Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences DIGEST 2022 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREPARING OUR FUTURE LEADERS
2 Letter from Department Head
Students are our future. At FBNS we strive to do all that we can to support, encourage, and train them to be leaders — guiding them to take leadership roles in departmental activities, clubs and professional societies in addition to providing stimulating engagement in research activities and internships. In this issue, we feature a few undergraduate students in food science, bioprocessing science, and nutrition science, and graduate students in food science and nutrition.
4 Embracing Big Questions Through a Multidisciplinary Lens 7 The Next-Best to Fresh 10 Finding Community and Connections in Food Science 11 Family Bond Drives Passion for Nutrition 12 Opportunity Abounds for Bioprocessing Major 13 Alumni Profile: Mandy Taylor 14 Alumni Profile: Natalie Cooke 15 Contamination Detective 15 Could Plasma Be a Sustainable Solution for Sanitation? 16 Seed Funding for NC State Startup TreeCo 17 Nutrition Faculty Receive Gertrude Cox Award 17 The Science of Making Good Beer 18 The Next Generation of Beer Experts 18 Creating a Favorable Gut Environment 18 FBNS in the News 19 Department Notes Faculty/Staff Hires, Retirements, Awards 20 Student Awards and Honors
23 Recruitment Activities
UPCOMING EVENTS
2023 Awards Banquet Spring Commencement Faculty and Staff Retreat FNBS Breakfast at Annual IFT Meeting Learn more at fbns.ncsu.edu 2
Recruitment efforts have been boosted and streamlined. As our students are in high demand, we continue to enhance our curriculum and student opportunities. An undergraduate minor in Brewing Science and Technology was created and the graduate-level Food Safety minor was revamped. The construction of a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) pilot plant has been completed for both our students and industry partners to utilize. An online Professional Science Masters program in Food Science is being developed for our industry and alumni partners. And, a research program will be launched that focuses on sustainability in various aspects of food production, bioprocessing operations, and meeting the nutritional needs of our society. The strengthening of our industry and alumni connections continues to be a priority. We hosted our first FBNS Extension Day and Alumni Octoberfest this semester and plan to host the first FBNS Research Day and Alumni Springfest next semester. I invite our industry and alumni partners to join our Industry Partners Advisory Council (IPAC) and also help establish new student scholarships and develop a student-alumni mentoring program. Your leadership, support, and active engagement is essential to the success of our program.
22 FBNS Scholarship Award Winners
2022 Fall Commencement
Our students, staff, and faculty are located at four places -- the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology in Morehead City; the Plants for Human Health Institute at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis; the Howling Cow Dairy Education Center and Creamery in Raleigh; and Schaub Hall on the main campus of NC State in Raleigh. Enhancing collaborations between these locations has become a mission of the department. This year, the annual departmental retreat was held at Kannapolis, and it will be held at Morehead City in 2023.
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I am very thankful for the continued support, commitment, and leadership of our wonderful faculty, staff, emeritus faculty, retirees, students, alumni, and industry partners and look forward to working with our FBNS family to move this department forward and better prepare our students — our future leaders — for the workforce.
July 16 K.P. Sandeep Department Head
CONGRATULATIONS, GRADUATES!
FBNS Fall 2021 Graduates
FBNS Spring 2022 Graduates
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Grad Student Profile
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EMBRACING BIG QUESTIONS THROUGH A MULTIDISCIPLINARY LENS FBNS Grad Student Finds Connections and Purpose with Plasma Research By Juliana Proffitt McCully
Wen Rivero (they/them) came to NC State with a chemical engineering degree, some farm experience, and the desire to work on big questions in food science but wasn’t sure how it would all come together. There was a missed opportunity in packaging and an internship with an extrusion company before “the stars aligned” around the arrival of Food Engineering assistant professor Deepti Salvi’s cold plasma food preservation project. Rivero, who will finish a PhD in Food Science in December, had no experience in plasma and says the project required all the skills built in engineering, agriculture, extrusion and bench work. It also earned them first place in the annual Envisioning Research contest for their video, “Plasma, the Future of Food Safety.” Rivero says it’s the culmination of a personal journey that rekindled joy for engineering, shaped their career goals, and bridged interests in data analysis and food science. The competitions also underscore a sense of satisfaction in the work. “There’s a lot of these competitions going on throughout the year, and that’s something I’ve really appreciated about NC State, especially that the competitions are paid – it makes me feel appreciated and like someone outside my little plasma group sees value in my work.”
The Farm Connection
know what to do with it,” Rivero says. “So, I ended up working for a research farm at my university and was lucky to have a supervisor whose way of killing time was to quiz me about how we could make shelf-stable products from whatever crop came to mind. “It was through these talks while harvesting that I realized there was a purpose for my chemical engineering degree in food production. However, I still didn’t know how to connect those things and how to get myself a job in the food industry.”
NC Meant to Be “NC State is one of the very few places in the country where engineers can join the food science department, so it made a really good fit for me,” Rivero says. They were originally interested in packaging, “but a lot of things happened so that I wasn’t able to connect with someone who was doing research and packaging. In fact, when I first came to FBNS, I wasn’t a thesis master student – I was just taking classes and looking into an internship to move on from there.” During an internship with an extrusion company in 2018, Rivero realized they enjoyed analyzing data for insights and big-picture ideas for improving operations. “I think that’s when the switch happened for me, being more interested in research itself,” Rivero says.
