The Department of Health, Nutrition, and Food Sciences celebrates the remarkable achievements of its students and faculty in food science. This summer, five graduate students showcased their dedication and expertise, achieving notable recognition at prestigious national conferences.
Aravind Kumar Bingi, a graduating master’s student in nutrition and food science and incoming doctoral student, captured first place in the Aquatic Food Products Division Graduate Student Oral Competition at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) First Annual Event and Expo in Chicago. He won for his research project, "Optimization of alginate extraction from pelagic Sargassum spp and assessment of bleaching and purification on characteristics of sodium alginate."
Yaqi Zhao, a Ph.D. candidate in nutrition and food science, secured second place in the Food Safety & Quality Management Division Graduate Student Oral Competition at the same IFT event for her research on "Immunodetection of Chicken Serum Albumin, an Egg Yolk Allergen."
Juan Gao, also a Ph.D. student in nutrition and food science, claimed second place in the International Division Graduate Student Oral Competition at IFT for her research on "In-vitro Antioxidant and Anticancer Properties of Citrus Peel." Additionally, her work on "Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Potential of Muscadine Grape Pomace-Enriched Chocolate" reached the semi-finals in the Food Chemistry Division of IFT.
Nethraja Kandula, a Ph.D. student in nutrition and food science, was selected as a semi-finalist in the Food Safety & Quality Management Division Graduate Student Oral Competition at IFT with her research poster on “Rapid RNase H-dependent PCR Lateral Flow Assay for the Detection of Pacific Whiteleg Shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei” and “Rapid RNase H-dependent PCR Lateral Flow Assay for the Detection of American Scallop Species, Placopecten magellanicus.”
Chunya Tang, another Ph.D. candidate in nutrition and food science, earned the prestigious AOAC/Eurofins Foundation “Testing for Life” Student Award and was invited to attend the AOAC INTERNATIONAL Annual Meeting and Exposition in Baltimore at the end of August. Additionally, she placed third in the Chinese American Food Society (CAFS) Student Research Competition for her work on the “Evaluation of Ultrasonication and Cold Plasma-Activated Water (PAW) on Seafood Protein.” Her research on the "Evaluation of Ultrasonication and Plasma-Activated Water (PAW) on White Shrimp and Atlantic Cod Protein" advanced to the semi-finals in the Non-thermal Processing Division Graduate Student Oral Competition at the IFT First Annual Event and Expo.
In addition to student success, Associate Professor Qinchun Rao received the 2023-2024 Outstanding Service Award for his dedicated contributions to the Aquatic Food Products Division of IFT. Furthermore, Rao has been appointed President of the Chinese American Food Society (CAFS) for the 2024-2025 term, continuing to inspire both students and professionals in the food science community with his commitment to excellence and service.
These outstanding accomplishments underscore HNFS’s commitment to pioneering research and innovation in food science. The department congratulates its students and faculty on their exceptional contributions to the field.
