World Food Prize-2025

University of California, USA

Professor Mitchell’s research program investigates the basic chemical reactions and changes in composition that occur in fruits and vegetables as a result of breeding, pre- and post-harvest processes and developing mass spectral approaches for identifying and quantifying target and nontarget secondary plant metabolites for authentication, safety and biological relevance. Her research team helps identify strategies and processing innovations for retaining and optimizing levels of beneficial compounds in finished food products, and for decreasing the formation of toxic compounds (e.g. acrylamide, advanced lipid oxidation products, etc.,) in finished foods. Additional investigations include characterizing the food-matrix interaction and how this influences and bioavailability and metabolism of bioactives.

University of Naples Federico II, Italy

Professor Antonello SANTINI, has a degree in Industrial Chemistry and Pharmacy, and is a PhD in Chemical Sciences, a title obtained in 1992 at the University of Naples Federico II. He is Professor of Food Chemistry, and carries out his research activity at the Department of Pharmacy of the University of Naples Federico II. He is responsible for the Virtual Laboratory of Research and Food Education (LVA, www.lva.unina.it ) and the NLL platform (NetLearningLaboratory, www.nll.unina.it). His teaching activity includes: Food Chemistry, Food Chemistry and Analysis of Foods and Nutraceuticals, General Chemistry, General and Inorganic Chemistry, Fundamentals of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Chemistry Laboratory, NLL Chemistry Laboratory (FAD in e-learning), Chemistry and Biochemical Propaedeutics, Chemistry Teaching, Resources for Science Teaching on the Internet. He is an expert member of the European Food Safety Authority EFSA, ERWG, Parma, Italy; of the National Committee for Food Safety (CNSA) of the Italian Ministry of Health (Rome), of the Board of Directors of the Teaching Division (DD-SCI) of the Italian Chemical Society (SCI), Rome, Italy. He is a Chemist and has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Register of Chemists of Campania (Italy). He is also a member of the Register of European Chemists. He was an expert member of the National Committee for Food Safety (CNSA, Rome Italian Ministry of Health). He is an expert evaluator of national and international research projects. He is Editor in Chief of two international journals: Journal of Food Research and Food Science and Technology Letters, and Section Editor in Chief of Foods. He acts as a Referee and Academic Editor for international journals with a high impact index. He acts as a Referee for projects funded by national and foreign institutions. He is responsible for Erasmus mobility agreements with universities in countries including: Poland, Turkey, Romania, Portugal, Czechoslovakia, Lithuania. He is responsible and coordinator of General Cultural Framework Institutional University Agreements with the Universities of Buenos Aires, La Plata, Rio Negro (Argentina); General Cultural Framework Agreements are also being signed with San Paolo (Brazil), Casablanca (Morocco), Peje (Kosovo). His main research interests are: study of nutraceuticals, food chemistry and analysis, food additives and contaminants, food safety, recovery and characterization of active substances from agro-food waste to be used in the production of food supplements and nutraceuticals; chemical education, food chemistry and food education: development of web-based multimedia tools to support lifelong learning; educational development and tools to promote active learning and support students to memorize more information in an easily usable way, and facilitate the development of effective problem solving skills. In particular, the role of interactive learning, the use of computer-based multimedia tools / web platforms (FAD, E-learning) as tools to promote the understanding of complex scientific processes and concepts. He is the author of over three hundred publications in highly qualified international journals, book chapters (FAD, e-learning and printed).

