Britt Burton-Freeman, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Food Science and Nutrition and Director, Center for Nutrition Research (CNR), Institute for Food Safety and Health at the Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech). Dr. Burton-Freeman’s research investigates dietary strategies to address risk factors of cardio-metabolic diseases focusing on plant foods/ingredients and their unique nutritional/phytochemical attributes. Current research characterizes the polyphenol profile of various fruits and spices tracing their metabolic consequences after human ingestion, including the dynamic interaction between the gut metagenome and host genome influencing metabolite pools affecting local and systemic physiology and health status. Dr. Burton-Freeman is actively involved in multiple professional societies dedicated to health and disease abatement, publishes in top journals and is co Editor-in-Chief of Nutrition and Healthy Aging. Dr. Burton-Freeman received her BS in Dietetics from the California State University, Chico, MS and PhD in Nutritional Biology from the University of California, Davis and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Internal Medicine at University of California, Davis. Dr. Burton-Freeman has held professional appointments in academia and the biotech industry leading research programs and teams to deliver on basic and clinical science objectives.

Aedín Cassidy is Chair in Nutrition & Preventive Medicine and Director for Interdisciplinary Research at the Institute for Global Food Security, Queen’s University, Belfast. She is currently the Co-Director of a new €35M Co-Centre on Sustainable Food Systems. Her research has focused on determining the relative importance of different flavonoids for health, leading clinical trials, combined with large population-based prospective data, bioavailability and mechanistic studies.

Scott A. Small MD is the Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Columbia University. Dr. Small’s lab focuses on disorders that effect the hippocampus, a brain circuit targeted by Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and the normal wear & tear of the aging process (‘cognitive aging’). The lab first developed novel MRI tools applicable to patients and animal models that were used to pinpoint the parts of the hippocampal circuit differentially affected by each disorder (Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2011). This anatomical information was then used as a guide to uncover pathogenic drivers (Neuron, 2014): Retromer-dependent endosomal recycling in Alzheimer’s disease, dietary flavanols in cognitive aging, and the glutamate metabolic cycle in schizophrenia. Most recently, his lab has been developing interventions and biomarkers for each disorder, and the lab’s discoveries were the cornerstone for the formation of a new biotechnology company, Retromer Therapeutics (https://retromertherapeutics.com/).

Lukasz Ciesla obtained his PhD at the Medical University of Lublin, Poland, in 2011. After defending his dissertation, he worked 18 months at the Department of Plant Biochemistry and Crop Quality, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation in Poland. From 2012–2014 he worked in Foundation for Polish Science project “Multidisciplinary development of drugs acting on selected neuronal receptors”. He was a laureate of the Foundation for Polish Science program SKILLS-Mentoring, mentor: Prof. Christian Zidorn, University of Innsbruck, Austria. Between 2014 and 2017 he worked as a visiting fellow at the National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, USA. Currently Lukasz is an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alabama. His research program focuses on understanding the role of dietary phytochemicals in the prevention and treatment of chronic noncommunicable diseases. His team at the University of Alabama also develops novel approaches in the discovery of biologically active compounds present in complex natural matrices, such as plant, bacterial and fungal extracts.

Dr. Nicola Bondonno is currently a post-doctoral researcher in the Diet Cancer and Health group at the Danish Cancer Institute and is a core member of the Nutrition and Health Innovation Research Institute at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. The overarching focus of her research is to explore and understand the role that plant bioactives can play in the prevention of chronic diseases.

Dr. Tobias is a nutrition and obesity epidemiologist at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. Dr. Tobias' interests include research methods and identifying dietary causes of obesity and its related chronic diseases. Her research integrates dietary data, metabolomics, and longitudinal follow-up for prevention of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity-related cancers. She is multi-PI of an NCI-funded center investigating the role of obesity and inflammation in the incidence of digestive cancers, is PI of a sugary beverage randomized trial, and co-Investigator of dietary feeding trials for metabolomic signatures of whole foods. She serves as the Academic Editor for the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and co-instructor for Nutritional Epidemiology at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.