Rivero was an undergraduate majoring in chemical engineering at Montana State University in Bozeman when the college town saw “a bit of a renaissance of the local foods movement.” Rivero became interested in how to grow food, where food came from, and how foods could be preserved longer.
“Then, somehow, the stars aligned that when I came back from my internship, Dr. Salvi was hired at NC State, and she had a project where she needed somebody who had an engineering degree, knew how to grow plants, and how to grow plants for engineering purposes. The interesting twist of it, the skill that I didn’t have, is that we would work with plasma.
“I had this interest that I could see I was spending most of my time researching outside of class, and I also had this degree and didn’t
“I was meant to meet Dr. Salvi.”
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On Plasma and Agriculture Rivero wanted big questions and got them, beginning with a grant the lab received to focus on increasing the safety of fresh produce. The research also hopes to increase farm productivity, reduce the risk of losing a crop, and reduce environmental impacts in agriculture. That might mean focusing on “killer microorganisms” or pathogens in water, Rivero says, adding that it’s especially important in hydroponics, where there’s no soil and plants are uniquely sensitive to whatever happens in the water. “If we have a pathogen in the water, it’s likely going to contaminate the whole thing.” Plasma is the fourth state of matter, and there are two types of plasma for engineering purposes, Rivero says. “For certain applications, we know what it does, but using cold plasma in the food industry is very complex and with many
variables, so I spent a lot of time using different equipment to treat air, water and finally, produce.” So far, tomatoes, peppers, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and basil respond well to the use of plasma, which would allow farmers to grow year-round and make a little more money than compared to limited rotations or seasons in traditional agriculture.
The Big Picture “What we’ve been doing has been a benchtop situation,” Rivero says. “But the results we’re getting in the lab bring really interesting possibilities for bringing it to scale. “If this comes to market and scale-up occurs in a successful way, we could design equipment and bring technologies that could save hundreds of thousands of liters of water in terms of treatment, disposal and cost. It could be transformational for the industry.”
Rivero hopes to leave high-quality, reliable and consistent research that other people can build upon: “I take a lot of pride in how I conduct research in a way that is easily accessible for multiple fields. Because it isn’t just food science working on this, it’s a multidisciplinary situation.” Rivero also points to the Food Science Club as a pivotal campus experience. “One of the best things I’ve done outside of research, and it was really formative, was participating in Dairy Bar, the biggest yearly fundraiser for our Food Science Club. “It was useful for me in a technical sense, so far as job skills, but as a person, it gave me a huge sense of purpose. The money from that fundraiser supports the weekly meals that we have together, and I really appreciated that little community moment. It also supports scholarships, even the scholarships that I have been awarded, so that felt like a huge honor to contribute to that and give back.”
What’s Next? Rivero hopes to pivot the NC State experience to a career in continuous improvement or process engineering.
“NC State is one of the very few places in the country where engineers can join the food science department, so it made a really good fit for me.”
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“I did a lot of research on plasma, but I also got a lot of transferable skills, such as project management, quality validation, safety validation, and understanding regulations. In 10 years, it would be amazing if I could get to the level of a plant manager, and the food industry is a long-term goal. “I’m very intentional about continuing with engineering, because it’s where I get most of my joy.”
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Grad Student Profile
THE NEXT-BEST TO FRESH Blueberry research embraces processing to deliver phytochemical punch in model study for human health By Juliana Proffitt McCully
When Monique Carvalho Templeton thinks of “processed food,” she isn’t talking about junk with a chemical-laden label, but an optimized way to deliver the health benefits of anti-inflammatory phytochemicals to populations that face fresh-food barriers. Carvalho Templeton recently completed a PhD in nutrition science at the Plants for Human Health Institute, where her doctoral research centered on a pilot study at the intersection of health and access. It’s increasingly clear, she says, that eating fruits and vegetables can be protective against inflammation and chronic diseases such cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
“If the population doesn’t consume a diverse diet, either because they don’t have access by location or cost, or because they don’t like the taste, they really need other ways of supplementing daily needs for vitamins and minerals, because that’s what we really need for our body to work in a functional way and to avoid diseases.”
“Research has shown great benefits coming from compounds such as phytonutrients, including flavonoids, which come in very high amounts in blueberries,” Carvalho Templeton says. “If the population doesn’t consume a diverse diet, either because they don’t have access by location or cost, or because they don’t like the taste, they really need other ways of consuming phytonutrients and supplementing daily needs for vitamins and minerals, because that’s what is essential for our body to work in a functional way and to avoid diseases.” The BAM Study enrolled participants to learn more about how the body absorbs polyphenols in fresh blueberries compared to a minimally processed blueberry protein bar. The focus was to build a model for studying how phytochemicals in fruits are used and eliminated by the body.
What is “Processed”? Processed means a food is taken in its whole form and changed in some way. Maybe it’s flash-frozen, portioned or packaged for convenience, or maybe other ingredients have been added to create a different food. Cooking from scratch is one way to process food, while microwaveable foods are pre-processed for consumption, for example.
