Scientific Advisors

David Jacobs, PhD

Mayo Professor of Public Health in Epidemiology and Community Health

University of Minnesota School of Public Health

David Jacobs received his BS in Mathematics from Hofstra and his PhD in Mathematical Statistics from Johns Hopkins. His research interests include cardiovascular disease epidemiology, biometry, diet, physical activity, low serum cholesterol and noncardiovascular disease, nutritional epidemiology...

Joseph M. Awika, PhD

Assistant Professor

Texas A&M University

Joseph Awika earned his PhD in Cereal Chemistry from Texas A&M University, where he now works as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Awika’s broad research area is grain chemistry: Identifying mechanisms by which secondary plant metabolites and minor grain constituents can be optimized to improve food...

R. Gary Fulcher, PhD

Emeritus Professor of Food Science and Nutrition

University of Minnesota

Gary Fulcher received his BA and MSc in biology from Carleton University in Ottawa, and his PhD in botany from Monash University in Australia. Before coming to the University of Minnesota as the inaugural GMI Chair in Cereal Chemistry in1989, Gary was Senior Research Scientist and Coordinator for...

Emily Ho, PhD

Endowed Chair and Director, Linus Pauling Institute

Oregon State University

Emily Ho is the Endowed Chair and Director of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University She is also a full professor in Nutrition and former Director of the Moore Family Center for Whole Grain Foods, Nutrition & Preventive Health in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences...

Gary Hou, PhD

Managing Director, Flour Business Unit, SPC Group

Seoul, South Korea

Dr. Gary G. Hou is the Managing Director of the Flour Business Unit, SPC Group, Seoul, South Korea. Previously, Gary was the technical director of the Wheat Marketing Center, Portland, OR, from 1995 to 2018. Gary has published more than 40 peer-reviewed scientiﬁc papers in international journals,...

Julie Miller Jones, PhD, LN, CNS, CFS, FAACCI, FICC

Professor Emeritus

St. Catherine's University

Julie Miller Jones is an emeritus professor of nutrition at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN. She has twice been named St. Catherine’s outstanding professor and has received many awards, including the Myser Award, granted by St. Catherine’s alumnae to a professor “who made a diﬀerence in...

Rui Hai Liu, MD, PhD

Professor of Food Science

Department of Food Science, Cornell University

Rui Hai Liu is a Professor in the Department of Food Science at Cornell University. He received his Ph.D. in Toxicology from Cornell University. His research focuses on diet and cancer, eﬀect of functional foods and bioactive compounds on chronic disease risks, and health beneﬁts of phytochemicals...

Simin Liu, MD, SCD

Chair and Distinguished Professor of the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics

UC Irvine

Dr. Liu comes to UC Irvine after having spent the last 11 years of his illustrious academic career at Brown University where he held dual appointments in the School of Public Health and the Alpert School of Medicine. In addition, he served as Director of Brown’s Center for Global Cardiometabolic...

Nicola McKeown, PhD

Research Professor

Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Boston University

Dr. Nicola McKeown is a Research Professor in the Programs of Nutrition, Department of Health Sciences Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Boston University. She has made signiﬁcant contributions to improving our understanding of the impact of diﬀerent carbohydrate sources, in...

Chris Miller, PhD

Director of Wheat Quality Research

Heartland Plant Innovations

Dr. Chris Miller earned a BS in Milling Science and Management, an MS in Grain Science, and a PhD in Biochemistry from the Department of Grain Science and Industry at Kansas State University. Chris has expertise in wheat ﬂour milling, dry corn milling and oat milling, and his research interests...

Robert L. Myers, PhD

Regional Director of North Central SARE Extension Programs

University of Missouri

Dr. Rob Myers is Regional Director of Extension Programs for the USDA-NIFA North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. He administers competitive grants and state funding for sustainable agriculture projects in 12 North Central states. He also holds an...

Keagan Ringling, PhD

Business Development Manager

Plant Pathways Company

Keagan Ringling is a business development manager for The Plant Pathways Company, a plant-breeding company that improves crops for enhanced nutritional, functional, and environmental outcomes. He has spent time working in the grain industry and as a consultant working with agrifood companies on R...

Laura Valli, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

University of Missouri Center for Regenerative Agriculture

Dr. Laura Valli brings anthropological perspective into agricultural and food systems-related issues. She obtained her PhD from Washington State University Breadlab where she worked on rye, studying the entire grain network, from breeders and farmers to millers and bakers to eaters in the US and...

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