Univeristy of Barcelona. CIBERFES-ISCIII. Full Professor at the Nutrition, Food Sciences & Gastronomy Department at the UB and leader of the Biomarkers & Nutritional and Food Metabolomics group 2021SGR00687.
 2000/02-Posdoc at Tufts University/HNRCA/USDA (Boston). IP in CIBERFES-isciii, Biomedical Research Network on Frailty and Healthy Aging. 2021_2022_HighlyCited Scientist by Clarivate. Coordinator of the INJOY Campus Activity EIT-Health/H2020 & Innovation by Design project, Cook2Health. Active participation-IP on the EU-Joint Programming Initiative a Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life JPI-HDHL Actions Biomarkers, Microbiomics, Nutrition and Cognition, INTIMIC &METADIS. Leadership in grants with MINECO & Health Institute Carlos III, FIS; Tranfer Actions with Industry by CDTI funds. PI National AEI, PID2023-148013OB-C21. MetaboBotype Insight in Precision Nutrition: Integrating Nutrition, Exposome and Frailty dynamics for Enhanced Healthy Aging Strategies.h-index: 74 (by Web of Science). Dr. Cristina Andrés has authored over 310 peer-reviewed papers in major international journals of high standard and 18 book chapters. My scientific activity is mainly focused in dietary and nutritional assessment as the major determinants of human health. This activity has comprised the understanding of qualitative and quantitative links between dietary patterns, nutritional phenotype and risk factors for diet-related chronic diseases. The main goals of my research have been: i) Applying intensively LC-MS driven untargeted and targeted metabolomics analysis to understand how new dietary biomarkers identified modulate diet-disease risk associations using pathway and network approaches; ii) The identification of robust “metabolic signatures of eating habits” for a range of foods of high public health significance; iii) To define and develop new methodological strategies for the biomarker discovery; iv) The development of an in-house human metabolome database and bioinformatic and biostatistics tools for the interpretation and identification of new biomarkers.

José M. Ordovás José M. Ordovás, Ph.D., (born in Zaragoza, Spain) is Professor of Nutrition and a Senior Scientist at the USDA-Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts where he also is the Director of the Nutrition and Genomics Laboratory. In addition, he is Professor of Genetics and Pharmacology at the School of Biomedical Sciences. In Spain, he is leader of the Nutritional Genomics and Epigenomics Group at IMDEA-Food, Madrid. Dr. Ordovas was educated in Spain at the University of Zaragoza where he completed his undergraduate work in Chemistry and received his doctorate in Biochemistry. He did postdoctoral work at MIT, Harvard, and Tufts University. Dr. Ordovas' primary research interests focus on the genetic and epigenetic factors predisposing to age-related chronic diseases (i.e., cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes) and their interaction with environmental and behavioral factors with particular emphasis on diet. He has published over 950 scientific articles in peer review journals (h-index 130), written books and book chapters and participated as an invited speaker in hundreds of international congresses, symposia, and courses related to personalized nutrition. In this regard, he is considered a pioneer and one of the most distinguished world experts in gene-diet interactions pertaining to cardiometabolic traits. Moreover, he has trained in his laboratory over 60 scientists, and his current network involves populations and investigators from all Continents. Throughout his career, Dr. Ordovas has received multiple honors for his scientific achievements including the Secretary’s Award from the USDA, the Centrum, the David Kritchevsky career achievement and Dannon Institute Mentorship awards from the American Society for Nutrition, the Gold Medal from the Spanish Society of Cardiology and the Francisco Grande Award from the Mediterranean Diet Foundation. He has been awarded an honorary degree in Medicine bestowed by the University of Cordoba in Spain and another honorary degree from CEU-San Pablo in Madrid, and he is a Member of the Royal Academies of Sciences, Medicine, Nutrition and Pharmacy in Spain. Moreover, he is a Fellow of the American Society for Nutrition. Dr. Ordovas has been a member of the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academies and the FDA National Toxicology Center Advisory Committee, and he currently serves on multiple national and international steering committees, scientific peer review committees, advisory and editorial boards.

