Recent Events

Browse past events for program agendas; summary reports; copies of presentations; presenter videos; and other event outputs.

Past Events

Water II – Water Management for the Future

Southampton, Bermuda

ILSI North America has coordinated a scientific session at the 2018 ILSI Annual Meeting that will examine new and emerging technologies related to water management (including regeneration, conservation, & efficiency improvement) and the impact of these approaches on short and long-term water management and human practice.

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Science Serving Society

Southampton, Bermuda

At the 2018 ILSI Annual Meeting, a special session is being organized on Science Serving Society. The purpose of this session is to highlight specific programs that clearly demonstrate ILSI´s significant contributions to the theme, with an emphasis on multi-year, multi-partner programs with demonstrable impact.

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Advances in Health-Based Decision Making

Southampton, Bermuda

ILSI North America has coordinated a scientific session at the 2018 ILSI Annual Meeting to educate the audience about the value of health-based assessments in decision-making in comparison with endpoint or hazard-based determinations.

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New Advances: Diet and Microbiome

Southampton, Bermuda

ILSI North America has coordinated a scientific session at the 2018 ILSI Annual Meeting to examine the latest science on the diet and microbiome, including advances on application and intervention for appetite and eating behavior as well as new research on infant and fetal microbiome.

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Threats to the Global Food Supply

Southampton, Bermuda

ILSI North America has organized a scientific session at the 2018 ILSI Annual Meeting which will examine new and emerging global threats to the food chain and system including impact on supply, process, security, agricultural practices, food safety and human health.

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At the 2018 ILSI Annual Meeting, ILSI North America is organizing a scientific session on Water II – Water Management for the Future. This session  will examine new and emerging technologies related to water management (including regeneration, conservation, and efficiency improvement) and the impact of these approaches on short and long-term water management and human practice. The session will also focus on emerging technologies and innovations in water management in agricultural systems and in areas and regions affected by climate change. The session will include a Bermuda case example – an island where water conservation and management have been a necessity and long practiced goal.

Speakers

Catley-Carlson, M

Margaret Catley-Carlson

Juror Stockholm Water Prize

Presentation Video Evett, S

Steven Evett, PhD

USDA Agricultural Research Service

Presentation Video Lemke, S

Shawna Lemke, PhD

Monsanto

Lewis, J

Josette Lewis, PhD

Environmental Defense Fund

Smith, G

Geoff Smith, PhD

Bermuda Department of Environment and Natural Resources

Presentation Video Agenda Abstracts Bios Agenda

Welcome and Introductions
Co-Chairs: Shawna Lemke, PhD, Monsanto and Josette Lewis, PhD, Environmental Defense Fund

Chasing the Water Sustainability Rainbow?
Margaret Catley-Carlson, Juror Stockholm Water Prize; former Chair Suez Environment and World Economic Forum Advisory Boards on Water Management

Emerging Technologies for Water Management & Conservation 
Steven Evett, PhD, USDA Agricultural Research Service, and President – American Society of Agronomy

Bermuda’s Freshwater Cycle: Capture, Conservation and Water Quality Management 
Geoff Smith, PhD, Bermuda Department of Environment and Natural Resources

Abstracts

Chasing the Water Sustainability Rainbow?

Margaret Catley-Carlson, OC, Founding Chair, World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Water; Chair and subsequent Patron, Global Water Partnership; Chair, Suez Environment Water Advisory Committee, Former President Canadian International Development Agency, Deputy Minister Health and Welfare, Canada, USA and International

We are of course NOT running out of water: we have the same amount as the worlds of the dinosaurs and Julius Caesar.  Because such a small amount is fresh water at any one stage of the water cycle, because most fresh water is frozen, and 90% of the unfrozen water is underground, there will always be water – somewhere. BUT: rapid population growth, over abstraction, exhaustion of surface sources, pollution, insufficient infrastructure, climate related change and above all the absence of incentives and good management combine to create water stress to an increasing portion of the global population during some part of the year. Worse, more migration, famine and more shortage lie ahead. Science and technology play an important role in offering solutions – from less thirsty crops, to better forecasting of weather events, to water treatment allowing reuse and recycling, to metering and monitoring to more energy efficient desalination plants, and more. All of these require infrastructure and better resource management in a world resistant to increased public expenditure or paying for water services, criss-crossed by international boundaries, bound by arcane laws (where laws exist). The struggle for better management of the resource, and for reaching the 2 billion now without access to safely managed drinking water is literally about life and death. Guidelines, models and tools exist to improve management; science is key here. International sustainability goals propose objectives and timelines. Is it chasing rainbows to imagine humans can or will move toward more sustainable water management? The pot of gold is continued existence for many life forms, sufficient food, prosperity, and improved health. No water, no life.

Emerging Technologies for Water Management & Conservation

Steven R. Evett, USDA Agricultural Research Service, President - American Society of Agronomy, Beltsville, Maryland, USA

Much of history involves the rise and fall of civilizations as water resources varied with climate change, and as water management technologies and methodologies changed and either succeeded or failed to cope with change. Humans have managed water resources for many thousands of years, and there have always been emerging technologies that have changed human capabilities both to use water and to manage water use. Water diversion structures and canal systems allowed early civilizations to flourish in Central Asia, the Fertile Crescent, China, Southeast Asia, and the Americas. Piping was introduced in China several thousand years ago in association with brine pumping for salt production, and examples of pipe systems have been found in ancient Mesopotamian and Central Asian cities. The Romans elevated the art of hydraulic engineering including aqueducts and piping systems, the latter under pressure, spreading these technologies across the Middle East, Egypt, Europe and the British Isles. The growth of cities has always depended on the advancing technologies for urban and agricultural water management, but because agricultural irrigation consumes between 70% and 80% of freshwater supplies worldwide, it is becoming critical that emerging technologies keep pace with expanding needs for food, feed, fiber and agricultural byproducts. In the US, agriculture provides 49% of crop market value on the 18% of cultivated lands that are irrigated. Although irrigated area has ceased to expand in the US, it is still expanding in other countries. Paradoxically, due to technological innovation and adoption, expanding irrigation is not equivalent to increasing water demand for irrigation even though production from irrigated lands has grown steadily. The rapid adoption of pressurized irrigation systems, now covering 65% of U.S. irrigated lands, has eliminated the large water losses in surface irrigation systems, resulting in declining irrigation water consumption even as irrigated acreage remains stable. Today, emerging technologies in satellite data fusion, proximal crop and soil sensing systems, supervisory control and data acquisition systems, variable rate irrigation systems, the internet of things, and plant breeding and genomics are merging to enable the sustainable intensification of production with existing resources by using a systems approach that involves all aspects of genetics, environment, management, sociology and technology.

Bermuda’s Freshwater Cycle: Capture, Conservation, and Water Quality Management

Geoff Smith, PhD, Environmental Engineer, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Bermuda

Bermuda’s very picturesque houses with their characteristic white limestone guttered roofs are a direct outcome of the approach taken by early settlers to manage freshwater.  Bermuda has high annual rainfall but its freshwater resources are very limited as a result of the limestone bedrock being extremely porous.  Rivers do not exist and ponds only occur where the lower lying land is over less permeable peat layers typically at a comparable elevation to the typically brackish water table. As a result of these factors early settlers collected rainwater and eventually it became law to have an 80% roof catch and a water tank sized at 10 gallons for every square foot of roof area.  The regulations were written to ensure that each house had a storage capacity equivalent to 3 months of rainfall. However, for smaller homes with many occupants or during periods of drought it became necessary to have a supplementary supply of water.  Early settlers dug wells and found water ranging from saline to brackish to fresh. Freshwater can typically be found over a 20% area of Bermuda in lenses that sit on the brackish water that sit on top of the seawater. Supplementary supplies developed first by a private company, Watlington Waterworks, were then followed by Government who developed the fresh groundwater resource. Supplemental water is provided by piped main to certain houses whereas others have to rely on water being delivered by truck. Government research focussed on ensuring that the freshwater resource was not negatively impacted by over-abstraction led to the Water Resources Act 1975 and the need to have a Water Right to abstract set limits of water.  The abstraction limit set in the Water Rights is based partly on the estimates of recharge rate of rain to the groundwater. To date there are approximately 4000 Water Rights in Bermuda, most of which are for abstraction wells while others are for disposal boreholes. Wastewater management on a small island can bring challenges.  Domestic sewage disposed to unlined soakaway pits (i.e. cesspits) led to elevated concentrations of nitrate in the groundwater in some densely populated areas, which necessitated all companies abstracting fresh groundwater for potable supply switching up from disinfection to ultrafiltration and Reverse Osmosis technologies. As the demand for freshwater exceeded the abstraction limit of the allocated Water Rights the primary potable supply company used seawater reverse osmosis as their supplement to their fresh groundwater sources. The Government SWRO system is powered by electrical energy recovered via a steam turbine connected to the Island’s municipal incinerator. In addition to the many cesspits wastewater is also managed at hotels, condominiums and the hospital via aerated waste water treatment plants ranging from secondary to tertiary grade with their discharge after reuse purposes passing to deep sealed borehole. The corporations have sewer mains and dispose of their wastewater to two off-shore outfalls. The regulator encourages new developments to consider wastewater reuse for irrigation and toilet flush water.  The Department of Environment & Natural Resources monitors for potential effects of groundwater nitrogen affecting Bermuda’s near-shore environment via algal growth over the longer term and the Department of Health monitors its beaches daily for faecal bacteria over summer months and reports an extremely low incidence of contamination.       

Bios

Shawna Lemke, PhD

Dr. Shawna Lemke leads Food Strategy & Stakeholder Engagement as part of Monsanto’s Corporate Engagement team.  In this role, Shawna works with companies, NGOs and other stakeholders across the food value chain to find shared opportunities and value for providing healthy and abundant food to a growing world in a sustainable way.

Dr. Lemke has over 15 years of experience in product safety and nutrition in the agricultural and pharmaceutical industries. She has held roles in managing pre-clinical and clinical phases of drug development, and conducting nutritional and food safety evaluation of products. Dr. Lemke led the clinical program to establish the nutritional value of soybean oil containing the omega-3 fatty acid, stearidonic acid (SDA). She most recently led the Toxicology and Nutrition Center at Monsanto, with oversight of human safety evaluation for crop protection chemicals and crops developed through biotechnology.

Dr. Lemke was born in Southern California and raised in rural Wisconsin. She attended the University of Wisconsin- Green Bay and received a B.S. in Chemistry with a minor in Environmental Sciences. Shawna holds a PhD in Toxicology from Texas A&M University and completed post-doctoral training in Human Nutrition at UC-Davis.

Josette Lewis, PhD

Dr. Lewis joined Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in April 2017 to lead their agriculture work. Prior to EDF, Dr. Lewis was with UC Davis to launch the World Food Center and worked in international business development with Arcadia Biosciences. Before Arcadia, Dr. Lewis spent 16 years at the US Agency for International Development (USAID). As Director of the Office of Agriculture at USAID, she worked with senior levels of the Administration to launch Feed the Future. Dr. Lewis served on the US Secretary of Agriculture’s advisory committee on Agricultural Biotechnology in the 21st Century, the Foundation for Agricultural Research’s Food Systems Innovation Advisory Committee, is a member of the board of trustees for the International Life Sciences Institute Research Foundation and is a member of the James Beard Foundation Impact Program Advisory Committee.

