IFT Nutrition Division

🚨 IFT’s Call for Proposals & Abstracts is Now Open for IFT FIRST 2025!🚨 We are excited to announce that next year’s theme will focus on Food Improved by Research, Science, and Technology. This is IFT’s response to the transformative nature of the global food system. IFT FIRST will bring together diverse perspectives from across the science of food community to share, learn, debate, and engage on the most recent advancements and pressing challenges facing the global food system. 📝 Submit today to present your work! 🔊 Speaking Opportunities: - Call for Proposals: Submit by December 4, 2024 - Call for Abstracts: Submit by January 9, 2025 🤝 Volunteer Opportunities: - IFT is recruiting Tier 1 Reviewers and Session Hosts - IFT Members are encouraged to apply! We are looking forward to seeing your contributions there! #IFT2025 #FoodScience #IFTFirst2025 #ResearchAndInnovation #GlobalFoodSystem #VolunteerOpportunities #CallForProposals

Hi, IFT Nutrition Division members, and welcome to our last installment for this spring's Meet the Volunteers feature. Today we are featuring a new volunteer to our division, Xiaoyan (Cassie) Hu! 1. Why are you interested in nutrition/food? I always think about what's behind the food every time I go grocery shopping. Just because I have all the ingredients doesn't mean I can replicate the product. And considering the way food is converted into nutrients in our body sounds super exciting, so I started my undergrad with a food science major. 2. Where do you work/go to school and what is your role/program? I am currently a PhD candidate at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, planning to graduate this year and looking for a position in industry! My research focuses on the texture and mechanisms of plant-based emulsions, emulsion gels, and protein gels, which I hope may contribute to improving the taste and nutrition profile of plant-based meat. 3. What do you find most exciting about food science? The most exciting thing about food science is that you can find it anywhere, anytime, because we need to eat, and understanding how it works in our body is fascinating. One of my research projects started after I ate a plant-based burger that tasted terrible. I can be inspired by the little things in daily life and then dive into the deep science behind them. 4. How did you get involved in IFT and the Nutrition Division, and why? I have known about IFT since my undergraduate years and participated in competitions with them. I found that IFT has given me so much insight that I wanted to connect more deeply. Nutrition is also closely related to my research topic, so I volunteered to connect with all these great people. 5. Describe one thing you ate last week.  I recently have been enjoying rice pudding with baked sesame. It has such a layered flavor that starts plain and then reveals more complexity. #iftnutrition #ift

There's still time to register for the 2024 National Nutrient Databank Conference! Join the discussion on this year's theme: Nutrients & Beyond: How the Role of Food Composition Databases are Evolving from May 21-23 in Ottawa, Canada #iftnutrition #ift #nutrition

The Institute for Advancing Food and Nutrition Sciences is offering a part-time, REMOTE internship opportunity. If you are a graduate student interested in learning more about this opportunity, check out the information below~ #iftnutrition #ift #nutritionscience

Upcoming webinar TOMORROW on ultra-processed foods and nutrition. Keep up with the research on this popular topic in nutrition science. Registration link is below~ #iftnutrition #ift

March is Women's History Month. Celebrate with IFT at their Women's Resource Group webinar on March 21 where a panel will discuss their experiences in food science- see FREE registration info at the link below #iftnutrition #womeninstem #ift

Tomorrow, Feb. 27 from 2-3p CT, we are hosting a webinar in partnership with the IFT Biotechnology Division on nutrient delivery through food and supplement matrices- see more details and registration information at the link below! Attendance is FREE for IFT members~ #iftnutrition #ift #nutrition #biotechnology

Welcome to February, Nutrition Division members! We’re kicking off our 2024 Meet the Volunteer segment, where each month we introduce you to a member of our IFT-Nutrition Division Leadership Team. Today, it’s a bit of a peek behind the curtain of our LinkedIn page. I’m Julie Hess, PhD, and I’m usually the person posting updates on this page. I’m the current social media/LinkedIn lead for our Division as well as a nutrition scientist. 1.      Why are you interested in nutrition/food?  I have always loved to cook and to learn about food. My bachelor’s degrees are in English and French, though, so I didn’t always recognize my interest in nutrition/food science as having an academic element! Now, I study healthy dietary patterns as my day job, and I still enjoy learning about food in my free time, too, through cooking and baking and trying new foods and restaurants when I travel. 2. Where do you work/go to school and what is your role/program?  I work as a Research Nutritionist at the USDA-ARS Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center in Grand Forks, ND. My work primarily focuses on conducting research that may help improve the eating patterns of Americans. 3. What do you find most exciting about food science?  As a nutrition scientist, I am absolutely fascinated by the work that food scientists do. There are so many cutting-edge technologies and ideas out there in the world of food science, and many of them are motivated by public health. It gives me hope for the tremendous challenge we face to foster nutrition security around the globe.   4. How did you get involved in IFT and the Nutrition Division and why?  While I was a graduate student in Minnesota, I attended dinner meetings hosted by the Minnesota Section IFT. Those meetings were a great way to both network and learn more about the research and interests of the food science community, which is closely tied to nutrition. I’ve been a member of IFT since then, and the Nutrition Division has felt like a home within IFT. 5. Describe one thing you ate last week.  Lately I’ve been trying to perfect my homemade bagel recipe. The rosemary bagels I made last week tasted delicious with cream cheese, smoked salmon, and capers.   #iftnutrition #ift #nutrition

Interested in contributing to the future of nutrition/food science? Participate in research! Check out the info below about a study on ultra-processed foods that is recruiting virtual participants to see if you are eligible~ #nutrition #iftnutrition #ultraprocessedfoods