Professor Spencer received his PhD from King’s College London in 1997 and is currently Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry and Medicine at the University of Reading. His initial work focused on the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neuronal death in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. His recent interests concern how flavonoids, and other dietary phenolics, influence brain health through their interactions with specific cellular signaling pathways pivotal in protection against neurotoxins, in preventing neuroinflammation and in controlling memory, learning and neuro-cognitive performance. His work also pursues the actions of flavonoids on the vascular system, in particular their potential to reduce blood pressure, enhance vascular function and improve blood perfusion to the brain. Professor Spencer has published over 220 manuscripts and is Editor-in-Chief of Nutrition and Healthy Aging.

Anandh Babu Pon Velayutham, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutrition & Integrative Physiology at the University of Utah. Dr. Velayutham's research focuses on exploring the cardiovascular benefits of blueberries and strawberries and establishing the causal association between dietary berries, gut microbiome, berry-derived microbial metabolites, and vascular health. His lab demonstrated that the gut microbiome is essential for metabolizing the bioactive phytochemicals and mediating the cardiovascular benefits of dietary berries. Dr. Velayutham is an honoree for research excellence at ‘Celebrate U: Showcase of Extraordinary Faculty Achievement.’ He received teaching awards for four consecutive years, including the University of Utah Distinguished Teaching Award 2024, one of the University’s highest annual honors recognizing excellence in teaching. Dr. Velayutham is a fellow of the University of Utah Academy of Health Science Educators.

Tony completed his Ph.D. in 2007 investigating the molecular mechanisms of efflux pump-mediated antibiotics resistance in Salmonella Typhimurium at the University of Birmingham. During his years as a post-doctoral researcher, he never strayed from microbiology, working with gut pathogens, such as Campylobacter and C. difficile, developing vaccines, and the gut microbiota. He started in the department of Food Science & Nutrition in 2021 as a Lecturer in Food Microbiology. Tony has been fortunate enough to collaborate with a wide range of scientists from different disciplines, including engineering and geography, which has developed his research capabilities. Tony now leads the Microbiome & Nutritional Sciences Group, as Associate Professor in Gut Microbiology. His team uses nutrition to modulate the host microbiome for better health benefits, covering 1) novel prebiotics, 2) the detrimental effects of nutrition, 3) ulcerative colitis, and 4) understanding the gut-brain axis. His group collaborates with nutrition, pharmaceutical and biotherapeutic industries, and academia. On a personal note, he has two wonderful children, who keep him busy, and loves to travel with his partner, Amanda.

Full Name: Soshiro Ogata (PhD, MHS) Professional Title and Affiliation: - Chief of Artificial Intelligence and Statistical Modeling Laboratory, Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center - Visiting Associate Professor, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine - Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Nephrology, Fujita Health University School of Medicine Education: Earned a PhD in Health Science from the Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine in 2016. Experience: My research has primarily focused on conducting epidemiological studies across various domains including public health, cardiology, and nephrology, utilizing innovative approaches such as novel statistical analyses, simulation techniques, and artificial intelligence. Noteworthy contributions include:  Projecting mortalities for coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke in Japan from 2020 to 2040 with notable accuracy, published in Lancet Regional Health Western Pacific (2022).  Developing a high-performance AI and big data-driven prediction model for heatstroke, published in Nature Communications (2021).  Quantifying the impact of national-level shifts in CVD risk factor distributions on CHD mortality trends in Japan, as published in the International Journal of Cardiology (2019).  Assessing the association of dietary sodium and potassium intake with kidney function decline in chronic kidney disease patients through extensive 24-hour urine collection analysis, published in Kidney International (2022).  Investigating the effects of omega-3 supplementation on cardiovascular disease events in healthy older adults using the innovative "win ratio" statistical analysis, detailed in Nutrients (2023). Key Achievements: 2022 Best Paper Award from the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center

Studied Pharmacy at Valencia University (1975-1980) and PhD in 1984. Research Professor of CSIC (Murcia, Spain). He has been visiting scientist in Reading University (UK), Laussane University (Switzerland), Lyon University (France), and UCDavis (USA). His research aims to the study of the role of food polyphenols in human health, their interaction with gut microbiota and their potential in personalized nutrition with a metabolomics approach. He has transferred results of research to industry (six patents of which three have been licensed and derived products are actually in the market). Author of over 400 publications in scientific journals within the fields of phytochemistry, and food science and nutrition (High Impact, H-index = 109 in Web of Science Core).