Margaret Catley-Carlson

Margaret Catley-Carlson operates at the Board level in support of improved water resource management and the twin issues of agricultural productivity and rural development. She is Chair of the PAC section of the Board of Governors of ICIMOD (International Center on Integrated Mountain Development in Nepal), Vice Chair of the Canadian Water Network Board, serves on the Boards of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), is a jurist of Stockholm Water Prize and Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, and is a member on the Advisory Council of the Syngenta Foundations, the Library of Alexandria, and the World Food Prize.

Catley-Carlson has Chaired Boards of the Crop Diversity Trust, the Global Water Partnership, the Foresight Advisory Committee of the Group Suez, ICARDA, the Water Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum, CABI, and as Vice Chair of the IDRC Board and the Canadian Water Network, and as a member of the Secretary General’s Advisory Group on Water.   

She was President of the Canadian International Development Agency 1983-89; Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF in New York 1981-1983; President of the Population Council in New York 1993-98; and Deputy Minister of the Department of Health and Welfare of Canada 1989-92. Catley-Carlson has ten honorary degrees and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Steven Evett, PhD

Steven R. Evett is a Research Soil Scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland in Texas. Dr. Evett uses field measurements, electronic sensing and automation systems and energy and water balance models to study irrigated and dryland crop water use, irrigation application methods, agronomy and automation as they affect crop water productivity. He also studies and develops soil water content and plant water stress sensors, supervisory control and data acquisition systems to control irrigation systems, decision support systems for irrigation management, and methods to quantify crop water use. In addition to research locations in the USA, Dr. Evett has had research projects in Egypt, the Middle East and Uzbekistan on crop water use, irrigation scheduling and soil water measurement; and he has worked in China, Egypt, Jordan and the USA to build and use weighing lysimeters to measure crop water use. Since 2003, Dr. Evett has been the ARS research coordinator for the Middle East Regional Irrigation Management Information Systems (MERIMIS) Project, which has research and extension partners in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority (http://www.merimis.org/). He is a graduate of the University of Idaho (B.S. chemistry) and the University of Arizona (M.S. and Ph.D., soil and water science), and was raised on an irrigated dairy farm in Southern Idaho. Dr. Evett is President (2018) of the American Society of Agronomy, and a Fellow of the Society and of the Soil Science Society of America. Dr. Evett is currently serving as the Acting Deputy Administrator, Natural Resources and Sustainable Agricultural Systems, USDA ARS, and he served as the ARS Acting National Program Leader for water resources in 2016. He is past associate editor of Agronomy Journal and of the Vadose Zone Journal, and he currently is on the Editorial Board of Agricultural Water Management. Dr. Evett is author/coauthor of 293 publications, including 3 patents, 145 peer-reviewed journal articles and 24 book chapters, and is coeditor of two books.

Geoff Smith, PhD

Geoff Smith is the Environmental Engineer who heads up the Pollution Control section of the Department of Environment & Natural Resources for the Government of Bermuda. In addition to amending environmental legislation, this role, together with the Hydrogeologist and Environmental Officer, includes administering the requirements of the Clean Air Act, Water Resources Act and associated regulations in addition to providing oil spill response and other specialised environmental and chemical input to a range of issues that can arise on a remote Island in the Atlantic Ocean.  As a technical manager at the Defence Research Agency in the UK, Dr. Smith’s projects included working towards compliance of UK warships to various environmental requirements of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). He was also an advisor to the UK Ministry of Defence while serving on a NATO Special Working Group. Retrofitting membrane bioreactor technology to a Royal Navy Frigate for black and grey water treatment was one of the positive outcomes. Monitoring the environmental impact, clean-up and natural attenuation of the oil spill in the Gulf of Arabia over 1992 and 1993 was provided as part of an EU funded project to establish a marine wildlife sanctuary in an area that was due to be designated with international protection status. Dr. Smith is a graduate of the University of Wales; Bangor (BSc Chemistry & Chemical Oceanography) and he completed his PhD at the School of Ocean Sciences, U.C. Wales; Bangor.

Join us for this scientific session coordinated by ILSI North America!

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At the 2018 ILSI Annual Meeting, a special session is being organized on Science Serving Society. The purpose of this session is to highlight specific programs that clearly demonstrate ILSI´s significant contributions to the theme, with an emphasis on multi-year, multi-partner programs with demonstrable impact.

Speakers

Correa_Cristina_2017

Cristiana Corrêa, PhD

Planitox and Brazilian Institute of Toxicology

Presentation Video mauro elans meio corpo

Mauro Fisberg, PhD

Federal University of São Paulo and PENSI Institute, Brazil

Presentation Video Gomez_official

Georgina Gómez, MSc

University of Costa Rica

Presentation Video Katase_Mitsuru_2017

Mitsuru Katase, PhD

Fuji Oil Co., Ltd.

Presentation Video Recker_Tobias_2017

Tobias Recker, PhD

ILSI Europe

Presentation Video Roberts_Andrew_2017

Andrew Roberts, PhD

ILSI Research Foundation

Presentation Video Usaga_Jessie_2017

Jessie Usaga, PhD

University of Costa Rica

Presentation Video Carmela Velázquez

Carmela Velazquez

University of Costa Rica

Agenda Abstracts Bios Agenda

8:00 a.m. Development of a Rapid Identification Method for Food Bacteria and Molds: MALDI-TOF MS Project
Dr. Mitsuru Katase, Fuji Oil Co., Ltd., Osaka, Japan

8:30 a.m. Evaluation of the Acute and Chronic Food Consumption by the Brazilian Population through the Family Budget Survey (POF 2008-2009 – IBGE) to Assess Pesticide Dietary Exposure
Dr. Cristiana Corrêa, Planitox and Brazilian Institute of Toxicology (IBTox), Brazil

9:00 a.m. Validation of Safety Control Measures and Pathogen Reduction Steps for the Safe Production of Traditional Artisanal Dairy Products from the Mesoamerican Region
Dr. Jessie Usaga, University of Costa Rica, Costa Rica

9:30 a.m. BREAK

10:00 a.m. Microbiota – The Gut-Brain Axis
Dr. Tobias Recker, ILSI Europe, Belgium

10:30 a.m. Latin American Health and Nutrition Study – Part II
Dr. Mauro Fisberg, Federal University of São Paulo and PENSI Institute, Brazil and Ms. Georgina Gómez, University of Costa Rica, Costa Rica

11:00 a.m. Gene Drive Technology for Malaria Control
Dr. Andrew Roberts, ILSI Research Foundation, USA

11:30 a.m. Panel Discussion
Chaired by Professor Carmela Velazquez, University of Costa Rica

12:00 p.m. Adjourn

Abstracts

Development of a Rapid Identification Method for Food Bacteria and Molds:  MALDI-TOF MS Project

Mitsuru Katase, PhD, Fuji Oil Co., Ltd., Osaka, Japan, Expert members of Microbiological Food Safety Task Force in ILSI Japan, NITE Biological Resource Center (NBRC*)

Spoilage of food products due to microorganisms is one of major problems. Information on the safety risk should be obtained as soon as possible when the spoilage occurs. Identification of the spoilage bacteria and molds is extremely essential, but current methods need hours or days, namely they are very time-consuming. We evaluated a novel rapid technique which gives results in minutes for identification of food microorganisms and will verify the standard protocol. The novel technique is based on Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), which is run at low cost: $ 0.20/sample by protein fingerprinting. Microbial strain library is very important for fingerprinting with molecules composed mainly of microorganism-specific ribosomal protein. But, as this technique started in the clinical field, the library included mainly clinical bacteria. We, Microbiological Food Safety Task Force as one made much effort to convince the equipment manufacturers to expand the library for spoilage bacteria in food industry and provided them with known microbial strains owned by Japan Canners Association. We also held a symposium to share the information with food industry in Japan. The activity finished a feasibility study of application of new methodologies to identification of food microorganisms. However, mold identification by MALDI-TOF MS is still unstable and difficult. Therefore, it has started the collaborative study of the methodologies for molds with NBRC*. As mentioned above, the key to success so far was to design an elaborate framework of the technique and to network various stakeholders. Once the technique is fully established, it will drastically speed up the product inspections to ensure the microbiological food safety of products and to solve microbiological problems. And, it is expected that all stakeholders in the food industry will share the information on the new technique with each other, which will surely strengthen the whole industry and benefit the consumers.

*A national research institute of Japan 

Evaluation of the Acute and Chronic Food Consumption by the Brazilian Population through the Family Budget Survey (POF 2008-2009 – IBGE) to Assess Pesticide Dietary Exposure

Laura B. Valério; Mariana C. N. Pais; Andreia N. O. Jardim; CRISTIANA L. CORRÊA*; Heloísa Kalvan; Márcia Pala; Renata Volpi; Simone Guimarães * Scientific Director at IBTox – Brazilian Institute of Toxicology and Scientific Coordinator at the Agrochemical´s Task Force/ILSI Brazil.

In Brazil, the Family Budget Surveys (POF) are performed periodically by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), which aims at obtaining information on the consumption habits of the families surveyed, using households as collection units (IBGE, 2017). The information on the individual consumption of food products were obtained through the Food Consumption Unit, also known as POF 7, in the survey performed in 2008/2009, in which subjects from 10 years of age were asked to provide a detailed report of the daily food consumption during two non-consecutive days (IBGE, 2011). The results were listed in the final consumption form, i.e., as raw (in natura), processed or prepared (recipes) food products. Therefore, in order to use these consumption data in risk assessment studies of dietary residues and contaminants, prepared food products were dismembered into their initial ingredients and processed food products were associated to their respective natural foods. At the end of this process, the amounts of each recipe item corresponding to the fresh ingredient could be added to the amounts of these same products directly consumed as raw (in natura) foods. The process described above was performed in the first phase of the project. At the end, the average individual consumption of raw foods by the Brazilian population in the 5 main regions (North, South, Middlewest, Northeast and Southeast) was calculated with the aim of using this data in the chronic exposure evaluation of chemical substances present in food products. However, for the acute exposure calculation, which occurs in a single meal or during 24 hours, the highest consumption values are used, often referring to the 97.5 percentile of the consumption distribution, also known as large portion (LP) of consumption. This evaluation addresses the risk of ingesting a chemical substance present at high concentrations in a food product, which in turn will be consumed in high amounts, in one single day. Given the importance of the acute exposure evaluation both nationally and worldwide, and the current discussions regarding this subject, the second phase was developed using the data obtained in the first phase. For the first time, a public tool was created with national and realistic values of large portion of food consumption (both LP and LPbw), as well as reference of a number of national unit weight (U) of commodities, thus contributing to the country’s scientific development and enabling the performance of acute dietary risk assessment with more current data of consumption by the Brazilian population. The data generated will be further used in the acute and chronic dietary risk assessment, aiming to understand if it is safe to consume food products containing pesticide residues in Brazil.

Validation of Safety Control Measures and Pathogen Reduction Steps for the Safe Production of Traditional Artisanal Dairy Products from the Mesoamerican Region

Jessie Usaga and D. Viquez, University of Costa Rica, Costa Rica; E. Wong, Department of Food Technology, University of Costa Rica (UCR)

Artisanal dairy products have caused numerous foodborne outbreaks in the Mesoamerican region due to deficient application of Good Manufacturing Practices and a lack of safety control measures, such as milk pasteurization. Nevertheless, most regional producers still rely on traditional approaches, including dry salting, mild heat treatments, and mild acidification, as sole pathogen reduction steps to ensure the safety of highly consumed traditional products. However, there is a lack of scientific evidence to confirm the effectiveness of these measures in controlling the pathogens of public health concern. Therefore, this project aims to obtain science-based data to determine the adequacy of the currently applied control measures, and to develop guidelines for the safe processing of these products. Three highly consumed products in the region (a dry salted cheese, a traditional fermented milk, and a stretched-curd cheese) are under investigation. At least 15 local producers have been visited (3 independent visits per producer), to evaluate compliance of GMPs, based on local regulations, and to document the formulation and processing conditions followed by these producers. No formal scientific guidelines regarding these products are yet available. During visits, products were sampled to characterize their physicochemical properties, and to evaluate their microbial quality (presence of generic E. coli and L. monocytogenes has been determined). Overall, basic GMPs were not in compliance and a large proportion of the visited producers do not apply a pasteurization step to the milk, and do not consistently apply any standardized control measures to ensure the safety and microbial stability of their products. Models of three common dairy products were developed at a pilot plant scale, based on producers’ specifications: dry salted cheese, fermented milk, and pulled-curd cheese. For the dry salted cheese, the effects of salting method (dry and moist) and cheese size (two different sizes commonly used by cheese makers) on the pH, water activity, sodium content and probability of pathogen growth are under investigation. For the case of fermented milk, the effect of factors such as fermentation temperature (refrigeration, room temperature, 37ºC) and use of starter cultures, on the growth of lactic acid bacteria and milk acidification kinetics have been evaluated. Finally, for the pulled-curd cheese the heat penetration during the curd stretching step and the potential of pathogen growth in the cheese (after molding) have been analyzed. The most important findings collected so far have been employed to develop standardized guidelines and teaching materials (in Spanish and lay terms), to encourage the safe production of these products. Training activities have also been held to validate the adequacy of these materials. This project will contribute to the training of artisanal producers and hopefully will eventually facilitate the establishment of regional dairy safety regulations.

Latin American Health and Nutrition Study – Part II

Mauro Fisberg, The Instituto Pensi, Fundação Jose Luiz Egydio Setubal, Hospital Infantil Sabara, São Paulo, Brazil; The Departamento de Pediatria, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. Georgina Gómez, Department of Biochesmistry, School of Medicine, University of Costa Rica.

The ELANS (Latin American Health and Nutrition Study) is a transversal, multicenter study conducted in adolescents and adults living in urban areas of eight Latin America countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela). The aim of the study was to provide up-to-date, reliable and comparable data of dietary intake, physical activity, and nutritional status among representative urban populations stratified by region, cultural background, socioeconomic status, age and gender. This study adds new scientific-based evidence to describe the interplay among datary intake, physical activity, and anthropometric measurements.

A random complex, multistage sampling was performed to select a representative sample of the urban household population, to obtain a final sample of 9,218 individuals, 15–65 y of age, stratified by geographical location, gender, age and socioeconomic status. Two non-consecutive 24-hour dietary recalls collected between 2014 and 2015 were used to evaluated dietary intake and processed by Nutritional Data System for Research (NDS-R). Physical Activity (PA) was estimated with the International Questionnaire of Physical Activity (IPAQ), and an objective measure of the PA for 40 % of the sample was obtained through the use of the accelerometers during 7 valid days.

Overall, mean energy intake (EI) was 1959 kcal, with a balanced distribution of macronutrients (54% carbohydrates, 30% fats and 16% proteins). Main food sources of energy were grains, pasta, and bread (28%), followed by meat and eggs (19%), oils and fats (10%) and non-alcoholic homemade beverages (6%) and ready-to-drink beverages (6%). More than 25% of EI was provided from food sources rich in sugar and fat, sugary drinks, pastries, chips, and candies. Meanwhile, only 18% of EI was from food sources rich in fiber and micronutrients, such as whole grains, roots, fruits, vegetables, beans, fish and nuts. No critical differences were observed by sex or age. A high prevalence (>95%) of inadequate dietary intake of vitamin D, was observed in both genders for all eight countries. Significant differences were observed in dietary intake of Calcium and Vitamin C between countries related to the differences on c food sources and only an inadequate intake of iron was observed among Brazilians specially in fertile age woman. The prevalence of physically active individuals was 52,5%, ranging from 35.4% in Venezuela to 78.3% in Ecuador. Men were more active than women in all eight countries. A high prevalence of excess weight (BMI>25 kg/m2) is present in all countries, accounting for 60% of the participants. This prevalence is higher in women than in men in all countries except for Argentina and Chile. Colombia is the country with the lowest prevalence of obesity (15%), while Chile is the country with the highest (27%).

Since this is a unique study that provide up-dated data on nutrition and physical activity in Latin Americans with a detailed, simultaneous and standardized methodology, the results of this study would be of the greatest actionable value to determine the dietary patterns and energy and nutrient intakes for the developing of dietary recommendations and policies to address the adverse consequences of inappropriate dietary patterns and physical inactivity.

Gene Drive Technology for Malaria Control

Dr. Andrew Roberts, ILSI Research Foundation, USA

Malaria continues to be a devastating disease, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where the deadliest malaria parasite (Plasmodium falciparum) is transmitted by the most efficient vector mosquitoes (Anopheles gambiae). Concerted efforts to reduce the incidence of malaria in the 21st century through a combination of public awareness, medication, pesticide control of vectors and the widespread distribution of insecticide treated bed nets has achieved impressive gains. However, insecticide resistant vectors, drug resistant plasmodium and the unsustainable cost of control efforts threaten to reverse these gains.

Malaria control efforts are exploring new technologies to support existing control methods, and one of these is the use of gene drives targeting the vector mosquito Anopheles gambiae. Designed to introduce a rapidly spreading genetic element into wild mosquito populations to either suppress the vector or reduce its ability to vector the disease, gene drives have the potential to help malaria control efforts reach the critical “last mile” goal of breaking the cycle of parasitism and ending malaria. But before a gene drive can be used in the environment, regulators need to understand how to assess the potential risks.

In cooperation with the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) and the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), the ILSI Research Foundation is working with African scientists and regulators to introduce the science behind the gene drive concept and begin the task of scoping future risk assessments. This process is referred to as “problem formulation” and, done well, facilitates a transparent and credible risk assessment to inform future decision making.

Bios

Cristiana Corrêa, PhD

Cristiana Leslie Corrêa is the Technical Director at Planitox – The Science-based Toxicology Company and Scientific Director at the Brazilian Institute of Toxicology (IBTox), Campinas, S.P; Brazil. Her research interests focus on Human Health Risk Assessment, working as a toxicologist consultant in registration and reevaluation process of chemicals, food ingredients and agrochemicals. Cristiana has written some books, chapters of books and peer-reviewed publications in the field of Toxicology. She is a Member of the International Life Science Institute (ILSI)/Brazil in the Scientific Committee. Cristiana earned a Masters Degree in Toxicological Analysis and PhD in Toxicology at the University of São Paulo, Brazil and became a specialist in Toxicological Risk Assessment at the Postgraduate Education in Toxicology Program at Wageningen University, The Netherlands.

Mauro Fisberg, PhD, MD

Dr. Fisberg is a pediatrician and nutrologist in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He is the coordinator of the Nutrology and Feeding Difficulties Center- Pensi Institute - Fundação José Luiz Setubal - Sabará Children's Hospital Sao Paulo- Brazil. He is also an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Escola Paulista de Medicina - Federal University of Sao Paulo- UNIFESP. Dr. Fisberg serves as a Scientific Coordinator of the Healthy Life Style Task Force and is member of the Board ILSI Brazil. He is a past President and General Secretary of the Latin American Society for Pediatric Research-SLAIP as well as an alumnus of the World Hunger Program- United Nations University and the Kellog's Foundation Leadership Program- Partners of the Americas.

Georgina Gómez, ND MSc.

MSc. Gómez is a full professor and researcher at the University of Costa Rica where she has been working and studying for the last 25 years. She is a nutritionist, who graduated from the University of Costa Rica with a Masters Degree in Biochemistry and a Masters Degree in Human Nutrition. As a principal investigator of the Latin American Nutrition and Health Study (ELANS)-Costa Rica, she is leading the dietary assessment of urban Costa Rican population.

Andrew Roberts, PhD

Dr. Andrew F. Roberts is the Deputy Executive Director of the ILSI Research Foundation, where he is responsible for programs addressing environmental risk assessment and food safety assessment for biotechnology. Dr. Roberts joined the ILSI Research Foundation in December 2009 as the Deputy Director of the Center for Environmental Risk Assessment (CERA), where his first tasks included developing tools and materials for use in training and capacity building related to the problem formulation approach to environmental risk assessment published by the Research Foundation (Wolt et al 2009). He has served as the coordinator for CERA’s capacity building projects under the USAID funded South Asia Biosafety Program (SABP) and the World Bank funded Partnership for Biosafety Risk Assessment and Regulation, in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Vietnam as well as providing technical support for capacity building work in Brazil, India, Japan, Chile, and South Africa. In January of 2015 he became the director of CERA as well as the Center for Safety Assessment of Food and Feed (CSAFF), which works on food and feed safety assessment for foods derived from genetically engineered plants. In January 2017, he became the Deputy Executive Director of the ILSI Research Foundation.

Prior to joining ILSI RF, Dr. Roberts worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in several different capacities, all related to the regulation of agricultural biotechnology. He began his career at USDA as an AAAS Risk Policy Fellow in the Office of Science of Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS), the group responsible for regulating genetically engineered plants at USDA. After spending a year in the New Technologies office of the Foreign Agricultural Service serving as the lead for USDA’s efforts related to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, he returned to BRS to serve in the International Affairs branch where he remained until joining ILSI RF.

Dr. Roberts received his Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology from Rutgers University where he worked on signal transduction in the model nematode C. elegans.

Jessie Usaga, PhD

Dr. Usaga currently holds a position as Associate Professor in the Department of Food Technology at the University of Costa Rica. She received a B.S. degree in Food Technology from the University of Costa Rica in 2006, and a Ph.D. degree in Food Science, with minors in microbiology and food engineering, at Cornell University in 2014, where she co-authored 8 peer-reviewed publications regarding juice and beverage safety assurance. Between 2016 and 2017, Dr. Usaga was a Visiting Associate Professor at Cornell University, where she managed the laboratory at the High Pressure Processing (HPP) Validation Center, worked on developing protocols for the validation of high pressure processed foods and conducted several microbial challenge studies and research. Her area of expertise includes product development, food microbiology, food quality and safety. Her current primary focus of research emphasizes on processing and microbiology of traditional and artisanal foods, including the application of traditional thermal processing and nonthermal emerging technologies for safety assurance (UV light, membrane filtration, and HPP). Dr. Usaga is a Process Authority for acidified foods, and an active member of ILSI Mesoamerica, IFT, and IAFP. She promotes the involvement of students with these organizations through their participation in international product development and research competitions. Her mentees have been awarded with first place in multiple competitions organized by IFT, IUFoST, and the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology. This year, Dr. Usaga is honored to receive the Malaspina International Scholars Travel Award which motivates her to pursue her personal and professional aspirations of promoting food safety through research and extension initiatives and supporting local food companies by providing training and technical advice in food processing and safety.

Join us for this scientific session!

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At the 2018 ILSI Annual Meeting, ILSI North America is organizing a scientific session on Advances in Health-Based Decision Making. This session will educate the audience about the value of health-based assessments in decision-making in comparison with endpoint or hazard-based determinations. Examples discussed will provide insights into criteria that can frame the uncertainties of risk assessment and reduce the ambiguity of conclusions. This may be an opportunity to contribute in promoting appropriate evidence-based assessment methodologies to inform pronouncements on health and safety. This session will address advances in evidence-based risk assessment in toxicology and nutrition and weigh the accommodation of uncertainty in decisions pertinent to safety and health.

Speakers

Chester, D

Deirdra N. Chester, PhD, RDN

USDA

Crozier, S

Stephen Crozier, PhD

The Hershey Company
(2018 Program Chair)

Klurfeld, D

David Klurfeld, PhD

USDA Agricultural Research Service

Presentation Video Maier, A.

Andrew Maier, PhD

University of Cincinnati

Presentation Video Rodricks, J

Joe Rodricks, PhD

Ramboll Environ

Presentation Video Sievenpiper, J

John Sievenpiper, MD, PhD

University of Toronto
(2018 Program Vice Chair)

Williamson, P

Patricia Williamson, PhD

Cargill

Agenda Abstracts Bios Agenda

Welcome from Scientific Program Planning Committee
Stephen Crozier, PhD, The Hershey Company, CHAIR and John Sievenpiper, MD, PhD, FRCPC, University of Toronto, VICE CHAIR

Welcome and Introductions
Session Co-Chairs: Patricia Williamson, PhD, Cargill and Deirdra N. Chester, PhD, RDN, USDA 

The Evolution and Continuing Importance of Risk-Based Decisions and the Increasing Influence of Hazard-Based Approaches 
Joe Rodricks, PhD, Ramboll Environ

How Evolving Science is Improving Safety Assessment of Food Relevant Chemicals
Andrew Maier, PhD, CIH, DABTRA, University of Cincinnati

Evidence-Based Evaluation of Benefits from Food Components
David Klurfeld, PhD, United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Services

Abstracts

The Evolution and Continuing Importance of Risk-Based Decisions and the Increasing Influence of Hazard-Based Approaches

Joseph Rodricks, PhD, Founding Principal, Ramboll-Environ, Arlington, VA, USA

Uncontrolled exposures to many chemical, biological, and physical agents present in foods and other consumer products, the general environment, and the workplace can threaten human health in diverse ways.  Decisions to protect populations, whether in regulatory or other contexts, depend upon an adequate understanding of the health risks these agents pose, and on the means available to manage those risks.  Significant progress in risk assessment and the sciences upon which its conduct depends, and in risk management practices, has been seen since their formal introduction in the 1980s, and will be reviewed, together with practices related to uncertainty analysis and risk communication.  Risk-based decision models, particularly those related to the many different types of challenges associated with food, will be elaborated.  Thus, nutrients, other natural constituents of food, the various types of intentionally introduced substances, and the several categories of food contaminants and process-formed chemicals, each requires its own type of risk management approach and risk assessments that are useful for those approaches.  Moreover, nutrients and other food substances may, under certain conditions of exposure, reduce risks of certain diseases, and risk-based decision models will be used to illustrate how such health benefits can be taken into account.  Finally, the long-standing tensions between those who advocate risk-based decisions and those who advocate much simpler hazard-based decisions (those based solely on the type of harm an agent can cause, and not on the probability that the harm will occur) will be explained, as will the forces at work to increase dependence on hazard-based approaches.  The difficulties associated with hazard-based decisions will be elaborated, as will the improvements needed to increase confidence in risk-based decision making.

How Evolving Science is Improving Safety Assessment of Food Relevant Chemicals

Andrew Maier, PhD, Director Risk Science Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA

Techniques and methods continue to improve for assessing the potential toxicity of chemicals and for assessing safety for diverse exposure scenarios. Assessments of food relevant chemicals are no exception to this progress. The availability of enhanced methods reflects improvements in biological understanding of toxicity coupled with increased access to mathematical and statistical tools. This presentation highlights how developments in safety assessment tools are increasing confidence in assessments, better communicating uncertainty and data gaps, and supporting more robust risk-informed decisions. Traditional safety assessments based on the safe dose concept are making greater use of data. There are many examples to highlight this shift, for example: 1) ongoing movement from study dose determined risk assessment starting points such as no observed adverse effect levels with dose-response modeled alternatives such as benchmark doses, 2) use of data derived extrapolations to replace default uncertainty factors, 3) and taking advantage of predictive tools to fill data gaps. Since these tools maximize the use of data, they can increase the scientific rigor of an assessment. But they can also increase complexity. Thus, care is needed to clearly communicate the concepts of uncertainty, variability, and accuracy. To support confidence in the basis of these advanced safety assessments, increased attention is also being given to transparency in weighing evidence using systematic approaches as well as documenting uncertainties. The integrated use of all these methods developments will be highlighted for food relevant assessment scenarios and case studies. The field of safety assessment is not stagnant. Ongoing effort reflects the goal of ensuring effective use of advances in best practices to better inform decision-making for public health.

Evidence-Based Evaluation of Benefits from Food Components

David M. Klurfeld, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, USA

Most scientists are familiar with some version of a pyramid showing hierarchies of evidence, with expert opinion at the bottom and systematic reviews at the top. Systematic reviews are of varying quality, therefore not all are unimpeachable sources for conclusions while most scientific committee recommendations are simply expert opinions. Some reasons for this are a lack of evidence for many nutrition issues; there is plenty of weak evidence, and there are gaps in evidence. These weaknesses stem, in part, from uncertainty factors, some of which are due to subpopulation variability which, in turn, may be due to genetic polymorphisms, epigenetic changes in gene expression, and difference in individual’s microbiomes. Translating evidence to recommendations often has to deal with what constitutes sufficient science to make a recommendation. Objective grading systems exist for dealing with many of these problems such as GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) but the nutrition field has not yet adopted this approach to any extent. The recent National Academies report on Guiding Principles for Developing Dietary Reference Intakes Based on Chronic Disease recommended use of this system in future DRI reviews. Most other public health nutrition recommendations have yet to realize the importance of weighing evidence. Uncertainty factors point to a new paradigm of precision nutrition that is being created through use of various omics analyses and will, at some future time, replace the existing public health approach of a single solution for nutritional recommendations. All of this should result in better assessment of the net benefit in nutrition decisions.

Bios

Deirdra N. Chester, PhD, RDN

Deirdra Chester is the Acting Division Director in the Division of Nutrition, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA.  Prior to joining NIFA, Dr. Chester was a scientist at the USDA- Agriculture Research Service.  In her role as the National Program Leader of Applied Nutrition Research, she provided leadership in identifying emerging issues of national importance, program reviews, and grants management in the area of nutrition, functional components of food, and childhood obesity.  She also provides leadership for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Childhood Obesity Prevention and the Foundational Program - Function of Efficacy and Nutrient competitive grants programs.  She provides co-leadership for a joint USDA - NIH competitive grants program.  She has worked extensively with a number of inter and intra-agency projects and programs with the FDA, NIH and the CDC including Let’s Move, the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR), the Interagency Committee on Dietary Guidance Committee (ICHNR), the USDA Human Nutrition Coordinating Committee, the Joint Dietary Guidance Review Committee, and the NIH Nutrition Coordinating Committee.  Participation on these committees resulted in the development of the National Nutrition Roadmap and the Dietary Guidelines.

Dr. Chester serves on the Executive Board and is a Past-Chair of the Food and Nutrition Section of the American Public Health Association. She was recently awarded the Mary C. Egan Award which recognizes pioneers in innovative approaches to public health nutrition. She is a Past-Chair of the Research Committee and a past member of the Committee on Professional Development of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.  She is a past member of the Dietetics Based Practice Research Network Committee. Dr. Chester is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist.

She currently holds membership in the following professional organizations: The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Public Health Association and the Institute of Food Technologist. Dr. Chester has spoken both nationally and internationally on nutrition topics. Dr. Chester is on the editorial board of the Journal of Obesity and Chronic Disease.

Dr. Chester and holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Nutrition from Florida International University where she was awarded the McKnight Doctoral Fellowship and was in the inaugural class of the Gates Millennial Scholars. She holds a Master of Science degree in Food and Nutrition Science and a baccalaureate degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from Florida State University. 

Stephen James Crozier, PhD

Stephen Crozier began working at The Hershey Company in 2011.  In his current role within Global Research & Development he is responsible for managing clinical research projects and facilitating process and ingredient innovation. Prior to joining The Hershey Company, Stephen was an adjunct professor in the Department of Cellular & Molecular Physiology at Penn State College of Medicine and a post-doctoral fellow studying the relationship between nutrition and gastrointestinal function in the Department of Physiology at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Crozier is a member of the American Physiological Society and the American Society for Nutrition and serves as a reviewer for several journals.  He is the current chair of the ILSI North America Balancing Food & Activity for Health Committee and is The Hershey Company’s representative on the ILSI North America Carbohydrates and ILSI North America Protein Committees. 

Dr. Crozier attained a BSc in Biochemistry from Mount Allison University in Canada, an MSc in Medical Genetics from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, and a PhD in Physiology from Penn State College of Medicine.  He currently resides in Hummelstown, PA with his wife Nicole and their three daughters. 

John L. Sievenpiper, MD, PhD, FRCPC

Dr. Sievenpiper is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences and the Lifestyle Medicine Lead in the MD Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. He also holds appointments as a Staff Physician in the Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism and Scientist in the La Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital. Dr. Sievenpiper completed his MSc, PhD and Postdoctoral Fellowship training in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. He completed his MD at St. Matthew’s University followed by Residency training in Medical Biochemistry at McMaster University leading to his certification as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada (FRCPC). His research is focused on using randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews and meta-analyses to address questions of clinical and public health importance in relation to diet and chronic disease prevention. He currently holds a PSI Foundation Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship, Canadian Diabetes Association Clinician Scientist Award, and Banting & Best Diabetes Centre Sun Life Financial New Investigator Award. He has authored more than 140 scientific papers and 13 book chapters. Dr. Sievenpiper is directly involved in knowledge translation with appointments to the nutrition guidelines’ committees of the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA), European Association for the study of Diabetes (EASD), and Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS).

Patricia Williamson, PhD

Patricia Williamson is currently a Principal Scientist in Scientific and Regulatory Affairs for Cargill.  Previously, Dr. Williamson served as a Senior Nutrition Scientist at Tate & Lyle and Nutrition Scientist for ADM. During her time in the food ingredient industry, Dr. Williamson has supported health and wellness ingredients including soluble fibers, proteins, bioactives, and sweeteners. Dr. Williamson’s core responsibilities have included the review and conduct of basic scientific research, pre-clinical research, and human clinical research for the past 17 years.  She has been responsible for formulating research strategies and collaborations to push innovations and support the beneficial effects of food ingredients. Dr. Williamson carries a practical working understanding of food and agriculture from the vantage point of commodity food ingredient processing and specialty food ingredients. 

She has served on several professional committees including being a member of the ILSI North America Carbohydrates Committee where she currently serves as the Fiber Subcommittee Chair. Dr. Williamson’s background in nutritional biochemistry, gastrointestinal health, metabolism, appetite regulation, and endocrinology are reflected in her professional publication history.  She also has interests in food & nutrition regulation and policy.  Dr. Williamson received a bachelor's degree from Central Methodist University in Biology, and both a master's and doctor of philosophy degrees in Nutrition Sciences from the University of Missouri – Columbia with emphasis in biochemistry and endocrinology respectively. Her post-doctoral work was completed at the Oregon National Primate Research Center in neuroendocrine regulation of appetite and reproductive physiology.