University of Szeged, Hungary

Prof. Dr. Diána Bánáti is a Ministerial Commissioner for food safety and international scientific research cooperations, a Chief Scientific Advisor at the Hungarian Ministry of Rural Development. She had been acting as Director General of the Central Food Research Institute (CFRI/KÉKI), Hungary since 2000. She continues her research career as a senior scientific advisor. She is an honorary professor at the Szent István University and the University of Szeged, Chair and Head of the Department of Food Regulatory Sciences and Consumer Studies, at the Corvinus University of Budapest and that of the Department of Food Sciences at the Szent István University Gödöllő, affiliated to the CFRI. With a twenty year long experience of teaching in higher education and professional training, she is a widely recognized professor on Food Safety, Food Policy, Food Regulatory Sciences and EU-studies. She has substantial experience based on memberships in several international (European Food Safety Authority /EFSA/ Management Board, Chair; European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies to the European Commission /EGE/, International Academy of Food Science and Technology /IAFoST/, European Research Council and the Academy of Europe, etc.) and national scientific organisations (e.g. Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Food Safety Committee), chairperson of a large number of international conferences. She plays an active role in formulating national and international food policy. She was responsible for the establishment of the National Food Safety Office in Hungary in 2002 as a Ministerial Commissioner for Food Safety. Prof. Bánáti is a qualified scientific expert on food safety, food policy, legislation and consumer sciences. She has a wide research experience in food sciences, her current studies focus on consumer science, risk perception, acceptance of novel technologies, food policy and agri-food ethics. She is extensively involved in national and international R&D programmes and EU research projects (FP6, FP7). She is an author of several articles on food safety, consumer science, food ethics and risk management.

Kuwait University, Kuwait

Dr. Farouk El-Sabban is a Professor of Nutrition and Physiology at the College of Life Sciences, Kuwait University, since September 2003. Dr. El-Sabban established the Department of Family Sciences (currently is known as Food Science and Nutrition) – the only entity that grants the B.Sc. degree in Food Science and in Nutrition in Kuwait. Prior to joining Kuwait University, he held the position of Senior Staff Scientist at the American Heart Association, Dallas, Texas, USA. Dr. El-Sabban earned his B.Sc. degree from the Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, in 1963 and earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in nutritional science at the Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, USA, in 1968 and 1970 - respectively. His experience in academia is vast and spans over many countries: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United States of America, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Kuwait. Dr. El-Sabban is a scientist who published many scientific articles, presented papers in conferences, a reviewer for many journals and has extensive professional affiliations. He is a seasoned educator who also has a vast experience in academic administration.

University of Athens, Greece

Professor Ioanna Mandala is professor in Food Engineering- Physical Properties of Foods, Head of Food Process Engineering Lab and Head of the Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition atAgricultural University of Athens, Greece. She is a Chemical Engineer being graduated from National Technical University of Athens and she holds a Ph.D. performed in Food Engineering Lab at Agricultural University of Athens, focused on trheological properties and microstructure of starch/hydrocolloids systems. She has collaborated with several research groups abroad, in Germany (Karlsruhe), France (ENSIA-Paris), and New Jersey, USA (Rutgers University). All papers have achieved nearly 3600 citations 6/2024, the average impact of her work, per publication correspond to h-index: 6.2, and h-factor:37, according to Scopus search I* Mandala or J* Mandala search). She participated in several national or international research projects as member of the research team, scientific supervisor, or project coordinator. Her research is focused on the measurement of physical properties in terms of food composition and processing. Regarding physical properties the main attributes of her interst are the texture, the rheological properties, the color, the granulometry, the macto/micro structure and the sensory attributes under processing. In recent years, the dehydration of plant origin products and the size reduction processes are core activities. Since 2023 she has been member of the scientific committee of the Journal of Food Science (JFS) and since 2024 shes is an Associate Editor in the same journal.