Yu-Han Chiu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at Penn State College of Medicine. Her research focuses on developing and applying novel causal inference methods to inform decisions for pregnancy and cardiovascular health. 

James L. Kirkland, M.D., Ph.D., a specialist in internal medicine, geriatrics, and endocrinology, is Director of the Center for Advanced Gerotherapeutics at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He studies cellular senescence, discovered the first agents that selectively eliminate senescent cells - senolytics -, and demonstrated they delay, prevent, or alleviate multiple disorders and diseases in pre-clinical models. He published the first blood biomarker score indicating senescent cell abundance and the first clinical trials of senolytic drugs. He has >320 publications. He is Principal Investigator of the NIH Translational Geroscience Network and is involved in over 85 interventional and observational clinical studies. He was the 2020 recipient of the Irving S. Wright Award of Distinction in Aging Research.

Dr Letizia Bresciani is Associate Professor in Human Nutrition at the University of Parma, Italy. Her research focuses on identification and characterization of phytochemicals, mainly (poly)phenols, in plant-based foods, and their human metabolism, bioavailability and bioactivity in vivo and in vitro, with a particular interest in inter-individual variability related to microbial catabolite production, in order to identify possible metabolic phenotypes (metabotypes). She acquired a large experience in liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, setting up standardized analytical methods to identify and quantify native plant phytochemicals, phytochemical and (poly)phenol human metabolites and microbial catabolites. Recently, she has started to work with mass spectrometry imaging to investigate in situ distribution of bioactive compounds in targeted organs and tissues. She has also experience in phytochemical dietary intake assessment, developing a new questionnaire to evaluate the daily intake of (poly)phenols, considering the in-season differences.

Dr David VAUZOUR is an Associate Professor in Molecular Nutrition at the Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, UK. Dr Vauzour has longstanding interest on the impact of food bioactives on (neuro)degenerative disorders and to develop novel strategies to delay brain ageing and cognitive decline. His recent interests concern how food bioactives modulate the gut microbiome-brain axis in ageing and neurodegenerative disorders and their underlying molecular mechanisms. To date Dr Vauzour has published over 100 peer reviewed articles, serves as the Associate Editor for many journals and currently sits on the ILSI Europe Scientific Advisory Committee.

Pedro Mena is an Associate Professor of Human Nutrition. His research lines focuses on the bioavailability and bioactivity of plant bioactives, with a particular emphasis on (poly)phenolic compounds and interindividual variability, where his team develops realistic, translatable initiatives based on stratified and precision nutrition. Among other achievements, he has been awarded an ERC grant on this topic (PREDICT-CARE), leads the precision nutrition WP of the largest Italian consortium on food and nutrition ever (ONFOODS), and participates from a cutting-edge project on precision nutrition for lung cancer patients (EIC Pathfinder MENTORING).

Neuza Hassimotto, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Experimental Nutrition at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and an Associate Researcher at the Food Research Center (FoRC). Her research focuses on the impact of dietary polyphenols on human health and their interactions with gut microbiota. She is particularly interested in exploring the interindividual variability in polyphenol bioavailability, using advanced 'omics' techniques to deepen the understanding of these processes

Isabella is a nutritionist with a PhD in Human Nutrition from the University of Brasília and is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Food and Experimental Nutrition at the University of São Paulo (USP), with an internship at the University of California, Davis (USA). Her research focuses on the impact of bioactive compounds found in native Brazilian fruits on human health, particularly in the prevention of cardiometabolic diseases. She is also an active researcher and member of the Passitec Network (Embrapa Cerrados), a collaborative effort aimed at exploring Brazilian biodiversity to develop sustainable agroecological production systems and health-promoting products for consumers.