Joseph Rodricks, PhD

Dr. Joseph Rodricks is a founding Principal of ENVIRON, and is now a Principal of Ramboll Environ. He is an internationally recognized expert in toxicology and risk analysis. He has consulted for hundreds of manufacturers, government agencies and for the World Health Organization in the evaluation of health risks associated with human exposure to chemical substances of all types. Dr. Rodricks came to consulting after a 15-year career as a scientist at the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). In his last four years at the USFDA, he served as Associate Commissioner for Health Affairs. His experience extends from pharmaceuticals, medical devices, consumer products and foods, to occupational chemicals and environmental contaminants. He has served on the National Research Council’s Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, and on more than 30 boards and committees of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine, including the committees that produced the seminal works Risk Assessment in the Federal Government: Managing the Process (1983), and Science and Decisions–Advancing Risk Assessment (2009). He has more than 150 scientific publications and has received honorary awards from three professional societies for his contributions to toxicology and risk analysis. He is author of the widely-used text, Calculated Risks, now in its second edition, published by Cambridge University Press, and has presented more than 500 lectures in countries around the world. Dr. Rodricks has been certified as a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology since 1981.

Andrew Maier, PhD, CIH, DABT

Andrew Maier is an associate professor of environmental and industrial hygiene at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine. He also serves as the Director of the UC Risk Science Center housed within the Department of Environmental Health. His research focuses on methods for integrating mechanistic toxicology and exposure information to improve the development of health-based chemical exposure limits. Andrew has served on numerous expert committees, including current service as a science advisor for the Food and Chemical Safety Committee of ILSI North America. He is the Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, and Past President of the Society of Toxicology Occupational and Public Health Specialty Section. He earned a PhD, in molecular toxicology from the University of Cincinnati and a M.S. in industrial health from the University of Michigan.

David M. Klurfeld, PhD

David Klurfeld has been National Program Leader for Human Nutrition in the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture since 2004.  He is responsible for the scientific direction of the intramural human nutrition research conducted by USDA laboratories.  Prior to government service, he was Professor and Chairman of the Department of Nutrition & Food Science at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan for 12 years.  Before that he was on the faculty of The Wistar Institute and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine for 15 years.

Dr. Klurfeld’s research focuses on the relationship of diet and prevention of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and gallstones.  Among his scientific discoveries are the first demonstration that red wine consumption resulted in fewer cardiovascular lesions, that the cholesterol-filled cells in human arterial lesions are white blood cells, that reducing calories was more important than reducing fat in the diet for decreasing cancer growth, and a mediator of this last effect was likely IGF-1. Dr. Klurfeld has published more than 195 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.  He has been Associate Editor of the American Journal for Clinical Nutrition for 10 years and is also a member of National Institute for Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases Advisory Council. Dr. Klurfeld received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and both master’s and doctorate degrees in pathology from the Medical College of Virginia.

Join us for this scientific session coordinated by ILSI North America!

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At the 2018 ILSI Annual Meeting, ILSI North America is organizing a scientific session on New Advances: Diet and Microbiome. This session will examine the latest science on the diet and microbiome, including advances on application and intervention for appetite and eating behavior as well as new research on infant and fetal microbiome. 

Speakers

Cryan, J.

John Cryan, PhD

University College Cork

Davis, C

Cindy Davis, PhD

National Institutes of Health 

Presentation Video Kozyrskyj, A

Anita Kozyrskyj, PhD

University of Alberta

Presentation Video Liska, D

DeAnn Liska, PhD

Biofortis, Merieux NutriSciences

Matar, C.

Chantal Matar, PhD

University of Ottawa

Untitled 4

Gary Wu, PhD, MD

University of Pennsylvania

Presentation Video Agenda Abstracts Bios Agenda

Welcome and Introductions 
Co-Chairs: DeAnn Liska, PhD, Biofortis, Merieux NutriSciences and
Chantal Matar, PhD, University of Ottawa

State of the Science on Microbiota, Diet & Dietary Patterns 
Gary Wu, PhD, University of Pennsylvania

Case Examples on Application & Intervention

  • A Gut Feeling About the Brain: Diet, Microbiome & Behavior 
    John Cryan, PhD, University College Cork
  • Shaping the Gut Microbiome During Infancy
    Anita Kozyrskyj, PhD, University of Alberta

Workshop on Best Practices in Studies of Diet and the Intestinal Microbiome
Cindy Davis, PhD,  National Institutes of Health 

Abstracts

State of the Science on Microbiota, Diet & Dietary Patterns

Gary D. Wu, PhD, MD, Ferdinand G. Weisbrod Professor in Gastroenterology, Co-Director PennCHOP Microbiome Program, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

The human gut contains a vast number of microorganisms known collectively as the “gut microbiota”. Despite its importance in maintaining the health of the host, growing evidence suggests the gut microbiota may also be an important factor in the pathogenesis of various diseases, a number of which have shown a rapid increase in incidence over the past few decades. In some of these diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the microbiota is “dysbiotic” with an altered community structure and decrease in diversity. If the dysbiotic microbiota plays a role in disease pathogenesis, interventions that modify its composition might be a strategy to treat certain disease processes. The composition of the microbiota can be influenced by many factors including age, genetics, host environment, and diet. Diet has an impact upon both the composition and function of the microbiota in part through small molecule production that may influence the development of both immune-mediated and metabolic diseases. There are a number of ways by which this interaction can be exploited to promote human health including the use of gut microbiome composition to develop personalized diets for the treatment of metabolic syndrome, protect mucus barrier function in the intestinal tract, and as a modality to treat immunologically based diseases such as IBD. In total, there is growing evidence supporting the notion that the dietary manipulation of the gut microbiota and its metabolome can be used as a modality to both maintain health and treat disease. In order to accomplish this goal, there is a need for human intervention studies to demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships.

A Gut Feeling about the Brain: Diet, Microbiome & Behavior

John F. Cryan, PhD, APC Microbiome Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

The brain-gut-microbiota axis is emerging as a research area of increasing interest for those investigating the biological and physiological basis of brain development and behaviour across the lifespan. A growing body of evidence supports the role of this microbiota in influencing host appetite and food intake. The routes of communication between the gut and brain include the vagus nerve, the immune system, tryptophan metabolism, via the enteric nervous system or by way of microbial metabolites such as short chain fatty acids. These mechanisms also impinge on neuroendocrine function at multiple levels. Studies in animal models have been key in delineating that neurodevelopment and the programming of an appropriate stress response is dependent on the microbiota. Developmentally, a variety of factors can impact the microbiota in early life including mode of birth delivery, antibiotic exposure, mode of nutritional provision, infection, stress as well as host genetics.  At the other extreme of life, individuals who age with considerable ill health tend to show narrowing in microbial diversity. Stress can significantly impact the microbiota-gut-brain axis at all stages across the lifespan. Moreover, fundamental brain processes from adult hippocampal neurogenesis to myelination to microglia activation have been shown to be regulated by the microbiome. A growing body of evidence indicates that there is a crucial role for the microbiota in regulating different aspects of eating-related behaviour, as well as behavioural comorbidities of eating and metabolic disorders. Finally, studies examining the translation of these effects from animals to humans are currently ongoing. Further studies will focus on understanding the mechanisms underlying such brain effects and developing nutritional and microbial-based intervention strategies.

Shaping the Gut Microbiome During Infancy

Anita Kozyrskyj, PhD, Professor, Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Established during infancy, our complex gut microbial community is shaped by medical interventions and societal preferences, such as cesarean section, formula-feeding and antibiotic use. The SyMBIOTA (Synergy in Microbiota) research program aims to quantify age-specific and longitudinal changes in gut microbial composition during infancy following the most common birth and postnatal events affecting infant gut microbial composition. Gut microbiota profiles of full-term infants in the general population Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development birth cohort were obtained using 16S high-throughput gene sequencing. At 3 months of age, depletion of Bacteroidetes and enrichment of Firmicutes (genera Clostridium and Enterococcus) was observed in the infant gut following cesarean delivery and maternal antibiotic prophylaxis during vaginal birth. Fewer changes were detected at 1 year of age, largely among infants who were not exclusively breastfed for at least 3 months. From 3 months to 1 year of age, well-known patterns of microbial phyla succession in later infancy (declining Proteobacteria; increasing Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes) following vaginal birth, breastfeeding and no antibiotic exposure. Genus Lactobacillus, Roseburia and Faecalibacterium species appeared in the top 10 increases to microbial abundance in these infants. Deviations from this pattern were evident among infants with birth and postnatal interventions; notably, the largest number of microbial species with unchanged abundance was seen in gut microbiota following early cessation of breastfeeding in infants. Gut microbiota of infants born vaginally and exclusively formula-fed became less enriched with family Veillonellaceae and Clostridiaceae, showed unchanging levels of Ruminococcaceae and exhibited a greater decline in the Rikenellaceae/ Bacteroideceae ratio compared to their breastfed, vaginally-delivered counterparts. These changes were also evident in cesarean-delivered infants to a lesser extent. The clinical relevance of these trajectories of microbial change is that they culminate in taxon-specific abundances in the gut microbiota of later infancy, which we and others have observed to be associated with food sensitization and overweight.

Workshop on Best Practices in Studies of Diet and the Intestinal Microbiome

Cindy D. Davis, PhD, National Institutes of Health, Christopher J. Lynch, Robert W. Karp and David M. Klurfeld

Many studies of the intestinal microbiome, whether in vitro, in animal models, or in humans report only minimal information about dietary composition despite substantial evidence that diet modulates microbial composition. ILSI North America and USDA sponsored a two-day workshop that was organized by NIH and USDA. This workshop brought together 16 scientific experts to discuss the role of diet in modifying the human gastrointestinal microbiome. The purpose of the workshop was to improve rigor and reproducibility in research on the gastrointestinal microbiome, identify important dietary information that should be reported, and parameters to consider when designing studies on diet and the intestinal microbiome. For all types of studies, strengths and weaknesses of various designs were emphasized and for human studies, comparisons between controlled feeding and observational designs were discussed.  The participants concluded that there are few clearly established best practices for the design of studies on the intestinal microbiome in which diet is a main variable. Moreover, in the absence of clearly superior dietary approaches for specific research questions, the main recommendation is to present dietary information in as much detail as possible so that other researchers can reproduce the work. This emerging field needs to move from associations to causality which will be catalyzed by knowing in as much detail as possible what is ingested, how it is metabolized, and the health consequences derived from these processes.

Bios

DeAnn Liska, PhD

DeAnn Liska is the Senior Director of Nutrition Science & Biostatistics at Biofortis - Mérieux NutriSciences, where she leads the team responsible for scientific consultation, design, and interpretation of clinical trials and literature assessments. She has more than 20 years’ experience in the nutrition industry with past leadership roles at Kellogg’s, Ocean Spray, and Metagenics. Dr. Liska holds a PhD in biochemistry (University of Wisconsin) and was an Assistant Research Professor in biochemistry at the University of Washington prior to joining industry. She is a member ILSI North America’s Food, Nutrition & Safety Program (FNSP) Leadership Program, and is on the scientific advisory panels for the Council for Responsible Nutrition and Cornell Division of Nutritional Sciences. Dr. Liska has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications and is co-inventor on 12 patents.

Chantal Matar PhD, RD                                                         

Dr. Chantal Matar is a professor at the School of Nutrition Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa. She obtained her PhD in Food Sciences and Technology from Laval University and completed a Dietetic Internship at Ottawa Hospital. Dr. Matar’s expertise is focused on in vivo assessing of functional foods, probiotics and microbiome in chemoprevention of cancer by controlling cancer stem cells and microRNAs. She is an established investigator with proven track record of supervising highly qualified personnel. Dr. Matar has authored more than 110 communications, including 50 referred papers, book chapters, and patent applications. She was successful in acquiring research funding from different research agencies. In 2014, Dr. Matar received the Best Research Award from Trade and Industry Ministry in Japan and in 2008, an International Union for Cancer Control research fellowship for visiting scientist at WHO.