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India

Professor H N Mishra has more than 36 years of professional experience of teaching and research in food processing. A Professor of Food Technology in the Agricultural & Food Engineering Department, Dr. Mishra is currently the Professor I/c, Nodal officer & Director of the Agri Business Incubation Foundation IIT Kharagpur. Prof Mishra is on the Board of Trustee of the ILSI-India, New Delhi. He is a former Head and Chairman of the Post-Harvest Technology Centre, IIT Kharagpur and Former President of the Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India). Professor Mishra has published 620 research papers including 258 in peer reviewed international journals & 362 in conference proceedings. He has written 4 books, 4 e-books, 35 book chapters, 7 lecture compendium & laboratory manuals, 4 technology manuals, and several popular articles in newspapers and magazines and has 14 Indian patents to his credit. Besides, he is on the editorial boards of several reputed journals. He has supervised more than 282 student research projects including 12 PDF and 50 Ph D research scholars including 2 PMRF and 7 GYTI Awardees. Professor Mishra has handled several international and national sponsored research & industrial consultancy projects. Dr Mishra has received several awards & honours such as AIFPA Presidents’ Award, GYTI Award, NRDC Award, Best Teacher Award, Dr JS Pruthi Award, etc for his outstanding contribution in the field of food processing.

Ege University, Turkey

Dr. Funda Yoldaş is Associate Professor at Ege University, stationed at its Odemiş Vocational School, where she coordinates the Organic Agriculture Program. Her research and teaching focus on sustainable and organic crop production, integrating practical field-based applications with academic investigation. Dr. Yoldaş has engaged in applied research projects on topics such as alternative crops for the Aegean region, organic mulch materials, and animal-plant integration systems. She emphasizes bridging theory and practice: under her leadership, the school’s program includes both applied field work and classroom instruction-offering students hands-on experience in organic agricultural production, quality control and market preparation.

Eastern Kentucky University, USA

Dr. Li Li Zyzak, associate professor at Eastern Kentucky University, received her Ph.D in Biochemistry. She went on to postdoc at the Children’s Cancer Research Laboratory, SC. Dr. Zyzak began her career in the Food industry with Nestle, working in milk nutrition that led to commercialized products and patents. Thereafter, she joined Takasago, a flavor and fragrance company, to lead their skin biology science and application team working with clients in the cosmetics area. She also worked in the area of taste research while at Takasago culminating in a patent on reduction of artificial sweeteners aftertaste. Dr. Zyzak’s research interest is in the flavor and aroma of food products, specifically in the area of plant-based food and the Maillard reaction mechanism. Her recent work on the flavor of plant-based food products has been presented at symposiums, and was selected by ACS for their press release. This led to a live appearance on BNN Bloomberg Commodities Show, along with international media attention. She served as Chair of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Lexington Section, and is currently the President of the Kentucky Academy of Science. She is a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).

University of Cagliari, Italy

Giorgia Sarais is an associate professor in Food Chemistry at the University of Cagliari, where she received her PhD in Pathology and Environmental Toxicology in 2007. Her research activities focus on secondary metabolites, emphasising their potential as bioinsecticides, markers for food quality and authentication, and antioxidant compounds that promote human health. The primary interest deals with the optimisation of effective and sustainable extraction methods for plant-based bioactive compounds and the employment of advanced analytical techniques (mass spectrometry linked with gas and liquid chromatography) to chemically characterise natural extracts, ultimately enhancing the value of Mediterranean agri-food products, along with their food waste and by-products. A particular focus is directed towards the macro- and micronutrients, as well as metabolites with antioxidant and nutraceutical characteristics, in plant-based foods. Her scientific achievements are showcased through numerous publications in high-impact journals, coupled with active engagement in international research partnerships and private sector projects.

National Taiwan University, Taiwan

Prof. Hong-Jhang Chen got his Ph.D. degree from Institute of Food Science and Technology at National Taiwan University (NTU) in 2010. During five years of postdoctoral career, his research focuses on the application of healthy food by isolating the bioactive components and evaluating the mechanism using omics studies. He also got the Food Technologist and the certification of HACCP. Prof. Chen joined the Institute of Food Science and Technology at NTU in February 2015 as the Assistant Professor. In addition, Prof. Chen joins the BfR-Summer Academy on Risk Assessment and Risk Communication in Food Safety in 2017. His major specialties include Natural Product Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Mass Spectrometry, and Foodomics. Now, his current research interests focus on food authentication and food safety. Prof. Chen’s LAB has three projects to evaluate the authenticity of edible oil, soybean and Djulis (Taiwan quinoa). The high-resolution mass spectrometry was performed to characterize the chemical profile to achieve the fingerprint of food. The dereplication of MS and identification of compounds were his major research topic. Moreover, the MS technology may use for quality control and safety issue via the quantitate of the bioactive components and possible contaminants in food, respectively.