Maria Traka is the Head of Food & Nutrition National Bioscience Research Infrastructure (F&N-NBRI), based at Quadram Institute Bioscience. F&N-NBRI is a national coordinating 'hub' in food, nutrition and health and the leading national provider of new and continuously updated data, tools and services vital for public health, research and innovation. The Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (also known as McCance and Widdowson data), the food bioactives composition datasets, and the associated tools are used by academia, government and industry and are essential for high-quality research on relationships between diet and health and delivery of key national strategic aims that support adoption of healthier and sustainable diets. Dr Traka's research focus is understanding the role of plant-rich diets in improving health. She has an active interest in using data-driven approaches in personalized nutrition, prevention of non-communicable diseases, and the importance of the microbiome in modulating response to complex diets. Dr Traka's previous work focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms mediated by plant-derived bioactives leading to cancer prevention. As a Senior Research Scientist at the Quadram Institute, she became increasingly interested the role of cruciferous-rich diets, such as those high in broccoli, in maintaining a healthy metabolism.

Dr Christine Morand studied Biochemistry and Cellular Biology and she received her PhD thesis at the Blaise Pascal University in Clermont-Ferrand, France, in 1991. She is full research director at INRAe, the French National institute for research on agriculture, food and environment. She is working in the INRAe-Human Nutrition Unit of Clermont-Ferrand, where she leads a research group focusing on plant food bioactives and vascular health. She has a long lasting experience in the field of Nutrition & Health, focusing her research on dietary polyphenols, their bioavailability, metabolism and their role of in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Over the last years she has expressed a special interest for a better understanding of the interindividual variability in response to the consumption of plant food bioactives (coordination of the European scientific network COST-POSITIVe). Currently, she is the Chief Editor of the journal Food and Function (Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK).

Sarah A. Johnson, PhD, RDN is Associate Professor and Director of the Functional Foods & Human Health Laboratory in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Colorado State University. Her research program integrates multiple disciplines including nutrition, food, agriculture, physiology, and biomedical sciences to perform clinical and translational research studies focused on critically examining the clinical efficacy of food-based approaches including phytochemical-rich foods and dietary supplements, namely berries, to improve cardiovascular and metabolic disease risk factors and modulate vascular function in high-risk populations. She aims to understand factors and mechanisms contributing to clinical responses, such as the role of the gut microbiome. Johnson’s research is funded through federal and industry sources including NIFA-USDA, NIH, industry, and agricultural commodity boards, and she publishes in high-quality nutrition, food and physiology journals. She is actively involved in societies including the American Society for Nutrition, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and American Heart Association. Johnson is Associate Editor for the journals Nutrition Research and Nutrition and Healthy Aging and is an Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, Nutrients, and the Journal of Medicinal Food. She has received honors and awards such as the NIH Loan Repayment Program award for clinical research, Top Reviewer Award from the Journal of Nutrition, the Emerging Leaders Network Award from the Institute of Food Technologists, the Abbott Nutrition Award in Women's Health from the Academy, the Junior Faculty Author Award from the Research Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and the Clinical Emerging Leader Award from the Medical Nutrition Council of the American Society for Nutrition. She completed a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and food science/dietetics from the University of Vermont, and a master’s degree, PhD, and postdoctoral fellowship in nutrition and food Science from Florida State University.