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Processed food can be less healthy than consuming whole foods, but Carvalho Templeton’s work looks to see how minimal processing could offer an alternative to fresh that’s tasty, convenient and preserved to make nutritionally beneficial foods more readily available, and to see if Americans in general can consume more of the daily recommendation of fruits and vegetables. Fresh is still best, Carvalho Templeton says, but there’s evidence a minimally processed blueberry protein bar offers a similar benefit of bioavailable polyphenols. More research is needed to evaluate processing methods, but she is encouraged this could be a way to get nutritious foods to people who need them most. It also paves the way to study other gaps in nutrition, such as iron deficiency in women. “I’ve always loved how our body is so amazingly designed to work and metabolize the food we eat to provide us with energy and to protect our body from foreign organisms.” Carvalho Templeton completed a master’s degree at the University of Campinas, Brazil, in 2018, and developed a method to control ascorbic acid via near-infrared spectroscopy and analyzing the bio-accessibility of iron and zinc in powdered soft drinks. “That’s where my interest arose,” she says. “Once I started reading, it morphed more in depth to how our body metabolizes what we eat and how we can supply some deficiencies and preventative care for life.” But it was the phytochemicals that really piqued her interest and brought her to NC State. When she began searching for Ph.D. opportunities to study specific chemical compounds and their potential health benefits, she emailed professors around the world. “This issue alone, there’s just little research on it, and a lot more should be done,” Carvalho Templeton says. “So when (professor and advisor) Colin Kay replied and presented the
(BAM) project, I just loved it! At the time, I was just doing some in-vitro assays for bioaccessibility, so the opportunity to work with people and look into the bioavailability of phytochemicals really caught my attention.” Carvalho Templeton says the experience was “even better than I expected, especially the clinical aspect of the project.” She also appreciated the diversity of tasks involved, including opportunities in the lab, computer work, writing, publications and face-to-face interaction with participants. Carvalho Templeton finished her doctoral work in August and will graduate in December, but she has already begun a career informed by her NC State experience when she joined a Richmond-based pharmaceutical group at the nexus of health and research, helping others to do the kind of work she did with blueberries. “They are in the pharmaceutical field, but they perform a lot of assays that I was doing through my Ph.D., validating ways of quantifying compounds in blood or urine,” she says. “I loved the idea of moving forward into more laboratory practices, more analytical practices like this. They support health improvement and wellness, which is something that I’m passionate about.” Carvalho Templeton sees her work as a path to future pharmaceuticals and more, everything from precision nutrition to development of food products that are optimized for the nutrients and phytonutrients that they contain and can be well-absorbed by the body. “They have shown some ways of decreasing biomarkers from health conditions, such as cancer, and the development of a functional food would be a game changer,” she says. “I can see a vast area that’s supercorrelated with nutrition and pharmaceuticals – a lot of what I do is collaborate with researchers in all different fields, and we would really need to work together to achieve goals like that, but there is a lot more research to be done.”
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FINDING COMMUNITY AND CONNECTIONS IN FOOD SCIENCE Student Profile: Rayce Ely, Food Science Major By Alice Manning Touchette New Jersey native Rayce Ely knew she wanted to study food science, but didn’t have many local options. She flew south to tour NC State and “fell in love with the programs and the weather.”
also has great exposure to the industry. Large companies come to talk to us and give us internship and job opportunities. The club is a really great way to expand my connections and networking.”
Now in her second year, Ely considers the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Science (FBNS) her second home. Coming from another state was an adjustment, but a great set of suitemates her freshman year coupled with the small classes in FBNS helped ease her transition.
Ely has found her academic groove working in Professor MaryAnne Drake’s lab. In just two semesters, she has experienced three different roles including work in sensory analysis, flavor chemistry, and at the pilot plant.
“The food science community is very small. I know every single person in my class,” she says. “I'm also very active in the Food Science Club because it's just such a tight-knit community.” As outreach chair for the club, Ely and her friends introduce food science as a major to high schoolers and elementary students, as well as the community in general. “I feel like no one really knows [food science] exists until you find it. So it’s cool to give youth an opportunity to understand that it's an option as a major and a career,” Ely says. “The Food Science Club 10 4
“Right now, I'm torn between sensory analysis and product development/ flavor chemistry,” says Ely. “There are a lot of classes meant to expand our knowledge on every topic of food science. I feel like whatever I get into, there’s always a job market for it because our set of skills is so broad.” Ely is excited to start taking classes in the brewing minor next semester and see where her interests take her. “I came to NC State and I hit the ground running. I feel like every professor knows my name,” she says. “I didn't think I’d have this many connections in the department so early on in my career.”
FAMILY BOND DRIVES PASSION FOR NUTRITION Student Profile: Drew Chavis, Nutrition Science Major By Alice Manning Touchette Drew Chavis was 11 years old when her cousin Lizzy, also 11, was diagnosed with diabetes. The diagnosis was a shock for Chavis, but it sparked what would one day be her passion at NC State.
“I fell in love with nutrition science during Dr. Cooke's class. I was able to make sense of everything that I grew up around and learn about diabetes,” explains Chavis. “I know this is 100% what I want to do. It's everything that I want to be when I grow up.”
“Even though I was super young at the time, I remember it being such a big change for her. Lizzie, who also has Downs Syndrome, had to change her entire lifestyle and routine. She had to basically relearn how to take care of herself, how to find her blood sugar and regulate her insulin,” says Chavis. “So I just kind of grew up around that and I knew I wanted to help families kind of like my own.”
Chavis, who is from Lumberton, North Carolina, is working towards her degree in nutrition science with a goal to become a registered dietitian and nutritionist.
Chavis came to NC State knowing that she had an interest in nutrition but wasn’t quite sure how to focus that into a degree and career path. Professor Natalie Cooke’s Nutrition 301 class would give her the push she needed during her freshman year.
“The program is very personalized. I’ve taken electives within my major that have really catered to my interests,” she says. “I took the child and adolescent nutrition class and that was maybe one of my favorite classes that I've taken here at NC State.” Now a senior, Chavis is considering graduate school for her next step. Her ultimate goal: “I want to work with families of kids with diabetes or those with special needs.”
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OPPORTUNITY ABOUNDS FOR BIOPROCESSING MAJOR Student Profile: Caidin Biggers, Bioprocessing Major By Alice Manning Touchette The summer following his junior year as a bioprocessing major, Caidin Biggers walked in the early mornings through the streets of Barcelona, Spain. His destination: Biochemize SL, where he would spend two months researching medical compounds derived from industrial waste products in agricultural production. “It was awesome. I learned about the circular economy aspect of their business,” explains Biggers. “It’s more sustainable and economically efficient to derive medical compounds from waste that is already produced.” His internship exposed him to many aspects of the business: market research on chemical business firms, research on enzymatic recovery processes, contacting industrial suppliers to secure deals for optimal prices, and more. “It was a small company, so I got to wear a lot of hats.” Biggers’ study abroad experience is one of many opportunities he’s taken advantage of while earning his degree in the department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences. “The biotech facility has industry equipment that can really give you a jump start into the bioprocessing industry. And the RTP area is highly competitive and is really looking for students graduating from North Carolina State. Our clubs in the department act like a pipeline recommending students for jobs and internships at biotech companies,” he says. “There are just a lot of opportunities and we’re all introduced to the professional world in the major and NC State has amazing facilities that teach us hands-on operations.” While Biggers hasn’t quite decided what he’ll venture into after graduation, he knows he’s well-prepared for the field. He is also earning a minor in biotechnology and a minor in biology. “What I do and where I go next really depends on what jobs are open in the field,” he says. “This has been an awesome experience because of the broad amount of things that I have been able to try and see within the industry. I hope that I’ll be able to develop technologies, able to produce new medicines and help heal people.” 12
Alumni Spotlight
PRODUCT AND PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT HAS SWEET REWARD Alumni Profile: Mandy Taylor By Alice Manning Touchette In her late 20s, alumna Mandy Taylor was decked out in safety gear overseeing a cookie development trial at one of her first employers after graduating with her Master of Science in Food Science from NC State. Working to optimize the food product and cost savings, she invited her father to the midnight factory trial so he could get a taste of what her work was like. “He was standing right next to me and wearing the same outfit, but people not knowing me well yet kept deferring to him for questions,” she recalls with a laugh. “I was like, ‘He knows nothing about these cookies, he’s not going to be helpful to you at all. Look at me!” Taylor—who has since carved out a successful career in food science and is currently the research and development early talent manager for Mars Wrigley—is certainly no stranger to the quirks of being a woman in science, and has made it her mission to help other budding food scientists find their way. The first in her family to attend college and graduate school, Taylor was inspired to pursue science by a high school chemistry teacher, a woman scientist. “She would host study sessions at her house, and she worked hard to help other women along in that STEM space, which I thought did not come naturally to me,” Taylor recalls. The work paid off. After receiving her B.S. in food science at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, Taylor learned “an experiment you can eat is better than one that you can’t,” and became interested in food product development. She crossed the country for her graduate work at NC State, where she began working with Professor Allen Foegeding, now William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor Emeritus.
“I was working in his lab on a project for caramel, so going there, diving in, getting my hands literally dirty [and] sticky was a great way to explore product development,” Taylor says. “In that lab was where I found my home. Paige Luck, who managed the lab at the time for Dr. Foegeding, really mentored and fostered my curiosity around experiment design. She really was a role model. And, I met two of my very best friends that are still my very best friends today. They became and remain my chosen family.” Following her graduate degree, she worked for a diverse group of companies—Schwan’s Bakery, Sara Lee and Mars Wrigley Confectionary—to bridge the gap between research and development and the factory, and she worked to commercialize a lot of products, including new flavors of FIVE branded gum for the European market. “I got to run a lot of trials, always at the very weirdest time of the night. It was an opportunity for me to see things come to life,” Taylor explains. Soon she found a calling beyond product development. “It became evident that the people-piece was where I got my energy, and I really wanted to be a subject matter expert to help mentor young talent in the food science field,” says Taylor. She now manages new talent coming into Mars Wrigley and helps pair them with associates and mentors. “My job is really making sure that people that want to learn and grow can do so,” Taylor says. “Once you start doing something you love and you have that support from others in the field, it’s a completely different and amazing experience.” Taylor credits NC State with giving her the confidence and support she needed to forge her career. “NC State played such a huge role in who I have become,” says Taylor. “I want to give a huge shout-out to Paige Luck for mentoring me, and to my fellow food scientist Jessica Somerton. It's been amazing to know others who have food science careers and work alongside them.” 713
Alumni Spotlight
