Healthier Foods, With Less Food Loss

A partnership rich with Wolfpack DNA leads to a new food for health-conscious consumers. And more products are on their way, made largely from leftovers from farms and food processors.

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We translate our knowledge and research into the bioactive, nutritional, microbial, sensorial, and structural elements of food into a variety of ways to promote public health, including improved food products and ingredients, bioactive interventions, prevention programs and educational platforms.

We are a group of diverse scientists who:

• Develop innovative research programs to establish mechanisms of known and new bioactive compounds and microbes and elucidate how food structure contributes to bioactivity.
• Develop science-based technologies for producing and distributing healthy foods and ingredients.
• Translate scientific discoveries to food, bioprocessing, nutrition and health professionals, stakeholders, policymakers, and the public.
• Create interdisciplinary approaches to investigate foods for healthy living.

Click on the faculty member’s name to learn more about their research and expertise.

Jon Allen

• Fortifying vitamins A and D in low-fat foods
• Identification and stability of sweet potato components that lower blood glucose
• Whey permeate, delactosed permeate, and delactosed whey as ingredients to the lower sodium content of soups

Rodolphe Barrangou

• Biology and genetics of CRISPR-Cas immune systems in bacteria
• Building phage resistance in probiotic strains and starter cultures used in foods

Lisa Dean

• Determination of phytochemicals in peanut plant parts
• Characterization of peanut seed for nutritional components
• Flavor aspects of peanut seed as affected by cultural practices

MaryAnne Drake

• Identification of chemical components responsible for flavors in WPC80 and WPI
• Flavor and flavor chemistry of cheese with reduced fat contents across ripening
• Identifying new market opportunities for dairy beverages in the Hispanic market

April Fogleman

• Improving maternal and infant health care by providing evidence-based research to inform health care protocols and policies

Suzie Goodell

• Exploration of the relationships between preschoolers and their caregivers (parents and teachers) and the impact of those relationships on eating behaviors, food consumption, and weight status
• Qualitative and quantitative examinations of the nutrition education and mealtime environments in preschool settings
• Development and evaluation of nutrition education programs focusing on obesity prevention for low-income, low-resource parents and their preschool-aged children

Keith Harris

• Solving technical problems for local fruit and vegetable growers and processors (muscadine, chocolate, and elderberry producers)
• Assisting growers/processers to bring products to market
• Analyzing plant-based foods for phenolic and antioxidant content

Suzanne Johanningsmeier, USDA-ARS Research Food Technologist

• Develop reduced salt fermentation procedures for cucumbers
• Preserve the textural, sensory, and visual qualities of fermented and acidified vegetables and sweet potatoes
• Develop fundamental knowledge of the biochemistry of bacterial responses to acid environments

Slavko Komarnytsky

• Role of diet and nutrition in preventing chronic metabolic diseases and inflammation
• Pathological mechanisms of insulin resistance and muscle loss
• Botanicals and healthy aging

Mary Ann Lila

• Discovery and pre-clinical characterization of bioactive plant compounds with benefits for human health, including hypoglycemic and adaptogenic properties
• Extraction/fractionation of bioactive phytochemicals from in vivo fruit or vegetative tissues, and in vitro cell and root cultures
• High protein and polyphenol bar formulation