Gary Wu, PhD, MD

Dr. Wu is the Ferdinand G. Weisbrod Professor in Gastroenterology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania where he is the Associate Chief for Research in the Division of Gastroenterology, the Associate Director of the Center for Molecular Studies in Digestive and Liver Disease, and the Co-Director of the PennCHOP Microbiome Program. He was the inaugural Director and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for the American Gastroenterological Association's Center for Gut Microbiome Research and Education and is currently a member of the Governing Board as the Basic Research Councillor. Dr. Wu is an elected member of both the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. Research programs in the Wu laboratory focus on the mutualistic interactions between the gut microbiota and its host with a particular emphasis on metabolism including nitrogen balance, intestinal oxygen regulation, and epithelial intermediary metabolism. Of particular interest is the effect of diet on the gut microbiome and its relationship to therapeutic responses associated with the use of defined formula diets in the treatment of Crohn’s disease. Insights gained from these projects will hopefully lead to the development of better diets for patients with IBD.

As a former member of the NIDDK-C committee and its Chairman in 2007, Dr. Wu is cognizant of the need to foster the careers of young investigators including those in the field of Gastroenterology. Dr. Wu has been the Associate Director of The University of Pennsylvania Training Program in Gastrointestinal Sciences (T32 DK0706) since 1997, member of the GI Fellowship Committee at Penn, and a member of the Scholarly Oversight Committee at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In this capacity, he has been actively involved in the career development of many GI fellows in the physician-scientist track at Penn. In addition to over two dozen graduate students, post-docs, medical students, and residents that he has mentored over the years, Dr. Wu has specifically mentored nine GI fellows since joining the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. He is proud of the fact that nearly all of these individuals are full time faculty members at academic medical centers.

John F. Cryan, PhD

John F. Cryan is Professor & Chair of the Department of Anatomy & Neuroscience at the University College Cork, Ireland and is also a Principal Investigator at the APC Microbiome Institute. Prof. Cryan's current research is focused on understanding the interaction between brain, gut & microbiome and how it applies to stress, psychiatric and immune-related disorders at key time-windows across the lifespan. Prof. Cryan has published over 400 articles and is co-author of the forthcoming “The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection” from National Geographic Press. He has received numerous awards including UCC Researcher of the Year in 2012; the University of Utrecht Award for Excellence in Pharmaceutical Research in 2013 and being named on the Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researcher list in 2014. He was elected a Member of the Royal Irish Academy in 2017. In that year he also received a Research Mentor Award from the American Gastroenterology Association and the Tom Connor Distinguished Scientist Award from Neuroscience Ireland. He was a TEDMED speaker in 2014 and is currently President of the European Behavioural Pharmacology Society.

Anita Kozyrskyj, PhD

Dr. Anita Kozyrskyj, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta, has expertise in epidemiological research using population-based birth cohort studies, including the CHILD (Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development) birth cohort. Her current research focuses on early-life programming of childhood atopic disease and overweight by the infant gut microbiome, as influenced by birth method, infant diet and antibiotic use during pregnancy, birth and infancy. Dr. Kozyrskyj has MS and PhD degrees in community health sciences from the University of Manitoba.

Cindy D. Davis, PhD

Cindy Davis is the Director of Grants and Extramural Activities in the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS). In this position, she actively engages and encourages partnerships with other NIH Institutes and Centers to facilitate funding of grants that are of high relevance to ODS mission and goals. Dr. Davis is also actively involved in a number of government working groups on the microbiome. Before coming to ODS, she was a Program Director in the Nutritional Sciences Research Group at the National Cancer Institute. Cindy received her bachelor’s degree with honors in nutritional sciences from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and her doctorate degree in nutrition with a minor in human cancer biology from the University of Wisconsin- Madison. Dr. Davis completed her postdoctoral training at the Laboratory of Experimental Carcinogenesis at the National Cancer Institute.  She then joined the Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, USDA, as a research nutritionist.  In 2000, Dr. Davis received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and was named the USDA Early Career Scientist.  She has published more than 125 peer-reviewed journal articles and eleven invited book chapters. She is a supplement editor for Journal of Nutrition, assistant editor for Nutrients, assistant editor for Nutrition Reviews and a member of the editorial board for Advances in Nutrition.

Join us for this scientific session coordinated by ILSI North America!

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At the 2018 ILSI Annual Meeting, ILSI North America is organizing a scientific session on Threats to the Global Food Supply. This session will examine new and emerging global threats to the food chain and system including impact on supply, process, security, agricultural practices, food safety and human health. New technologies and approaches to predict and manage threats will be discussed as well as a discussion on the impediments and challenges to reducing threats.

Speakers

Warriner, K.

Keith Warriner, PhD

University of Guelph

Presentation Video Fortin, M.

Marc Fortin, PhD

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Video Hlywka, J

Jason Hlywka, PhD

Kraft Heinz

Like my work?  Please head over to @meganengesethphotography or @meganengesethheadshots and like my page!

Amy Kircher, DrPH

University of Minnesota and National Center for Food Protection & Defense

Lee, B

Bruce Lee, MD, MBA

Johns Hopkins University

Presentation Video Tirado, C

Cristina Tirado, DVM, PhD

UCLA

Place, A.

Allen Place, PhD

University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences

Presentation Video Agenda Abstracts Bios Agenda

Welcome & Introductions
Co-Chairs: Bruce Y. Lee, MD, MBA, Global Obesity Prevention Center (GOPC) at Johns Hopkins University and Jason Hlywka, PhD, Kraft Heinz

Introduction: The Security of Complex Food Systems 
Marc Fortin, PhD, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada 

Case Example: Food Microbial Threats 
Keith Warriner, PhD, University of Guelph

Emerging Global Food Threats – Biotoxins Impediments to Aquaculture Feeding the World 
Allen Place, PhD, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences

Climate Change, Food Systems, Nutrition and Health: Challenges and Opportunities
Cristina Tirado, DVM, PhD, UCLA

Case Example: Natural Disasters - Impact on the Global Food Supply
Amy Kircher, DrPH, University of Minnesota and National Center for Food Protection & Defense

A Systems Approach: New Methods and Technologies to Predict and Manage Food Supply Threats
Bruce Y. Lee, MD, MBA, Global Obesity Prevention Center (GOPC) at Johns Hopkins University

Abstracts

The Security of Complex Food Systems

Marc Fortin, PhD, Vice President, Research Partnerships, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Canada

Threats to the security of supply chains and different agricultural and food production sectors have identified risks for which stakeholders have developed mitigation plans. These interventions are more often focused on reducing or controlling risks to reduce the probability and severity of impact. Fewer studies have focused on the interconnectedness of security risks identified by public safety and defense officials with their collateral impacts on food, food safety and food security. The security assessments generated by defense and security organizations are generally poorly exploited to identify sources of risks for the food sector. A system of systems approach can provide enhanced situational awareness for identifying “choke points” in the security of food systems. We will discuss concepts of resilience of systems and their application to enhancing food security across different food sectors. The complexity of interactions between the components of food systems creates challenges that are different from many other sectors of civil society.

Microbial Threats to Food System in the Age of Big Data

Keith Warriner, PhD, University of Guelph, Canada

Food safety is a dynamic arena with positive inputs through improved diagnostics, intervention technologies, risk analysis and epidemiology. This has been countered by trends for clean labels, health food fads, climate change, globalization and increase in foods prepared outside the domestic environment. Despite the food revolution the overriding philosophy of the food safety system has been to prevent pathogens reaching the consumer, principally through post-harvest interventions.  In a similar manner, public health has focused on monitoring foodborne illness and source attribution. Yet, the original source of pathogens and the winding road by which they became introduced into the food chain is rarely considered. With the advent of enabling technologies, the age of Big Data has brought valuable insights into the food safety challenge. Specifically, molecular diagnostic techniques have enabled early detection of foodborne illness outbreaks and source attribution. Moreover, the available techniques have detected pathogens in uncommon food vehicles that would have otherwise been missed and highlighted the carriage of unspecified agents (i.e. not confirmed foodborne pathogens) that account for 80% of illnesses recorded. The significance of bacterial dormancy to food safety has also been brought to the fore with increase application of non-culture based techniques. Importantly, Big Data has provided the tools to undertake a One Health approach that aims to reduce the prevalence and dissemination within the food chain. Big Data can also contribute to enhancing traceability that represents an important tool in the globalization of the food supply. Blockchain is one approach and represents a foundation to introduce interventions to minimize the dissemination of pathogens through the farm-to-fork continuum.  

Emerging Global Food Threats – Biotoxins Impediments to Aquaculture Feeding the World

Allen R. Place, PhD, Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Baltimore, MD, USA

According to the recent FAO report, aquaculture is the fastest growing food-producing sector worldwide and now accounts for greater than 60% of the world’s fish used for food. A major question is whether continual growth can occur without destroying the environment. Current aquaculture practices harvest fish to feed fish, add excessive nutrients to the aquatic environment, and frequently are associated with harmful algal blooms and other biotoxins which can destroy production. We will examine our current ability to sustainably replace fish meal and fish oil as a feed source, examine feed practices that reduce nutrient input to the environment, and environmental controls on biotoxin accumulation in the final food product, be it mollusks or fish.

Climate Change, Food Systems, Nutrition and Health: Challenges and Opportunities 

Cristina Tirado, DVM, PhD, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA

Promoting sustainable food systems, good nutrition, health and in the context of a changing climate is a central challenge of our time. While climate change has an impact on our food systems, our food systems also affect climate change. Food production and consumption are responsible for 19-29% of the human-induced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. By 2050, GHG emissions from food and agriculture could rise by as much as 80% due to the increased consumption of animal products. Food-related GHG emissions could account for half of all emissions allowed by targets for keeping the global rise in temperature to less than 2°C by the middle of the century and could exceed total permissible levels by 2070.

Diets, meanwhile, have deteriorated globally, leading to an increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly type II diabetes, coronary heart disease and some cancers. Malnutrition is a universal challenge, affecting all countries in its various forms. Economic development, globalization, urbanization and lifestyle changes have caused major shifts towards poor diet, excessive caloric intake and low levels of exercise. The alarming pace of climate and environmental change and its effects on food systems, nutrition and health require a major rethink of how food is produced and consumed.

This presentation will address the nexus between sustainable food systems, dietary patterns, health, nutrition and climate change adaptation and mitigation. It outlines the global frameworks and agreements on climate change, food and nutrition, exploring the many, complex ways in which food systems and diets affects climate change, and vice versa. It looks at food systems and diets that boost health and are environmentally sustainable, as well as the measures needed to steer food production and consumption in that direction, emphasizing the importance of concerted and coherent policymaking to develop sustainable food systems and diets, while safeguarding the planet.

Case Example: Natural Disasters - Impact on the Global Food Supply

Amy Kircher, DrPH, University of Minnesota and National Center for Food Protection & Defense, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

We never imagined we’d have to worry about someone tampering with our food supply, then 9/11 happened. Today we are faced with new stories of intentional contamination of our food for economic gain. To have terrorists and fraudsters target our food supply…the consequences are devastating. We cannot opt out of eating which makes our food supply a critical infrastructure. Disruptions from natural and intentional contamination are a considerable threat as our food system constantly evolves. This talk will highlight the cascading consequences of disasters and the threats to our food system from intelligent adversaries motivated to create fear, harm our citizens, or make money.

