Committee Members

Biography

Dr Brad McEwen PhD is a leader in preventive and personalised health, particularly in the area of cardiometabolic health and mental and cognitive health. He is a public health and nutrition scientist, nutritionist, educator, researcher, and mentor with over 25 years of clinical experience. He has a PhD from University of Sydney, Master of Health Science (Human Nutrition) and Master of Public Health (MPH) from Deakin University, among other qualifications in nutrition and sports medicine. He has a passion for teaching and has been educating in nutritional and naturopathic medicine and the health sciences for 20 years. He has numerous original research and review articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Brad has a passion for research. Dr Brad has received numerous national and international awards for education, research, and for the advancement of natural medicine.

Biography

Silvia Luna Suárez, Researcher Professor at Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CIBA-IPN, México. She is biochemistry engineer by the Instituto Tecnológico de Jiquilpan, Jiquilpan, Michoacán. Master science by CINVESTAV-México and PhD in Biotechnology by CINVESTAV-Irapuato. She works on food technology and biotechnology, functional foods, proteins and bioactive peptides. The research interests are in protein engineering, bioactive peptides, comestible films, expression of therapeutic interest proteins. She is member of the Protein Society, and Biotechnology and Biochemistry Mexican Society.

Biography:

Graduated in Environmental Engineering at the Federal University of Technology, Paraná –
UTFPR. Postgraduate in Work Safety Engineer at the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná.
Master of Science (MS) in Environmental and Technology at the Federal University of
Technology, Paraná – UTFPR. PhD student in Chemical Engineering at the Federal University
of Paraná (UFPR). Eight years of professional experience as a university teacher and legal
expert in labor law. Today is a Work Safety Engineer at the Serviço Social da Indústria do
Mato Grosso do Sul (SESI), Brasil, working as an innovation project leade

Biography Dr. Khaled Alakeel have bachelors’ degree in Agricultural science and MSc in Range and Forest Ecosystem from King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. In 2002 / 03, He undertook a research dissertation which included experiments covering various plants testing and bio-diversity issues and titled “Ecological studies on germination and seedling growth, survival and establishment of Atriplex Halimus L.”.  In my professional tenure at HAD Co. in the KSA, He developed research interest for solving problems using empirical studies for soil, plants and water. He is doctoral study started in October 2008 at University of Brunel is focused on finding a solution for water pollution created by soluble heavy metals like Cd, Cu, Zn and Pb. This study includes many experimental stages and requires special skills and techniques to operate apparatus and complex procedures such as hydroponic, microwave digestion, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS) or centrifuge to manufacture Nano particles from heavy metals extracted by plants or soil. It involves. This study applies the concept of “phytoremediation by plants” to extract, measure and thus remove heavy metals from contaminated water tables and soil stratums. H thesis working title ‘the use Phragmites Australis in biological pollution control of water and soils’

Prof. Dr. Andrea Maier-Nöth is a distinguished expert in Health Psychology, Nutritional Sciences, and Consumer Research. She has a broad range of expertise and serves as a speaker and network leader, engaging with scientific, public, and governmental institutions on various topics including nutrition, health, sustainability, and innovation. Prof. Maier-Nöth is fluent in English, German, and French.

Her educational journey began with studying Food Technology and Nutrition at the University of Fulda in Germany, where she focused on chemistry, product development, human nutrition, and quality management. During her bachelor’s degree, she implemented a quality management/HACCP system and developed a concept for employee training to ensure consistent product quality. She pursued her diploma thesis at the Sensory Science Research Center at the University of Otago in New Zealand, where she worked on a project for an American beverage company, assessing the impact of various extracts on the flavor and texture of cream cheese with different fat content.

Continuing her education, she earned her MSc in Food Science and Nutrition from the University of Minnesota, where her research focused on liking, flavor intensity, and sensory similarity among flavors in potato chips and popcorn. Prof. Maier-Nöth also explored physiology, psychology of food choice, and food intake control during her time as a teaching assistant.

Prof. Maier-Nöth’s career has been heavily involved in applied science and collaboration with marketing companies for product development. She joined Nestlé in 2004 and completed her PhD at the Nestlé Research Center (NRC) in collaboration with the Centre des Sciences Goût et de l’Alimentation at the Université de Bourgogne, France. Her thesis investigated ways to encourage the acceptance of new healthy foods in young children in France and Germany.

Over the years, Prof. Maier-Nöth has held various roles at Nestlé, including Senior Research Scientist and Product Area Coordinator for Performance and Nutrition. She worked extensively in the Consumer Science Group, focusing on infant and children research, and later became the Head of the Consumer LINK Department at the Product Technology Center in Germany. In this role, she led cross-functional teams and drove consumer-centric innovation by linking consumer needs, sensory expertise, and nutritional knowledge in product development for Nestlé’s food business.

Since April 2016, Prof. Maier-Nöth has been the managing director of Eat-Health-Pleasure GmbH, where she acts as a scientific advisor and speaker in the fields of health psychology, nutritional sciences, and consumer research. In this capacity, she guides industries, public institutions, and universities on strategies and nutritional concepts to promote healthy eating from pregnancy to adulthood.

Additionally, since January 2019, she holds a professorship at the University of Applied Science in Albstadt-Sigmaringen, Germany, where she teaches and conducts research in health and nutritional psychology, sensory and consumer research, and sustainable product life cycles. As the leader of the Research Center of Consumer, Food, and Appliances, she is responsible for driving the strategy and application of the new Innovationscampus Sigmaringen, which focuses on testing and promoting new sustainable innovation areas and product ideas.

Miren López de Alda is scientific researcher and Head of the consolidated research group ‘‘Water, Environmental and Food Chemistry (ENFOCHEM)’’ at the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), that is part of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), in Barcelona, Spain. She has been working for many years on the analysis of emerging contaminants (estrogens, illicit drugs, cytostatic, polar pesticides…), field where she has contributed many novel analytical methods and data in relation to their occurrence, risks for the environment and human health, and ways to eliminate them. She has published 216 SCI papers (H-index=75, >16,000 citations) and has presented more than 350 contributions in national and international conferences. Since 2002 she has participated as expert in numerous European (Marie Curie, STREP, EURAMET, twinning, IMI, EPA) and Spanish Committees (ANEP, AENOR, AGAUR, etc.). She is also member of various national and international societies (SECYTA, SEEM, SEE), nets (ESAR-NET, The Water Network, NORMAN Network), and scientific journal editorial boards (Journal of Applied Sciences, Methods & Protocols, Water…). Mid-to-long term scientific interests focus on the investigation of anthropogenic contaminants and their transformation products in the environment and food, non-target screening workflows for their identification and prioritization, wastewater reuse, and sewage-based epidemiology.

Biography:

Marlene Schou Grønbeck has a master’s degree in food science from the University of Copenhagen (2014) specializing in Sensory Science in collaboration with Wageningen University and University of California Davis.
Since 2020 has she been working at Danish Technological Institute as the manager and senior scientist in the sensory laboratory, where she facilitates the sensory studies especially studies involving the trained sensory panel.
She is coauthor on the encyclopedia “Sensory assessment of meat” and responsible for the sensory evaluations in EU project mEATquality.