 10	OPEN
Feb 17	The Continued Search for Suitable Surrogates for Clostridium Botulinum	Kristin Schill Associate Scientist @ University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Food Research Institute (FRI)	Watch the Video
Feb 24	Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Blackberry Phenolic and Volatile Extracts	Dr. Luke R. Howard Department of Food Science at the University of Arkansas since 1997 (Associate Research Professor 1997-2002, Professor 2002-present	Watch the Video
Feb 25	Building Career Capital in the Food Industry: How to Stand Out from the Rest	Kantha Shelke, principal at Corvus Blue Matthew Botos, CEO of ConnectFood	Watch the Video
Mar 3	Leading with Heart – A Career from Illinois Institute of Technology to Impossible Foods	Ravi Tadapaneni Product Development & Commercialization Impossible Foods
Mar 10	The USDA Pesticide Monitoring Program for Foods Consumed in the United States	Shanker Reddy Ph.D. USDA, AMS, S&T, MPD, PDP	Watch the Video
Mar 23	Building Career Capital in the Food Industry: The Three L's: Listen, Learn, Leverage	Kantha Shelke, principal at Corvus Blue Matthew Botos, CEO of ConnectFood	Watch the Video
Mar 24	Topic to Be Announced	Dr. Bhaskar Janve, QA manager at the Honest Kitchen
Mar 25	Research & Development and Food Safety at Hormel Foods	Kevin Myers, Senior Vice President of R&D, Hormel Foods
Mar 31	Cocoa Flavanols - The Journey from Flavor Inhibitor to Potent Nutraceutical and Beyond	John Hammerstone	Watch the Video
Apr 7	Emerging Pathogens and Pathogens of Emerging Concern	Purnendu C. Vasavada, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin- River Falls
Apr 14	Sadie Shake: An Entrepreneurs Journey to Bring Ground-breaking Nutrition to Children in Schools	Margaret Hyde Sadie Shake
Apr 21	Innovation Process	Dr. Valeria Acquarone Tate & Lyle
Apr 28	Experimental, modeling, and genomics-approaches to studying and characterizing risks associated with foodborne pathogens	Ruixi Chen PhD Candidate, Wiedmann Lab - Cornell University
Apr 29	Overview of B2B industry and role of Technical Service Scientist in growing the B2B business	Neeraj Kamath, Sr. Technical Service Scientist Dairy Category and Certified Food Scientist, Tate & Lyle	Watch the Video

Fall 2021 Seminars

Date	Topic	Speaker	Web Link
Sept 9	Sugar Reduction in Food Applications	Eric Shinsato - Ingredion	Watch the Video
Sept 16	The Evolution of Bacterial Symbionts and Microbiomes	Professor Patrick Keeling, University of British Columbia	Watch the Video
Sept 23	All About Stevia Leaf Sweetener	Fernando Martinez - Ingredion	Watch the Video
Sept 24	Food Safety and Quality from Concept to Commercialization at Vital Farms	Liang Bennett (BCHM ’15, M.S. FST ’16), Vital Farms	Watch the Video
Sept 30	Academia is an Exciting Career!	Cheryl Rock, Ph.D. California State University - Long Beach	Watch the Video
Oct 7	Overview of Sensory Analysis of Foods	Dr. Charles Sims - University of Florida	Watch the Video
Oct 14	Existing and Emerging Detection Methods for Botulinum Toxin	Catherine Rolfe - FDA
Oct 15	A Food Safety Leader's Perspective on Risk and Risk Management in a Complex World	David Clifford - Nestle USA	Watch the Video
Oct 21	Technological Advances in Processing and Packaging That Will Reduce Carbon Emissions	Chuck Sizer - Pilot Aseptic, LLC	Watch the Video
Oct 28	The Exploration of Anti-Obesity Effects of Potential Probiotics on C57BL/6 Mouse Model	Kequan Zhou - Wayne State University
Nov 4	Nutrition and Immune Resilience: A Clinical Perspective	Chelsea Preiss - Center of Nutrition Research @IIT
Nov 11	The Pennsylvania Genome Trakr Consortium Advances Understanding of Salmonella Transmission, Antibiotic Resistance, and Bugs in My Food	Edward Dudley - PSU	Watch the Video
Nov 18	The Migration of Engineered Nanomaterials Out of Nanotechnology-Enabled Polymers and into Foods	Tim Duncan - FDA
Nov. 19	Creating a Bigger Table: Impactful Philanthropy in the Food Industry	John Shapiro, Partner, Complex Litigation Practice Group, Freeborn and Peters LLP
Dec 2	Inferring Protein Function by Structural Homology — A Case Example with Microsporidia	Jean-Francois Pombert, IIT and Academic Editor

Spring 2021 Seminars

Date	Topic	Speaker	Web Link
Feb 4	Data Analytics and Why Modelling Matters	Dr. Clare Thorp, Ph.D., Creme Global	Watch the Seminar Recording
Feb 11	OPEN
Feb 18	Deciding What to Eat: A Cognitive Neuroscience Approach	Akram Bakjour, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Chicago	Watch the Seminar Recording
Feb 19	INDUSTRY: Overview of Wine Making Processes and Project Management Cycle	Udit Mankad, Corporate Project Engineer at Constellation Brands, Inc.	Watch the Seminar Recording
Feb 25	Development of a Genomic Framework for Quality Assessment of Live Microbial Supplements	Carmen Tartera, Ph.D., FDA	Watch the Seminar Recording
Mar 4	Conscious Eating: How to Become Healthy and Blissful in 21 days	Dr. Huan Xia, Founder and CEO, LucOasis Inc.	Watch the Seminar Recording
Mar 11	What We Learned from Recent United States Listeriosis Outbreaks	Dr. Yi Chen, Microbiologist, FDA CFSAN	Watch the Seminar Recording
Mar 18	Protective Effects and Mechanisms of Muscadine Grapes or Wine on Gut Inflammation	Dr. Liwei Gu, University of Florida
March 19	INDUSTRY: Biotechnology, Taste, Nutrition, and Food Security: Perspectives in Industrial Life Sciences	Scott Hagedorn, Ph.D., SRH Consulting LLC, Science, Innovation, Risk Management
Mar 25	Simpler Better Fruit Preparation for Yogurt Application	Dr. Jie Sun, Principal Scientist, NTS (Nutrition and Technology Solutions) General Mills
Apr 1	Statistical Methods, Tools & Concepts for Scientific Research	Dr. Jingyun Yang, Assistant Professor, Rush University Medical Center
Apr 8	NO SEMINAR – COVID STUDY DAY
Apr 15	Byproduct and Waste Protein as a Building Block for Polymer Applications in the Food and Non-food Industries	Nandika Bandara	Watch the Seminar Recording
Apr 16	INDUSTRY: Food Safety & Quality Influence Across Business Functions and Strategies	Kurt Deibel, VP Food Safety & Quality — Americas at H.J. Heinz Company
Apr 22	How Vascular Endothelial Cells Regulate Transendothelial Migration: Intravital Microscopic Studies in Real Time	Dr. William Muller, MD, Ph.D., Professor of Pathology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Apr 29	X-rays: Sources, Techniques, and Applications in the Food Industry	Ali Khounsary, Ph.D., Illinois Institute of Technology
May 6	Metabolically Activated Macrophages in Obesity and Insulin Resistance	Dr. Becker - UOC