Lipid Oxidation and Quality Division Mixer: LOQ and your Career

Want some helpful career insights from leaders in the lipids world, as well as a chance to win a free 2022 membership in the Lipid Oxidation and Quality (LOQ) Division? Join us for the LOQ Fall Midweek Mixer on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, at 11 a.m. CDT (Chicago, USA; UTC-5).

Register for free.

Prof. Eric Decker (University of Massachusetts Amherst), Dr. Jill Moser (USDA-ARS) and Dr. Roger Nahas (Kalsec) will share the twists and turns of their careers in academe, government, and industry. What decisions made the greatest differences in their careers? How did they take advantage of external events? Would they have done anything differently, in hindsight? How did membership in LOQ influence their careers? 

Learn from these members on how they utilized Division involvement to grow their careers.

Speakers

Eric Decker is a professor and head of the Department of Food Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  Dr. Decker is actively conducting research to characterize mechanisms of lipid oxidation, antioxidant protection of foods and the health implications of bioactive lipids. Dr. Decker has over 400 publications and he is listed as one of the most highly cited scientists in agriculture. Dr. Decker has served on numerous committees for institutions such as the FDA, National Academy of Science, Institute of Food Technologist, USDA and the American Heart Association. He has received numerous recognition for his research from the American Oil Chemists' Society, Agriculture and Food Chemistry Division of ACS, International Life Science Institute, and Institute of Food Technologists.

Jill Moser is a research chemist and lead scientist at the USDA, ARS, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Illinois. She received a Ph.D. in food science and human nutrition from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Moser’s research focuses on development of natural antioxidants for oxidation prevention and shelf-life improvement. Dr. Moser also conducts research on the development of technologies to replace saturated and trans fatty acids in shortenings, margarines and processed foods with healthier oils. Dr. Moser has over 70 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters and is the alternate delegate to the U.S. Codex Committee on Fats and Oils. Dr. Moser served as past chair, vice-chair, and secretary/treasurer for the LOQ Division.

Roger Nahas is the senior vice president of Global R&D at Kalsec® and has been with the company since 2007. Kalsec is the leading global producer of natural herb and spice extracts, colors, antioxidants and hop products. Before his current position, Dr. Nahas held various roles, including director of R&D and acting product management director for natural antioxidants. Dr. Nahas obtained his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Missouri in 2007, his M.Sc. in chemistry of natural products from the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute in Crete (Greece) in 2003 and B.S. in chemistry from the Lebanese University in Beirut (Lebanon) in 2001. In his current role, Dr. Nahas leads a technical team of about 80 members across the world. This diverse team has specialized degrees in multiple scientific disciplines (>25 Ph.D.s on staff) and are tasked with developing innovative solutions for the food and beverage industry.