Member spotlight: Hualu Zhou

Hualu Zhou is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMass). She has authored and co-authored 26 research articles in peer-reviewed journals with a citation of 285. She has also received honors and awards from international food institutions, including the AOCS and Institute of Food Technologist. At UMass, she has worked as a teaching fellow in College of Natural Science. She served as the chair of UMass Life Sciences Graduate Research Council from 2019 to 2020.

How did you get involved with AOCS and PCP?

I joined AOCS in April 2018, after my lab mates introduced me to the organization. I joined the Protein and Co-Products (PCP) Division in 2020 when I started to do more work about plant-based protein and foods. From 2019 to 2021, I served on the leadership team of the AOCS Student Common Interest Group and helped host several webinars during the pandemic.

How do you hope or how has AOCS helped in solving the challenges you encounter in your work and research?

It helps me build connections with my peers. It gives me many chances to present and share my research.

What excites you the most about your present work?

Discovering potential protein functionality for the development of animal food analogues. I feel excited I can develop more sustainable and healthier foods.

Have you presented in the AOCS annual meeting before? Share your experience?

I gave four oral presentations in the past two years at the AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo. The first three of them were scholarship talks, and I also represented my advisor for the fourth talk in the PCP Division track. I strive to be well-prepared for the presentation and take the chance to communicate with the audience.