Interviews
Get to know some of the Forum's speakers and organizers.
The Forum's speakers and organizers represent the leading scientists and technologists working in the area of plant proteins. Read the interviews linked below to learn more about some of the speakers and organizers and how they're advancing the analysis, nutrition and applications of plant proteins.
Meet the Speakers
Dr. Pam Ismail
Prof. in the Dept. of Food Science and Nutrition at the Univ. of Minnesota
Dr. Ismail has over 20 years of experience in food chemistry research focused on analytical and protein chemistry.
Dr. Swati Kalgaonkar
Associate Director, Nutrition Research Prog., Almond Board of California
Dr. Kalgaonkar has extensive nutrition clinical research experience.
Dr. Juliana Maria Leite Nobrega De Moura Bell
Assistant Prof., UC Davis-California
Dr. Leite Nobrega de Moura Bell's research focuses on extraction and fractionation of major food components.
Dr. Katie Maloney
Novozymes, USA
Dr. Maloney drives technical collaborations to enhance plant-based foods and beverages.
Dr. Rouf Mian
Soybean Research Unit, USDA-Agriculture Research Service
Dr. Mian is an expert in genetics, DNA technology, plant breeding and plant physiology.
Dr. Kathy Musa-Veloso
Senior Dir., Health Claims and Clinical Trials, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Health Sciences Inc.
Dr. Kathy Musa-Veloso is an expert in the area of health claims and clinical trials.
Dr. Sergiy Smetana
Head of Food Data Group, German Inst. of Food Technologies (DIL e.V.)
Dr. Smetana's work includes sustainability of alternative protein sources and innovative food processing technologies.
Dr. Nesli Sozer
Research Professor, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Dr. Sozer has more than 20 years expertise in food material science and food ingredient/product design.
Dr. Atze Jan van der Goot
Prof., Food Process Eng. Group, Wageningen Univ., The Netherlands
Dr. van der Goot is the scientific leader of the Plant Meat Matters program that aims to develop next generation meat analogs.
Dr. Tom Warkentin
Prof., Crop Dev. Centre/Dept. of Plant Sciences, Univ. of Saskatchewan
Dr. Warkentin is breeding field pea cultivars to improve yield, disease resistance and agronomic traits.
Meet the Organizers
Dr. Phil Kerr
Chief Technology Officer, Prairie AquaTech
Dr. Kerr 's experience includes creating new ingredients with quality attributes and bringing them to commercial status.
Dr. Elaine S. Krul
President and Founder, EKSci, LLC
Dr. Krul has over 35 years of research experience in both academia and industry.
Dr. Chris Marinangeli
Director of Nutrition Science and Regulatory Affairs, Pulse Canada
Dr. Marinangeli completed a Ph.D. at the Univ. of Manitoba’s Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals.
Dr. Mehmet C. Tulbek
Director of AGT Foods Research & Development Centre
Dr. Mehmet C. Tulbek has over 20 years of experience in cereal, pulse and oilseed processing and utilization technologies.
Dr. Janitha Wanasundara
Research Scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Dr. Wanasundara is principal investigator in plant protein research at the Saskatoon Research and Development Centre.