Giuseppe Valacchi is David H. Murdock Distinguished Professor and Professor of Regenerative Medicine at North Carolina State University and Professor of Physiology at the University of Ferrara (Italy). In addition, he is International Scholar at Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea. He obtained his BS (Physiology) with Laude, his M.S. in Physiopathology and his Ph.D. in Cellular Physiology and Neuroimmuno-physiology from the University of Siena, Italy. His research has been focused in understanding the cellular and molecular redox mechanisms that define the tissues physio-pathological responses to endogenous and exogenous factors (Exposome) with special focus on target tissues such as skin and respiratory tract. In addition to study the redox involvement in the pathogenesis of Rett Syndrome and Autism spectrum disorders. He is author of over 350 peer reviewed international manuscripts, 20 book chapters, 4 books. He has been a member of the Society of Free Radical Research -Europe (SFRR-Europe) Council from 2017 to 2021. From 2023 he is the SFRR-Europe President Elect. He has won several awards among them the Entelligence Award from Actelion, the Exposome award, the University of Ferrara Bronze Medal (2020 from the Rector of Ferrara, Prof. Zauli). In 2018 he was awarded with the “Doctorate Honoris Causa” in Biochemistry and Pharmacy from the University of Buenos Aires. In 2019 he was the recipient of the Clinical Research Award from the SFRR-E and in 2021, he was awarded in Rome, as “Paladin of Health” from the Italian Ministry of Public Health and Education. In 2022, he was nominated and awarded with the title of “Faculty Scholar” at North Carolina State University, a title that recognizes and rewards emerging academic leaders who demonstrate significant achievement. From 2022 he is David H. Murdock Distinguished Professor in Regenerative Medicine at NCSU. He is: Editor: for Archives in Biochemistry and Biophysics ; Redox Experimental Medicine; Review Editor for Frontiers in Neuroscience, Frontiers in Pharmacology: Inflammation Pharmacology Associate Editor: Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine; Frontiers in Cellular Biochemistry, World Research Journal of Biochemistry; Mediators of Inflammation Member of Editorial Board: Scientific Reports; Antioxidants; Free Radicals in Biology and Medicine; Journal of Chemistry; BioFactors; Open Biochemistry Journal; Biomed Research International (Dermatology Subject); Frontiers in Inflammation Pharmacology; Genes and Nutrition; Journal of the Siena Academy of Science

Pamela Maher received her BSc from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec and her PhD from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is currently a Research Professor and head of the Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory at The Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA. Her research interests include models and mechanisms of cell death in aging and neurodegenerative diseases with a specific focus on the oxytosis/ferroptosis regulated cell death pathway. In addition, she works on the characterization and development of natural products for the treatment of acute and chronic neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.

Daniel is an Associate Professor at the University of Reading, School of Psychology, UK. Daniel’s research interests include the effect of diet, nutritional interventions, and metabolic disorders on neuropsychological function and mental health, and the impact of nutritional interventions on the gut-brain axis. Daniel completed his PhD in 2010 at the University of Leeds examining the effects of carbohydrate quality on cognitive performance in type 2 diabetes, before undertaking postdoctoral and lectureship positions at the University of Reading. His diverse research portfolio has included collaborations with Public Health England, UK research councils and industry sponsors, and he was an invited keynote speaker at the 2017 International Conference on Polyphenols and Health

Dr. Cesar Fraga is Superior Researcher at the National Council of Scientific Research (CONICET), Argentina, and Emeritus Professor of Physical Chemistry at the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA). He is scientist Associated to the Agricultural Experiment Station-Department of Nutrition at the University of California, Davis, USA. Dr. Fraga received his degree in Chemistry (1980) and his doctoral degree (1985) from the UBA. His research is centered in plant bioactives as potential health protectors in terms of nutrition and pharmacology, with focus on deciphering the biochemical pathways, mainly those involving redox biology that affect cardiovascular, renal and intestinal physiology.

Navindra P. Seeram, Ph.D., is a Professor and Chair of the Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Department in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Rhode Island (URI). Dr. Seeram’s research group, the Bioactive Botanical Research Laboratory, investigates medicinal plants and their derived natural products for preventive and therapeutic effects against chronic human diseases. He has co/authored over 220 original peer-reviewed research articles, 11 review articles, 18 book chapters and is a co/inventor on 8 US patents. He has co-edited 3 books and is the founding editor of the Clinical Pharmacognosy book series published by CRC Press/Taylor and Francis. He serves on the advisory board of the American Botanical Council, and on the editorial advisory boards of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, and ACS Food Science and Technology. He was the recipient of the 2019 Distinguished Service Award and 2009 Young Scientist Award from the Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry of the American Chemical Society and served as the 2017 Chair of that Division. His research is impactful on his field (Google h-index = 81) and he is regularly quoted in the media and popular press about medicinal plants.