A Systems Approach: New Methods and Technologies to Predict and Manage Food Supply Threats

Bruce Y. Lee, MD, MBA Executive Director, Global Obesity Prevention Center (GOPC), Associate Professor of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Baltimore, MD, USA

The global food supply is a complex system consisting of food sources, storage and processing equipment and locations, transport vehicles and devices, personnel, and many different steps and processes. The systems around the supply system are also complex and pose different possible threats. Understanding these threats and food security can be challenging without the help of methods and technologies that help better understand complex systems. This talk will cover some of the systems methods and technologies (such as computational simulation modeling) that are relevant to the food supply and threats to the food supply and give examples of applications, such as identifying vulnerabilities and their impact and designing, developing, and testing new policies, interventions, and technologies.

Bios

Bruce Y. Lee, MD, MBA 

Bruce Lee is Associate Professor of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Executive Director of the Global Obesity Prevention Center (GOPC) at Johns Hopkins (www.globalobesity.org), and Director of Operations Research at the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) as well as Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. Dr. Lee has two decades of experience in industry and academia in systems science, digital health, and developing and implementing mathematical and computational methods, models, and tools to assist decision making in public health, health, and medicine. He has been the Principal Investigator for projects supported by a variety of organizations and agencies including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), UNICEF, the Global Fund, and USAID. His previous positions include serving as Senior Manager at Quintiles Transnational, working in biotechnology equity research at Montgomery Securities, and co-founding Integrigen, and serving as an Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, where he founded PIHCOR (Public Health Computational and Operations Research), which is now based at Johns Hopkins.

Dr. Lee has authored over 200 scientific publications (including over 100 first author and over 65 last author) as well as three books: “Principles and Practice of Clinical Trial Medicine”, “What If… ? : Survival Guide for Physician’s, and “Medical Notes : Clinical Medicine Pocket Guide”. He is an Associate Editor for the journal Vaccine and Deputy Editor for PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Dr. Lee is a regular contributor to Forbes and the Huffington Post and has also written for Time, The Guardian, and the MIT Technology Review. His research and expertise have appeared in leading media outlets such as the New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Time, CBS News, Businessweek, U.S. News and World Report, Bloomberg News, Reuters, and National Public Radio (NPR). Dr. Lee received his B.A. from Harvard University, M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He completed his internal medicine residency training at the University of California, San Diego. His Twitter handle is @bruce_y_lee

Jason Hlywka, PhD.

Jason Hlywka is the corporate global toxicologist for The Kraft Heinz Company headquartered in Chicago, IL, USA.  In this capacity, Dr. Hlywka has responsibility for leadership and direction on various regulatory and scientific affairs matters that are pertinent to food safety and consumer health across a broad portfolio of food products around the world.  He has dedicated his career to the applied field of food toxicology as it relates to human health and assessing the safety of dietary constituents. Dr. Hlywka completed his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in toxicology at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. Dr. Hlywka received his Ph.D. in food science and toxicology from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA and completed post-doctoral training at the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program at Nebraska under the guidance of Drs. Steve Taylor and Sue Hefle. Prior to Kraft Heinz, he held industry positions with Kraft Foods, Cargill, and Cantox Health Sciences International. Dr. Hlywka has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and participates in various industry, academic, and scientific associations and committees.

Marc Fortin, PhD

As Vice-President of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC) Research Partnerships, Dr. Fortin is responsible for programs designed to stimulate research partnerships across a broad range of organizations and to maximize the benefits that university and college research provide to Canada.  Prior to joining NSERC, Dr. Fortin held a variety of positions leading research organizations in both academia and government. For 16 years he held senior leadership positions at McGill University including Department Chair and Associate Dean (Research). For the past 11 years, he has led the science and technology branches as Assistant Deputy Minister at the Department of National Defence and previously at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.  He has led the development of innovative funding programs to generate better integrated innovation chains that capitalize on the engagement of actors and intervenors in and outside government.  He is particularly passionate about catalyzing the development of organizations capable of operating in complex environments and in uncertain futures. Dr. Fortin is a graduate of McGill University and of Université Laval, and also conducted research at The University of Chicago and at The University of California at Davis.

 

Allen Place, PhD

Dr. Allen Place is a Professor at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Dr. Place has over 200 publications in diverse areas dealing with Harmful Algae and development of fishmeal free diets for aquaculture. In the wake of the 1997 fish kills and public concern surrounding Pfiesteria, Dr. Place set out to study the algae species blamed for killing fish and sickening humans in the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers.  To aid in the study, Place and his team got hold of another algae, Gyrodinium galatheanum (now called Karlodinium veneficum), to serve as a comparison to their species of interest, Pfiesteria.  Both Karlodinium and Pfiesteria are dinoflagellates — one-celled algae that propel through water with whip-like flagella. Things took an unexpected turn when the researchers found that Karlodinium actually appeared more toxic than Pfiesteria. Further study has led Place to suspect that Karlodinium was the real culprit in the so-called “Pfiesteria hysteria” of 1997. He has spent the last fifteen years researching the microscopic algal cell at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (formerly COMB) in Baltimore. Every year since then, blooms of Karlodinium have been implicated in fish kills along the Atlantic coast as well as worldwide. The nature of fish kills can be traced to production of a unique polyketide toxin similar in structure to amphidinol. The toxin is made to assist in prey capture (i.e. cryptophytes) through formation of a nonspecific pore upon complexation with prey’s sterol brassicasterol. In collaboration with Mark Hamann at the University of Mississippi the complete absolute structure for one of the karlotoxins has been determined. These compounds have intriguing cholesterol binding properties which could be exploited in a variety of ways as a drug lead. 

To help aquaculture grow, Dr. Place and his team have developed plant protein based diets that contain no fish meal yet perform as well for producing protein to feed the 7 billion humans inhabiting our planet. Dr. Place has received several awards including the 2020 UMCES President’s Award for Excellence in Science Application and the 2008 USM Board of Regent’s Award for Excellence in Public Service. Dr. Place was Vice-Chairman for the June 2017 Gordon Research Conference, Mycotoxin and Phycotoxin and is Chair for the June 2019 Gordon Research Conference, Mycotoxin and Phycotoxin.

Cristina Tirado, DVM, PhD

Cristina Tirado works at the interface between science and policy related to climate change, food, health and sustainable development with WHO, FAO, UNEP, governments, NGOs and universities worldwide.  She has served as WHO Food Safety Regional Adviser in Europe (53 countries) and in Latin America (45 countries), as Coordinator of the WHO Food-borne Surveillance Program and Director of the Public Health Institute’s (PHI) Center for Climate Change and Health in California. Currently Dr. Tirado is affiliated with the UCLA Institute of Environment and Sustainability, she is Director of Global Programs at the Loyola Marymount University (LMU) Center for Urban Resilience, and serves as policy adviser for several UN organizations. She chairs the International Union of Nutritional Sciences Task Force for Climate and Nutrition, moderates the UN Standing Committee of Nutrition group on Climate Change, and serves in the Secretariat of the Mediterranean Cities for Climate Change Consortium.

Dr. Tirado is a health, nutrition and gender equity advocate at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). She has been a key partnerships' driver at Rio+20, contributing through the women’s major group to the high-level consultations for the sustainable development goals and 2030 agenda and currently to the high-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. Dr. Tirado is the lead coordinating author of the UNEP/TEEB Agrifood Foundations Report; she has been a contributing author of the health chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and she has authored numerous research and policy publications and books. She is a DVM, with MS/PhD degrees in Environmental Sciences from Cornell University.

Amy Kircher, DrPH

Amy Kircher is the Director of the Food Protection and Defense Institute, a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence and an Assistant Professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota. She leads the Institute’s initiatives and coordinates a research consortium of experts dedicated to protecting the food system through research and education. Her current research includes identification and warning of food disruptions and emerging disease through data fusion and analysis; supply chains; and delivery of innovative solutions to the professionals in the field. Additionally, she conducts research efforts on global health and pandemic preparedness leveraging expertise and technology that exists in the Institute.

Prior to coming to the University of Minnesota, Dr. Kircher was the Command epidemiologist with the NORAD – US Northern Command (N-NC) Office of the Command Surgeon. At N-NC she led disease surveillance, epidemiologic modeling, bioterrorism preparedness, and served as a public health expert. Dr. Kircher has an extensive background in Homeland Security Defense, supporting operations and response during national disasters to include Hurricane Katrina, and H1N1. She was awarded both the DOD Joint Civilian Service Commendation Medal and DOD Joint Civilian Service Achievement Medal for work at the Commands.

Dr. Kircher completed her Doctorate in Public Health at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.

Keith Warriner, PhD.

Dr. Keith Warriner is currently a Professor within the Department of Food Science at University of Guelph, Canada. He received his BSc in Food Science from the University of Nottingham, UK and a PhD in Microbial Physiology from the University College of Wales Aberystwyth, UK. Dr. Warriner later went on to work on biosensors within the University of Manchester, UK and subsequently returned to the University of Nottingham to become a Research Fellow in Food Microbiology. He joined the Faculty of the University of Guelph in 2002.

During the last fifteen years in the field of microbiology and food safety research, Dr. Warriner has published more than 100 papers, book chapters, patents, and conference abstracts. His research interests are focused on enhancing food safety within meat processing and the fresh cut sectors. To this end, his research team have advanced knowledge in the area of emerging pathogens, intervention technologies and development of biosensor devices to detection of foodborne hazards. Dr. Warriner was awarded the Agri-Food Innovation of Excellence for 2017. He is frequently contacted by the media to provide commentary on food safety issues and is the past President of the Ontario Food Protection Association.

Join us for this scientific session coordinated by ILSI North America!

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At the 2018 ILSI Annual Meeting, ILSI North America is organizing a scientific session on Water II – Water Management for the Future. This session  will examine new and emerging technologies related to water management (including regeneration, conservation, and efficiency improvement) and the impact of these approaches on short and long-term water management and human practice. The session will also focus on emerging technologies and innovations in water management in agricultural systems and in areas and regions affected by climate change. The session will include a Bermuda case example – an island where water conservation and management have been a necessity and long practiced goal.

Speakers

Catley-Carlson, M

Margaret Catley-Carlson

Juror Stockholm Water Prize

Presentation Video Evett, S

Steven Evett, PhD

USDA Agricultural Research Service

Presentation Video Lemke, S

Shawna Lemke, PhD

Monsanto

Lewis, J

Josette Lewis, PhD

Environmental Defense Fund

Smith, G

Geoff Smith, PhD

Bermuda Department of Environment and Natural Resources

Presentation Video Agenda Abstracts Bios Agenda

Welcome and Introductions
Co-Chairs: Shawna Lemke, PhD, Monsanto and Josette Lewis, PhD, Environmental Defense Fund

Chasing the Water Sustainability Rainbow?
Margaret Catley-Carlson, Juror Stockholm Water Prize; former Chair Suez Environment and World Economic Forum Advisory Boards on Water Management

Emerging Technologies for Water Management & Conservation 
Steven Evett, PhD, USDA Agricultural Research Service, and President – American Society of Agronomy

Bermuda’s Freshwater Cycle: Capture, Conservation and Water Quality Management 
Geoff Smith, PhD, Bermuda Department of Environment and Natural Resources

Abstracts

Chasing the Water Sustainability Rainbow?