ASPIRATION MEETS MENTORSHIP IN NUTRITION SCIENCE Nutrition Science Alumna Finds Fulfillment in Instructional Design and Mentoring Undergraduates By Alice Manning Touchette Once alumna Natalie Cooke made it to the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences (FBNS), she never left. Like many freshmen at NC State, she came in with some idea of what she wanted to do—she tried internships in dentistry, nursing, and clinical lab work—but nothing felt quite right until she fell in with the Nutrition Science program. “I was a biochemistry major on a Park Scholarship and I knew I wanted to do something related to healthcare, so I started taking classes, became interested in genetics, and then nutrition,” Cooke says. A fateful conversation with Sarah Ash, now a Professor Emerita, helped steer her in the right direction. “I sat down with Sarah and explained what I was doing in my biochem classes and how I might want to pair them with nutrition, and she really helped me figure out what to do and how I could fit in a double major to include nutrition,” Cooke says. Cooke went on to work with Professor Suzie Goodell on a pilot community nutrition course delivered in collaboration with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, and she found her calling. “I started working in Suzie's research lab, we piloted the cooking classes over the summer and we implemented that service-learning experience in the community nutrition class that fall of my senior year,” she recalls. Designing this course laid the groundwork for what would become a passionate career in instructional design and helping undergraduates find their own paths. As a graduate student in the department, Cooke helped to design and teach the community nutrition class with Goodell. “We went through an iterative process of continuing to improve that course and did some scholarship of teaching and learning projects,” 14
Cooke explains. “The process with curriculum development and that kind of research was something I knew I wanted to explore in the future.” She credits the department and faculty with providing her with the mentorship she needed to apply for a postdoc position that led to her now full-time faculty position in FBNS. “I set foot on campus in 2006 as a freshman and I never left,” laughs Cooke, who is now an assistant professor and director of undergraduate programs for Nutrition Science. “I love mentoring. It's a big part of what I do, talking with undergraduates who are trying out a new experience and figuring out if this is something they want to do in a future career,” Cooke says. “My work is also related to academic advising of students and figuring out what are those next steps? What experiences do they need to gain in order to get that dream job or get into that dream graduate program? A lot of that has ended up being incorporated into this newer required course within our major.” The Nutrition Research, Communication and Careers course— designed by Cooke—helps students understand the different career paths they can take in nutrition. It also introduces students to nutrition research methods and scientific writing early in their program, preparing them for upper-level classes. The most rewarding part of her career is becoming part of the department that helped her define her career. “In FBNS, we're of the mindset that we went into this because we enjoy teaching and helping students to be better positioned for whatever that next step is going to be for them,” Cooke says. “I had the opportunity to grow as a student in this program, and now I’m able to give back what those professors gave to me. I think this is a unique position to be in and I’m just grateful for our department and the environment that created that collaboration, creativity, and process of continual improvement of our courses and our students.”
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CONTAMINATION DETECTIVE A passion for cooking sparked Riya Magiya’s interests in nutrition and food safety. The FBNS graduate student is pursuing a master’s degree in food science and a minor in food safety. “I’ve always been interested in understanding sanitation and allergens,” Magiya says. “I went into culinary, loved it, but wanted the scientific part and to understand the overall importance of food safety.” After her first year in the non-thesis program, Magiya met department head K.P. Sandeep who introduced her to Lynette Johnston, an assistant professor and food safety Extension specialist. Johnston left such an impression on Magiya that she switched to the thesis M.S. program. Magiya’s thesis work focuses on developing an environmental monitoring program and sanitation training curriculum for smallto medium-sized food processors. The detective side of food safety inspections and audits gets Magiya excited about her work. When she graduates in the fall of 2022, she will head to Boston to work as a quality assurance compliance specialist for Chew, a food and beverage innovation consulting company. go.ncsu.edu/fbns-contamination
COULD PLASMA BE A SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION FOR SANITATION? Imagine never having to worry about washing your produce before you eat it. Both the package and the produce would already be sanitized, and you could feel confident it’s safe and clean to consume. That’s the goal of FBNS assistant professor Deepti Salvi. As a food engineer interested in food processing techniques, Salvi is researching methods that do not involve heat, including cold plasma. Considered one of the newest food processing technologies, Salvi uses cold plasma to sanitize food and surfaces. Using plasma instead of conventional sanitizing solutions shows promise in reducing the chance of harmful contamination while increasing sustainability and convenience for the consumer. go.ncsu.edu/fbns-plasma
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SEED FUNDING SPEEDS GROWTH FOR NC STATE STARTUP TREECO
The world’s largest collection of gene-edited wood presumably lives on NC State’s Centennial Campus. Stacked on shelves in the Forest Biotech Group’s lab, these bundles of sticks sit close to the incubation freezers that contain the tree stem cells they started as. Across the hall is Rodolphe Barrangou’s CRISPR Lab — where some of the most cutting-edge CRISPR research with food and nutrition applications is being done. TreeCo — a startup founded by Jack Wang, director of the Forest Biotech Group and an assistant professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, and Barrangou, the Todd R. Klaenhammer Distinguished Professor of Food, Bioprocessing and
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Nutrition Sciences — performs much of its research in those two labs and a few nearby greenhouses. “We focus on combining tree-genetic insights with the power of genome editing to breed healthier forests and a more sustainable future,” Wang says. Thanks to support from the Chancellor’s Innovation Fund (CIF), TreeCo has grown quickly. Using CRISPR to edit select genes, TreeCo can create cultivars that can cut the growing cycle to as little as 12 months. Using DNAfree CRISPR technology means that the trees produced are natural and not considered genetically modified organisms (GMOs). go.ncsu.edu/fbns-treeco
NUTRITION FACULTY RECEIVE GERTRUDE COX AWARD In spring 2022, FBNS associate professor Suzie Goodell and assistant professor Natalie Cooke were awarded the Gertrude Cox Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching and Learning with Technology. The award honors NC State’s faculty and their work in integrating new technologies into effective teaching strategies. Goodell and Cooke were recipients of grants from DELTA that they used to improve students’ self-efficacy in working with diverse populations. With their first grant in 2015, Goodell and Cooke incorporated 360° videos and virtual reality (VR) case studies in a Community Nutrition servicelearning course. In 2018, Cooke was awarded a grant to adapt the pre-service-learning training portion of the course from face-to-face to a hybrid flipped model. Cooke and Goodell were extremely appreciative of DELTA’s collaboration and support. Goodell says, “...because we had that partnership with DELTA, we were able to do infinitely more things to support our students and what they’ll do in the future.” go.ncsu.edu/fbns-cox-award
A HOW-TO MANUAL ON THE SCIENCE OF MAKING GOOD BEER People have been making beer for thousands of years, and we have amassed tremendous knowledge on how to do it well. Over time, the art of brewing has evolved into a science that encompasses chemistry, microbiology and familiarity with various pieces of equipment that most people have no experience with. When John Sheppard, a professor of bioprocessing science, started teaching an Introduction to Brewing Science course a few years ago, he realized that the book he wanted his students to use as a reference wasn’t available. So he decided he’d have to make it himself. The result is “Introduction to Brewing and Fermentation Science: Essential Knowledge for Those Dedicated to Brewing Better Beer” (World Scientific, 2021). Sheppard edited the volume and wrote the introduction, as well as authoring or co-authoring five of the eight chapters. go.ncsu.edu/fbns-beer-manual
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BREWING THE NEXT GENERATION OF BEER EXPERTS With more than 380 breweries and brewpubs, North Carolina’s brewing industry is booming. And NC State and FBNS are supporting this growth by expanding its brewing education through a new brewing science and technology minor. Sebastian Wolfrum, lecturer for the minor and manager of the Wolfpack Brewing Lab, brings years of international experience to train the next generation of brewmasters while fostering meaningful collaborations with NC breweries.
MaryAnne Drake was a judge at the 2022 World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, Wisconsin, where she and 52 other international experts evaluated 2,919 dairy product entries, selecting the best in each class and the 2022 World Champion. go.ncsu.edu/fbns-cheese-contest Howling Cow Dairy Education Center and Creamery was featured on ABC 11 as a part of their “LOCALISH” video segment that included Carl Hollifield, Devan Pendry and Courtney Lundin. go.ncsu.edu/fbns-abc-11
With the industry rapidly growing, Wolfrum says there will be an increased need for people who can manage industrial-sized operations and trained scientists who understand the science behind making tasty beer. go.ncsu.edu/fbns-brew-ed
Pablo Coronel and co-editors Jairus R. David, IFT Fellow and Josip Simunovic, IFT Fellow, published “Handbook on Aseptic Processing & Packaging — 3rd Edition.” Keith Harris was interviewed for a story on WRAL about titanium dioxide in Skittles candy. go.ncsu.edu/fbns-skittles
CREATING A FAVORABLE GUT ENVIRONMENT New research from North Carolina State University reveals that probiotic Lactobacillus bacteria use enzymes situationally to manipulate bile acids and promote their survival in the gut. These findings further elucidate the complicated relationship between bile acids and gut bacteria and could eventually enable researchers to design lactobacilli with therapeutic properties, thereby engineering a healthier human gut environment. The work appeared in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grant P30 DK034987) and DuPont Nutrition and Health. Authors: Matthew H. Foley, Sarah O’Flaherty, Garrison Allen, Alissa J. Rivera, Allison K. Stewart, Rodolphe Barrangou, Casey M. Theriot, North Carolina State University. go.ncsu.edu/fbns-gut-environment 18
FBNS In The News
Pam Van Emden was featured in NC State's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences “Essentially CALS” series for her work supporting Feed the Pack. go.ncsu.edu/pam-van-emden Catherine Hill, a doctoral student in the Cooke lab, was featured in the "Back to School Snacks and Lunch Hacks" episode of the NC State Extension “Homegrown” web series. go.ncsu.edu/fbns-homegrown NC State’s Technician highlighted the FBNS brewing science and technology minor, including interviews with John Sheppard and Sebastian Wolfrum. go.ncsu.edu/fbns-technician
New Hires
Faculty and Staff Awards and Honors
Kathleen Nicholas — Extension Associate (Dec. 31, 2021) Emily Grace Long — Research Technician (March 22, 2022) Margaret Ann Peterson — Research Technician (May 31, 2022) Kristine Jones-Willett — Extension Associate (June 22, 2022) Michele Smoot — Food Service Supervisor (Aug. 17, 2022) Casey Landis — Research Technician (Sept. 6, 2022) Julia Anne Bernard — Research Technician (Oct. 10, 2022)
Marvin Moncada: Trio of Triangle scientists from Cosmic Eats, win NASA Deep Space Food Challenge go.ncsu.edu/deep-space-food-challenge
Retirements Rosemary Sanozky-Dawes, a research associate in the Barrangou lab, retired on July 1, 2022 after more than 20 years at NC State.
Bereavements Mark Armagost (Dec. 11, 2021). Armagost earned bachelor's and master's degrees from NC State and was employed in FBNS from the late 1980s to the 1990s.
Visiting Research Scholars Jorge Gut, professor in food engineering from University of Sao Paolo in Brazil, worked with Simunovic and Salvi during his sixmonth stay at NC State. The Harris Lab welcomes visiting scientist Valentina Osorio Perez from Colombia. Perez is a food engineer and certified coffee Q-grader. She works for the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia in Cenicafe, the research branch of the organization.
Conference of Food Engineering (CoFE) FBNS hosted CoFE at the StateView Hotel from Sept. 18-21. Nearly 200 people from 21 countries spanning academia, industry, and government agencies attended the conference.
FBNS Extension Day and Alumni Octoberfest FBNS hosted the first ever FBNS Extension Day and Alumni Octoberfest on Oct. 28. Nearly 70 people attended the event. A tour of our facilities and an information session for our stakeholders was followed by a social for our alumni.
Colin Kay (PHHI) was a part of the team that was recently awarded a $20 million 5-year National Institutes of Health (NIH) Metabolomics and Clinical Assays Center (MCAC) award as part of the NIH Nutrition for Precision Health (NPH) initiative, within the NIH’s" All of Us" Research Program. go.ncsu.edu/colin-kay Nicola Singletary won the Outstanding Poster Award at the Office for Faculty Excellence’s 2022 Teaching and Learning Symposium. MaryAnne Drake is the 2022 winner and 35th recipient of the ADPI's award of merit. This award is bestowed annually by the Institute upon individuals who have made a lasting contribution to the American dairy products industry. Pam Van Emden and Morgan Hembarsky were elected to serve as staff senators representing District 11-CALS on campus for the 2022-2024 term. University Human Resources honored six employees for reaching milestone years of service: Jonathan Baros: 10 years Rosemary Sanozky-Dawes: 15 years Juliebeth Briseno: 20 years Lorie Beale: 10 years Howard Johnson: 20 years Dona Miller: 10 years Haotian Zheng was elected as secretary for the Dairy Foods Division Council at American Dairy Science Association during the ADSA annual meeting in June 2022. Suzanne Johanningsmeier, USDA-ARS research food technologist and USDA associate professor in food science, was recognized with the 2021-22 Outstanding Volunteer Award by the Institute of Food Technologists Food Chemistry Division. Fernanda Santos received funding from the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund in partnership with Brazil's SENAI (National Service for Industrial Training). The project, "Training Young Minds to Expand Scientific and Regulatory Food Safety Capacity Between Brazil and the US," aims to expose US and Brazilian students to safety practices used in the food industry and share knowledge between the two countries. The NC State team includes Fernanda Santos, Lynette Johnston and Clint Stevenson. 19
Clint Stevenson presented at the Fennema Series: Creating the Next Generation of Food Science Educators and Extension Professionals during the IFT meeting in Chicago in July 2022. The multi-state project “NC-1023: Engineering for Food Safety and Quality” received the 2021 NIFA Partnership Award for the multiinstitutional online seminar course offered in Spring 2021. Efforts led by University of Maryland and University of California at Davis consisted of 15 universities including NC State University. Deepti Salvi was involved in planning, coordinating, and executing a course that provided 20 NC State students an opportunity to learn from leading experts.
Deepti Salvi
Association student training and education program, Smithfield Foods INTEGRATE. Urvi Shah and Manveen Kaur Ahuja from Deepti Salvi's lab received an honorable mention for their video at The New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology (NZIFST) -- Rose Spiess Video Competition on Sustainable Food System. Super Plasma: Food Protection and Production. Morgan Weinberg has been accepted into the 2022 PMCA, Professional Manufacturing Confectioners Association, Outreach Program. Heather Keefer received the 2021 Institute for Perception Sensory Science award. The award is given to a graduate student who demonstrates excellence in sensory science research. Rebekah Brown, Ph.D. student, has been selected for the 2022 student cohort in the AgBioFEWS fellowship program. NSF sponsors the two-year fellowship through the NC State Genetic Engineering and Society Center. Yijing Shao, Usman Amin and Evelyn Lin were selected as finalists for graduate student competitions (oral and poster) at the American Dairy Science Association annual meeting at Kansas City, Missouri, in June 2022. Lin won the 1st place in the oral competition. Urvi Shah from Deepti Salvi's lab was selected as a CALS graduate peer mentor for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Student Awards and Honors Chris Dunham (FBNS, '12) was named director of operations for Wolfpack One Card Office. go.ncsu.edu/fbns-dunham Will Leatherwood was promoted to dairy farm manager of the NC State Dairy Farm. Leatherwood, a long-time dairy farm team member, received his bachelor's and master's degrees from NC State's Department of Animal Science. Wen Rivero and Manveen Ahuja were named finalists in The Graduate School’s Three Minute Thesis competition. go.ncsu.edu/fbns-three-minute-thesis Manveen Kaur Ahuja from Deepti Salvi’s lab was selected as a scholarship recipient to attend the 2021 American Meat Science 20
Urvi Shah and Sudarshan Medagam from Deepti Salvi's lab won first place in the Think Tank competition of IFT Nonthermal Processing Division. They pitched their solutions to an industry challenge from the industry experts. Sudarshan Medagam from Deepti Salvi’s lab is a Ruby Newhall scholarship recipient for the 2022-23 academic year. The scholarship recognizes international students studying in the U.S. and Canada. Paul You, Marvin Moncada's doctoral student, traveled to Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovakia, in May 2022 to conduct research experiments as part of an ongoing collaborative project to produce bioactive-rich tinctures from white button mushrooms with potential use in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
Evelyn Lin (M.S. student) from Zheng lab won second place in the Food Chemistry Division Graduate Student Competition, at the 2022 IFT FIRST Annual Event and Expo. Yijing Shao (Ph.D. student) from Zheng lab won second place in the Dairy Foods Division Graduate Student Competition at the 2022 IFT FIRST Annual Event and Expo. Wen Rivero won first place in the 2022 Envisioning Research, Graduate Students and Postdocs category, for “Plasma, the Future of Food Safety.” Wen Rivero won fourth place in the 2022 Texture Technologies' University Video Competition for "How crunchy is my leaf?" Wen Rivero was awarded a scholarship to attend the 2022 American Meat Science Association (AMSA) student training and education program (Tyson Beyond Fresh Meats (BFM) Short Course) at Tyson's Chicago R&D facilities in March 2022. Wen Rivero received the 2022 Chancellor's Creating Community Award for Outstanding Student at the 16th Annual Recognizing Excellence in Diversity (RED) event. Wen Rivero from Deepti Salvi’s lab was selected as a semifinalist for the Leader of the Pack 2021 award.