James Cook University, Australia

Dr. Ana Almeida is a distinguished Senior Environmental Analyst with over 20 years of expertise in developing and advancing sustainability initiatives on a global scale. Currently serving as a Senior Research Officer at James Cook University, Dr. Almeida specializes in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) analysis and sustainable development strategies, with a strong commitment to driving impactful change. Ana's dedication to sustainability was pivotal in shaping ESG practices within Brazil's public administration, where she led the integration of ESG factors across more than 300 organizations. Her international collaborations have extended from Europe to South America, where she has partnered with global organizations, farmers, and communities to advance sustainable food production, land restoration, and landscape management using ESG principles. In 2020, Ana earned her PhD by developing comprehensive sustainability baseline analyses, indicators, and multi-stakeholder frameworks to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at local levels. Her innovative contributions were recognized with the prestigious Pittu Laungani Award in 2022 for her groundbreaking work on SDG implementation in Brazil. Dr. Almeida’s expertise, experience and international collaborations make her a leading voice in the pursuit of a sustainable and resilient future.

Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

Jorgen Lerfall is a Professor at the Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, NTNU, Norway. He received his Ph.D. from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway, in 2011, focusing on factors affecting the product quality of Atlantic salmon. His main research interests are following the food value chain from raw materials to the consumer's table. He has a broad knowledge of food science and a significant track record in raw material characteristics, primary and secondary processing, food technology, innovation, sustainability, and food quality and safety. Although he has research interests along the whole food chain, his core engagement is in seafood quality and how to improve the product quality and shelf life by developing and implementing better production systems, handling procedures, better or novel technologies, and enhancing logistic systems, including the cold chain. After earning his Ph.D. in 2011, Dr. Lerfall started as an associate professor with responsibilities in seafood science at Sør-Trøndelag University College (HiST) in Trondheim, Norway. In 2016, HiST merged with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and became the largest university in Norway. Dr. Lerfall was appointed a full professor in 2021 in the field of food sciences. Currently, Dr. Lerfall is a professor of food science at the Department of Biotechnology and Food Science (IBT) at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, NTNU. He also leads the Food Science Division at IBT, NTNU, which covers multiple food science areas, emphasizing food innovations, quality and safety.

University of Bergen, Norway

Lars T. Fadnes is a professor at Department of Global Public Health and Primary at the University of Bergen and research group leader at Haukeland university hospital. He is a medical doctor and is a specialist in general practice as well as having a diploma in tropical medicine and hygiene. Fadnes has worked with research on dietary patterns and associations with chronic diseases and has had substantial international collaboration with researchers from the United Kingdom, Uganda, South Africa, Italy, Australia, the United States, with external funding from the Research Council of Norway, the Western Norway Regional Health Authority and DAM. His research spans across several themes, mostly focusing on nutrition and associations to chronic diseases, substance use and migration. Fadnes has more than a hundred scientific publications published in international peer-reviewed journals, as well as being covered in many hundred newspaper stories. He has also been central in development of guidelines both nationally and internationally relating to both nutrition and treatment of people with substance use. He is part of the Norwegian national advisory panel on nutrition (Nasjonalt råd for ernæring) and the Norwegian scientific committee for food and environment (VKM). He has received awards for research and innovation including the Meltzer award for excellence in the dissemination of research (2022), Young researcher award for health research in Western Norway 2021, Falch junior award for medical research 2021, and prize for research and innovation 2020 (Kunnskapskommunene), and has several articles on the Altmetric top rank list. He is the leader of HEMIX research group and Bergen Addiction Research, is co-founder of the Norwegian competence centre for substitution therapy (NORCATS), has supervised/is supervising >15 candidates (including 7 who has completed and 6 as main supervisor).

University of Technology Malaysia, Malaysia

Dr. CHUA Lee Suan holds the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Bioprocess and Polymer Engineering within the Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). She also serves as a Research Fellow at the Institute of Bioproduct Development, UTM, where she supervises the academic progress of postgraduate students pursuing master and doctoral degrees. Her research is primarily focused on LC-MS/MS based metabolomics, phytochemical profiling, herbal processing and standardization, development of honey and honey bees related products, as well as enhancing the quality of food products. Since 2006, she and her team have actively participated in numerous governmental and industrial projects, successfully securing funding to support their research initiatives. She demonstrates a significant scholarly output from her authorship for over 150 indexed research articles, and her active engagement in the scientific community. Her current H-index is 43. In addition to her research endeavors, she contributes to the academic community as a reviewer and editor for wellknown international journals. She has been recognized among the top 2% of scientists globally by Stanford University. Professionally, she is a registered chemist with the Malaysian Institute of Chemistry and holds the position of assessor at Standards Malaysia for MS ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation in testing and calibration laboratories.

University Utara Malaysia, Malaysia

University of Life Sciences Lublin, Poland

Elżbieta Patkowska is an Associated Professor of Phytopathology at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland. She studied Biology at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Poland and then got Ph.D. (2000) and Habilitated Doctor degrees (2012) at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin in the subject of biodiversity of microorganisms colonizing soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] and susceptibility of different varieties of plants to infection by fungi with special regard to Phomopsis sojae Lehman. She is interested in the interactions between plants and pathogenic/non-pathogenic microorganisms and the possibility of applying biological methods in plant protection. At present she is concerned with the occurrence, symptomatology and etiology of vegetable plants caused by fungi, as well as with beneficial microorganisms and biostimulants as the factors promoting plant growth and ensuring their resistance to biotic stress.

CSIRO, Australia

University of Toulouse, France

Will be update soon...

Dunarea de Jos University, Romania

Vintila Iuliana is actually Associate Professor, PhD in Food Science and Engineering. She is specialized in Oil Science and Technology, Catering Management and Event Tourism Management. She is Co-Chair of the Global Harmonization Initiative Nutrition WG and act as active member and/or expert in many international organisations and professional structures such EFFoST, ESF, TAIEX, Eurostars etc. and peer reviewer in prestigious international journals such as European Food Research and Technology, Journal of Food Science, Journal of Agricultural Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education , Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, Journal of Food Engineering, European Food Research and Technology, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. Keywords for the specialization area: food science, food engineering, food rheology, catering, event tourism, food nutrition, ecological footprint, food behavior.

University of Hail, Saudi Arabia

Prof Mohammed Kuddus is a distinguished academic and researcher in the field of enzymology and biotechnology, currently serving as a professor at University of Hail, Saudi Arabia. With over 17 years of experience in higher education and scientific research, Prof Kuddus has made significant contributions to the advancement of biochemistry, enzyme technology, and microbial biotechnology. After earning a Master’s degree in Biotechnology, Prof Kuddus pursued a Ph.D. in Biotechnology at SHUATS, India, where his doctoral work focused on biotechnological application of microbial extremozymes. Throughout his academic career, Prof Kuddus has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals including The Lancet and Nature journals. His research interests include medical biochemistry, food technology, global health research, and the application of biotechnology in healthcare. He has published more than 125 research articles along with 17 books and 28 book chapters. He has been awarded Young Scientist Projects from Department of Science and Technology, India and International Foundation for Science, Sweden. Also, ranked in Elsevier/Stanford University World's Top 2% Scientists. Prof Kuddus is also actively involve in international collaborations and has presented more than 50 abstracts at several prestigious conferences around the world. Through his work, Prof Kuddus continues to contribute to innovative solutions in biotechnology that address global challenges in food, health, and the environment