Antonio González-Sarrías is a biologist and work as Tenured Scientist since 2018 at CEBAS-CSIC (Murcia, Spain) and a member of the Food and Health Laboratory. His scientific career has been focused on the evaluation of biological activities, mainly anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective and neuroprotective properties of different dietary polyphenols and their in vivo metabolites, mainly in preclinical (cell and animal models) studies, thus evaluating whether polyphenols are responsible, at least in part, that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is correlated with a lower incidence of chronic diseases. He is author/co-author of more than 100 scientific research publications, reviews and book chapters and his H-index is 50. Remarkably, the scientific impact of this research led to be highly-cited researcher in 2020-2021 (Clarivate, Web of Science).

Dr. Cláudia Nunes dos Santos is Principal Investigator at NOVA Medical School. Her research is focused on understanding the role of polyphenols in providing the health benefits associated with consuming bioactive-rich plant foods and understanding the mechanistic basis of these beneficial changes. She is particularly interested in the ability of polyphenols metabolites to reach the brain and prevent or reverse the main hallmarks of neurodegenerative diseases. She received her PhD at University of Lisbon in Plant Biochemistry and conducted her postdoctoral studies at Institute of Technology and Chemistry Biology, Portugal. She was awarded in 2018 with an ERC starting grant for zooming the link between diet and brain health focused in how phenolic metabolites modulate brain inflammation. She was also involved in a series of EU projects as a group leader and work-package leader (FP7-EUBerry; FP7-BacHBerry; Horizon2020-CHIC) and have attracted funding from Portuguese National Agency. She has published over 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals (H-Index of 35, Web of Science).

Diogo Carregosa research aims to investigate the potential of dietary and microbiota metabolites, the low molecular weight phenolic metabolites, to modulate microglia cells and key aspects of neuroinflammation. By doing so, the main hope is to unveil the potential of these molecules to hamper and potentially delay the progression of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s Disease. Diogo is a shared inventor on a patent application for the use of low molecular weight phenolic metabolites for the treatment and prevention of neurodegenerative diseases. Diogo Carregosa is currently a PhD Student in Biomedicine at NOVA Medical School in Lisbon, Portugal.

-Academic Qualifications: B.S.,Pharmacology, Faculty of pharmacy, University of Hoshi, Tokyo, Japan, 1984　 Ph D., Pharmacology, Clinical Biochemistry, University of Hoshi, Tokyo, Japan, 2002 -Brief Career History: Employment History Reseacher, Biochemistry Laboratory, Meiji Seika Ltd. Tokyo Japan, 1992 Assistant Researcher, Pharmacology and Safety Laboratory, Meiji Seika Ltd. Tokyo Japan, 1984 Teaching History Professor, Department of Bioscience, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan, 2011 Associate Professor, Department of Bioscience, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan, 2009 Lecturer, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan, 2008 Lecturer, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo Japan, 2006 -Field(s) of Specialization: Pharmacology, Nutririon -Current Research Areas/Topics: Elucidation of regulatory mechanism of polyphenols in food

Dr. Lichtenstein is the Stanley N. Gershoff Professor of Nutrition Science and Policy at the Friedman School and a senior scientist and director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at the Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. She holds secondary appointments as an Associated Faculty member in the Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies at Tufts Medical Center, and Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Lichtenstein received a B.S. from Cornell University, M.S. from Pennsylvania State University, M.S. and D.Sc. from Harvard School of Public health, and post-doctoral training at the Cardiovascular Institute at Boston University School of Medicine. In 2005 she was awarded an honorary doctoral degree from the medical faculty of the University of Eastern Finland. In 2024 she was designated a University Professor at Tufts. Lichtenstein's research group focuses on assessing the interplay between diet and cardiometablic risk. Dr. Lichtenstein has been elected as a fellow of the American Heart Association and American Society of Nutrition. Among others, she has received the David Kritchevsky Career Achievement Award, Conrad A. Elvehjem Award for Public Service and Mentorship Award from American Society for Nutrition; Special Recognition Award, Distinguished Achievement Award, Mentor of Women Award and Award of Meritorious Achievement from the American Heart Association; Excellence in Dietary Guidance Award from the American Public Health Association. She has served on two Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committees for USDA and HHS. She currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter.