PURSUING DREAMS

GETTING STARTED IN FOOD

HIGH SCHOOL CHEMISTRY

GRADUATE SCHOOLPH.D. AND B.S. FOOD SCIENCE, B.CHE., MINOR IN CHEM.

PRIOR EXPERIENCE

PRINCIPAL SCIENTIST

Established the Gluten-Free (GF) Initiative at Cargill in 2004Developed and commercialized high quality GF breads, cookies, and batter-based bakery applicationsJustified with Cargill Ventures investment in Alvine Pharma, Inc. (first company dedicated to celiac disease)Filed 6 patent applications

Manipulated protein and fiber ingredient functionality using extrusion and characterized the ingredients directly using spectroscopyApplied the resulting technology successfully in bread and barsFiled 4 patent applications

Established collaboration with USDA ARS scientists to commercialize new technologyNew and natural wheat speciesNovel gluten-like proteins and protein subunitsNatural emulsifiersLeavening replacement systemsFiled 1 patent application

Utilized sensory and moisture sorption analysis to improve the texture and stability of confectionary inclusions 1 granted patent

GLUTEN POLYMER

CURRENT ROLE

FOUNDATION BACKGROUND

Around the globe organizations are asking for a change in the food supply to promote health

The Foundation seeks to develop a better understanding of what to do as a society to promote a healthy lifestyle

This work is urgent

In the U.S. alone, 25 million children are overweight or obese

$14 billion in direct health care costsA Comparison of Research (# of Articles in PubMed) for

Fruits and Vegetables, Soy, and Whole Grains from 1900-present

DIRECTOR OF SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS

I was the catalyst of the initial rapid growth phase of the Foundation

More specifically:Completed first draft of business planDeveloped and facilitated short-term grant strategyWrote Annual ReportGrew corporate partnershipsConvened and facilitated quarter 1 of the Development, Delivery, & Consumption committeesOrganized Nov. 2009 School Nutrition WorkshopWrote job descriptionWrote Whole Grain review article with Dr. Julie Miller JonesWrote monthly Status Reports on work to corporate partners

COOPERATIVE ACTION AND EMERGENT BEHAVIOR FROM A BROAD VISION AND VAST NETWORK

A. Grain Research

B. Institutional Nutrition

C. Developing Communities

•School Nutrition•Eldercare•Fast Food

•Development•Delivery•Consumption

1

3

2

D

1. Reduction of diet-related illness, and in particular child obesity

2. Novel approaches to feeding people in need

3. Entrepreneurial opportunities in food development and delivery

D. Sustainable training --development of visionary leaders who can manage issue-based research opportunities

BIOLOGICAL ENDPOINT QTL-MAPPING

Given a wheat population consisting of essentially all of the different combinations of genes for a set of parents, locate a fragment of genetic material (a locus or position) and that is highly correlated to the biological endpoint (the biomarker of disease) using statistics

Plant genes at or near a marker locus can be studied to understand the cause and effect relationship between plant bioactives and a biological endpoint

It is quite likely that several QTLs for a given biomarker of disease will be discovered

This effort could spawn decades of nutritional studies with different biological endpoints, plants, processing variables, etc.

Parents

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

Technical Program Chair of 2009 Annual Meeting

Took AACC Int meeting model from red or near red to +100k black

WHY ME FOR THIS ROLE

My experience has been that new technology begets new technology, and this provides the basis for unique customer solutions. My primary mode of consulting both internally and externally is to seek out others and ask questions. I constantly offer the perspective of the food scientist and the bakery application scientist, and this is valuable because it moves basic science from theory to application. I find great satisfaction in enabling other people to shine. I have been told that I have a talent for bringing different parts of internal and external organizations to bear on a project. In this regard, I function as the prime mover of a project. I know that I feel great passion when I can make connections (people, ideas, and technologies).

From a scientific standpoint, I believe that it is important to structure research in a way that addresses past research and pushes boundaries by bringing something new to the table. People seem more open to possibilities that they do not fully understand if there is something familiar at the starting point. I have also tried to adopt an approach to R&D that incorporates both quick fixes and long-term research plans in a given project.

Finally, I am building a strong network of organizational and industry relationships. The purpose of these networks is to bring together men and women from around the world to review the new data affecting our science, strive to reach consensus, and develop campaigns that the media can sell and thereby improve society. Our systems of study are complex and thus necessitate an integrative scientific agenda; we often work at the boundary among disciplines. Ten years ago, I remember listening to professionals talk about tracing cause and effect relationships from the farm to the plate. Today we are thinking from the field to the feces and we recognize a more significant impact of food on health. I believe that this is one of the most significant issues facing industry today.

QUESTIONS?