Margaret Catley-Carlson, OC, Founding Chair, World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Water; Chair and subsequent Patron, Global Water Partnership; Chair, Suez Environment Water Advisory Committee, Former President Canadian International Development Agency, Deputy Minister Health and Welfare, Canada, USA and International

We are of course NOT running out of water: we have the same amount as the worlds of the dinosaurs and Julius Caesar.  Because such a small amount is fresh water at any one stage of the water cycle, because most fresh water is frozen, and 90% of the unfrozen water is underground, there will always be water – somewhere. BUT: rapid population growth, over abstraction, exhaustion of surface sources, pollution, insufficient infrastructure, climate related change and above all the absence of incentives and good management combine to create water stress to an increasing portion of the global population during some part of the year. Worse, more migration, famine and more shortage lie ahead. Science and technology play an important role in offering solutions – from less thirsty crops, to better forecasting of weather events, to water treatment allowing reuse and recycling, to metering and monitoring to more energy efficient desalination plants, and more. All of these require infrastructure and better resource management in a world resistant to increased public expenditure or paying for water services, criss-crossed by international boundaries, bound by arcane laws (where laws exist). The struggle for better management of the resource, and for reaching the 2 billion now without access to safely managed drinking water is literally about life and death. Guidelines, models and tools exist to improve management; science is key here. International sustainability goals propose objectives and timelines. Is it chasing rainbows to imagine humans can or will move toward more sustainable water management? The pot of gold is continued existence for many life forms, sufficient food, prosperity, and improved health. No water, no life.

Emerging Technologies for Water Management & Conservation

Steven R. Evett, USDA Agricultural Research Service, President - American Society of Agronomy, Beltsville, Maryland, USA

Much of history involves the rise and fall of civilizations as water resources varied with climate change, and as water management technologies and methodologies changed and either succeeded or failed to cope with change. Humans have managed water resources for many thousands of years, and there have always been emerging technologies that have changed human capabilities both to use water and to manage water use. Water diversion structures and canal systems allowed early civilizations to flourish in Central Asia, the Fertile Crescent, China, Southeast Asia, and the Americas. Piping was introduced in China several thousand years ago in association with brine pumping for salt production, and examples of pipe systems have been found in ancient Mesopotamian and Central Asian cities. The Romans elevated the art of hydraulic engineering including aqueducts and piping systems, the latter under pressure, spreading these technologies across the Middle East, Egypt, Europe and the British Isles. The growth of cities has always depended on the advancing technologies for urban and agricultural water management, but because agricultural irrigation consumes between 70% and 80% of freshwater supplies worldwide, it is becoming critical that emerging technologies keep pace with expanding needs for food, feed, fiber and agricultural byproducts. In the US, agriculture provides 49% of crop market value on the 18% of cultivated lands that are irrigated. Although irrigated area has ceased to expand in the US, it is still expanding in other countries. Paradoxically, due to technological innovation and adoption, expanding irrigation is not equivalent to increasing water demand for irrigation even though production from irrigated lands has grown steadily. The rapid adoption of pressurized irrigation systems, now covering 65% of U.S. irrigated lands, has eliminated the large water losses in surface irrigation systems, resulting in declining irrigation water consumption even as irrigated acreage remains stable. Today, emerging technologies in satellite data fusion, proximal crop and soil sensing systems, supervisory control and data acquisition systems, variable rate irrigation systems, the internet of things, and plant breeding and genomics are merging to enable the sustainable intensification of production with existing resources by using a systems approach that involves all aspects of genetics, environment, management, sociology and technology.

Bermuda’s Freshwater Cycle: Capture, Conservation, and Water Quality Management

Geoff Smith, PhD, Environmental Engineer, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Bermuda

Bermuda’s very picturesque houses with their characteristic white limestone guttered roofs are a direct outcome of the approach taken by early settlers to manage freshwater.  Bermuda has high annual rainfall but its freshwater resources are very limited as a result of the limestone bedrock being extremely porous.  Rivers do not exist and ponds only occur where the lower lying land is over less permeable peat layers typically at a comparable elevation to the typically brackish water table. As a result of these factors early settlers collected rainwater and eventually it became law to have an 80% roof catch and a water tank sized at 10 gallons for every square foot of roof area.  The regulations were written to ensure that each house had a storage capacity equivalent to 3 months of rainfall. However, for smaller homes with many occupants or during periods of drought it became necessary to have a supplementary supply of water.  Early settlers dug wells and found water ranging from saline to brackish to fresh. Freshwater can typically be found over a 20% area of Bermuda in lenses that sit on the brackish water that sit on top of the seawater. Supplementary supplies developed first by a private company, Watlington Waterworks, were then followed by Government who developed the fresh groundwater resource. Supplemental water is provided by piped main to certain houses whereas others have to rely on water being delivered by truck. Government research focussed on ensuring that the freshwater resource was not negatively impacted by over-abstraction led to the Water Resources Act 1975 and the need to have a Water Right to abstract set limits of water.  The abstraction limit set in the Water Rights is based partly on the estimates of recharge rate of rain to the groundwater. To date there are approximately 4000 Water Rights in Bermuda, most of which are for abstraction wells while others are for disposal boreholes. Wastewater management on a small island can bring challenges.  Domestic sewage disposed to unlined soakaway pits (i.e. cesspits) led to elevated concentrations of nitrate in the groundwater in some densely populated areas, which necessitated all companies abstracting fresh groundwater for potable supply switching up from disinfection to ultrafiltration and Reverse Osmosis technologies. As the demand for freshwater exceeded the abstraction limit of the allocated Water Rights the primary potable supply company used seawater reverse osmosis as their supplement to their fresh groundwater sources. The Government SWRO system is powered by electrical energy recovered via a steam turbine connected to the Island’s municipal incinerator. In addition to the many cesspits wastewater is also managed at hotels, condominiums and the hospital via aerated waste water treatment plants ranging from secondary to tertiary grade with their discharge after reuse purposes passing to deep sealed borehole. The corporations have sewer mains and dispose of their wastewater to two off-shore outfalls. The regulator encourages new developments to consider wastewater reuse for irrigation and toilet flush water.  The Department of Environment & Natural Resources monitors for potential effects of groundwater nitrogen affecting Bermuda’s near-shore environment via algal growth over the longer term and the Department of Health monitors its beaches daily for faecal bacteria over summer months and reports an extremely low incidence of contamination.       

Bios

Shawna Lemke, PhD

Dr. Shawna Lemke leads Food Strategy & Stakeholder Engagement as part of Monsanto’s Corporate Engagement team.  In this role, Shawna works with companies, NGOs and other stakeholders across the food value chain to find shared opportunities and value for providing healthy and abundant food to a growing world in a sustainable way.

Dr. Lemke has over 15 years of experience in product safety and nutrition in the agricultural and pharmaceutical industries. She has held roles in managing pre-clinical and clinical phases of drug development, and conducting nutritional and food safety evaluation of products. Dr. Lemke led the clinical program to establish the nutritional value of soybean oil containing the omega-3 fatty acid, stearidonic acid (SDA). She most recently led the Toxicology and Nutrition Center at Monsanto, with oversight of human safety evaluation for crop protection chemicals and crops developed through biotechnology.

Dr. Lemke was born in Southern California and raised in rural Wisconsin. She attended the University of Wisconsin- Green Bay and received a B.S. in Chemistry with a minor in Environmental Sciences. Shawna holds a PhD in Toxicology from Texas A&M University and completed post-doctoral training in Human Nutrition at UC-Davis.

Josette Lewis, PhD

Dr. Lewis joined Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in April 2017 to lead their agriculture work. Prior to EDF, Dr. Lewis was with UC Davis to launch the World Food Center and worked in international business development with Arcadia Biosciences. Before Arcadia, Dr. Lewis spent 16 years at the US Agency for International Development (USAID). As Director of the Office of Agriculture at USAID, she worked with senior levels of the Administration to launch Feed the Future. Dr. Lewis served on the US Secretary of Agriculture’s advisory committee on Agricultural Biotechnology in the 21st Century, the Foundation for Agricultural Research’s Food Systems Innovation Advisory Committee, is a member of the board of trustees for the International Life Sciences Institute Research Foundation and is a member of the James Beard Foundation Impact Program Advisory Committee.

Margaret Catley-Carlson

Margaret Catley-Carlson operates at the Board level in support of improved water resource management and the twin issues of agricultural productivity and rural development. She is Chair of the PAC section of the Board of Governors of ICIMOD (International Center on Integrated Mountain Development in Nepal), Vice Chair of the Canadian Water Network Board, serves on the Boards of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), is a jurist of Stockholm Water Prize and Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, and is a member on the Advisory Council of the Syngenta Foundations, the Library of Alexandria, and the World Food Prize.

Catley-Carlson has Chaired Boards of the Crop Diversity Trust, the Global Water Partnership, the Foresight Advisory Committee of the Group Suez, ICARDA, the Water Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum, CABI, and as Vice Chair of the IDRC Board and the Canadian Water Network, and as a member of the Secretary General’s Advisory Group on Water.   

She was President of the Canadian International Development Agency 1983-89; Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF in New York 1981-1983; President of the Population Council in New York 1993-98; and Deputy Minister of the Department of Health and Welfare of Canada 1989-92. Catley-Carlson has ten honorary degrees and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Steven Evett, PhD

Steven R. Evett is a Research Soil Scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland in Texas. Dr. Evett uses field measurements, electronic sensing and automation systems and energy and water balance models to study irrigated and dryland crop water use, irrigation application methods, agronomy and automation as they affect crop water productivity. He also studies and develops soil water content and plant water stress sensors, supervisory control and data acquisition systems to control irrigation systems, decision support systems for irrigation management, and methods to quantify crop water use. In addition to research locations in the USA, Dr. Evett has had research projects in Egypt, the Middle East and Uzbekistan on crop water use, irrigation scheduling and soil water measurement; and he has worked in China, Egypt, Jordan and the USA to build and use weighing lysimeters to measure crop water use. Since 2003, Dr. Evett has been the ARS research coordinator for the Middle East Regional Irrigation Management Information Systems (MERIMIS) Project, which has research and extension partners in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority (http://www.merimis.org/). He is a graduate of the University of Idaho (B.S. chemistry) and the University of Arizona (M.S. and Ph.D., soil and water science), and was raised on an irrigated dairy farm in Southern Idaho. Dr. Evett is President (2018) of the American Society of Agronomy, and a Fellow of the Society and of the Soil Science Society of America. Dr. Evett is currently serving as the Acting Deputy Administrator, Natural Resources and Sustainable Agricultural Systems, USDA ARS, and he served as the ARS Acting National Program Leader for water resources in 2016. He is past associate editor of Agronomy Journal and of the Vadose Zone Journal, and he currently is on the Editorial Board of Agricultural Water Management. Dr. Evett is author/coauthor of 293 publications, including 3 patents, 145 peer-reviewed journal articles and 24 book chapters, and is coeditor of two books.

Geoff Smith, PhD

Geoff Smith is the Environmental Engineer who heads up the Pollution Control section of the Department of Environment & Natural Resources for the Government of Bermuda. In addition to amending environmental legislation, this role, together with the Hydrogeologist and Environmental Officer, includes administering the requirements of the Clean Air Act, Water Resources Act and associated regulations in addition to providing oil spill response and other specialised environmental and chemical input to a range of issues that can arise on a remote Island in the Atlantic Ocean.  As a technical manager at the Defence Research Agency in the UK, Dr. Smith’s projects included working towards compliance of UK warships to various environmental requirements of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). He was also an advisor to the UK Ministry of Defence while serving on a NATO Special Working Group. Retrofitting membrane bioreactor technology to a Royal Navy Frigate for black and grey water treatment was one of the positive outcomes. Monitoring the environmental impact, clean-up and natural attenuation of the oil spill in the Gulf of Arabia over 1992 and 1993 was provided as part of an EU funded project to establish a marine wildlife sanctuary in an area that was due to be designated with international protection status. Dr. Smith is a graduate of the University of Wales; Bangor (BSc Chemistry & Chemical Oceanography) and he completed his PhD at the School of Ocean Sciences, U.C. Wales; Bangor.

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