First Annual FBNS Alumni Octoberfest at Schaub Hall lawn
FBNS Awards Banquet 2022 21
FBNS Scholarship Award Winners Benjamin P. Forbes Scholarship Molly Bennett Benjamin W. Kilgore Food Science Scholarship Rayce Ely, Olivia Walker, Catherine Megliano, Mattie Byrd Burton M. Newell Award Ray Baek Cristie Abigail "Abbi" Fleming Dairy Science Scholarship Melanie Bacon Dr. Frank and Rachel Kirby Thomas Food Science and Family Consumer Sciences Scholarship Tiffany Williams, Ray Baek, Charis Harcum, Rayce Ely, Mariam Bayeh Dr. Isadore and Cynthia Peppe Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences Scholarship Molly Bennett, Danielle Shawver Dr. Peggy Foegeding Memorial Food Science Scholarship Yueyue Jiang Dr. Wanida Lewis Food Science Fellowship Award Endowment Emilize Momplaisir Duong, Green and Gharst Food Science Leadership Award Endowment Wen Rivero Eakes-Turner Food Science Scholarship Dachauna Johnson Ellen Swallow Richards Endowed Nutrition Scholarship Allie Zucker Food Science Club Endowment Wen Rivero, Rayce Ely Food Science Club Active Member Scholarship Alyssa Phan, Mollie Ruinsky, Ray Baek Rayce Ely 22
Food Science Club Professional Development Scholarship Wen Rivero, Nividha Bhandari
Neil and Nancy Webb Memorial Food Science Scholarship Tara Esmalian
Food Science Club Travel Scholarship Wen Rivero, Bhavana Uppili
North Carolina Meat Processors Association Scholarship in Memory of John W. Long JeJuan Bryant, Robert Wine
Fred Tarver Poultry Products Scholarship Addison Detig H. Hawkins Bradley Scholarship Mollie Ruinsky Harvey L. and Kathleen R. Barnes Scholarship Ashton Leonard, Rilee Crayton, Lindsey Childs Hase H. and Lena M. Smith Scholarship Will Adams Ivan D. and Lillian T. Jones Food Science Scholarship Lucy Caldwell J. Frank & Margaret B. Neely Scholarship Jackson Edwards, Ishani Patel, Darren Liu, Riley Cutler, Katie Pryzblo, Jessica Staton, Khalid Tejan-Sie, Nikole Carneiro Sena James L. and Diana G. Oblinger Scholarship Mariam Bayeh John and Kelli Rushing Food Science Freshman Scholarship Katherine Maginnes John Rushing, Southeastern Food Processor's Association Scholarship John Paliotti Leonard and Frances Crouch Scholastic Achievement Award Maddie Brenner Livio Ferruzzi Memorial Agricultural Scholarship Maddie Brenner Mose and Helen Kiser Scholarship Ivy Zheng
Robert H. Hartman Graduate Endowment Aygul Akhmadullina, Rebekah Brown Robert N. Wood - NC Dairy Products Association Memorial Scholarship Lucy Caldwell Stephanie Christine Anderson Scholarship Mattie Byrd, Charis Harcum T.W. Garner Food Company (Texas Pete) Scholarship Katherine Maginnes Thomas N. Blumer Scholarship Ria Jamshaid Todd R. and Amy E. Klaenhammer FBNS Graduate Award Endowment in Food Microbiology and Functional Genomics Avery Roberts Tommy McPherson Dairy Science Scholarship Regan Mitchem Victor and Maryetta Jones Scholarship Chloe Wilder, Brandon Woodley, Abdullah-Ahmed Abdelkader
Like what you’re reading? Support FBNS: go.ncsu.edu/fbns_fund
Recruitment Activities April > Science Olympiad
May > Institute of Future Agriculture
Leaders (IFAL) June > FFA Convention and Tour > Ag Discovery Camp > New transfer student
orientation for all three majors
Science Olympiad
CASE Institute
CALS Tailgate
FFA Convention and Tour
IFT Annual Meeting
Ag Discovery Camp
July > IFT Annual Meeting > Life Sciences First Year New
Student Orientation (Nutrition Science majors) > CALS First Year New Student
Orientation (Food Science and Bioprocessing Science majors) > North Carolina 4-H Congress > UNCP's USDA camp > CAALS 3D Program
July 24–August 4 > CASE Institute
September > CALS Tailgate
October > NC State Open House
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NC State University Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences Campus Box 7624 Raleigh, NC 27695 -7624
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Pilot Plant The newly created GMP pilot plant is a facility that our instructors can use for various classes. Our students can use it for course projects and product development competitions. It is also a great resource for training our industry and regulatory stakeholders. go.ncsu.edu/fbns_fund
Connect with FBNS, alumni and friends. ncsu.edu/fbns
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