Dr. B. Pam Ismail is a Professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota (U of M) and is the director and founder of the Plant Protein Innovation Center (PPIC), an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to studying plant and alternative proteins, https://ppic.cfans.umn.edu. She joined the U of M as an Assistant Professor in May of 2007 following a post-doctoral research training in the Department of Food Science at Purdue University (2004-2007). Pam received her Ph.D. degree in Food Science from Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, England (2003). She has over 20 years of experience in Food Chemistry research focused on analytical chemistry, protein chemistry, enzymology and chemistry and fate of bioactive food constituents. Her research focuses on chemical characterization and enhancement of functionality, safety, bioavailability, delivery, and bioactivity of food proteins and phytochemicals, following novel processing and analytical approaches. Her group is currently researching ways to improve functionality, thermal stability, and bioactivity of food proteins, as well as ways to reduce allergenicity following enzymatic and other natural protein modification approaches. Protein structural characterization is performed using a number of proteomic analytical tools, aiming at linking structure to function. Her lab group is also studying the stability and activity of phytochemicals, as affected by their chemical structure, storage, and processing, following novel analytical techniques. Pam is leading the effort on determining the functionality and storage stability of perineal crops for food applications as part of the ongoing Forever Green Initiative effort to develop perineal crops with environmental benefits. Pam has contributed original research papers to a number of scientific journals, including the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Food Chemistry, Journal of Dairy Science, International Dairy Journal, etc. Pam teaches a senior undergraduate level Food Analysis course and a graduate level Protein Chemistry course, and has received several teaching awards including “Distinguished Teaching Award” for undergraduate faculty in a tenured position, 2014, and “Outstanding Professor”, 2012, in recognition of outstanding contributions to the University of Minnesota and the college’s education of students.

Publications

Nigel graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Food Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May 2020. He joined the lab in Spring 2021 as an M.S. student out of keen interest in studying protein alternatives and contributing to a more sustainable food system. His research involves screening various oat lines for differences in protein profile and studying how they affect protein techno-functionality and nutritional quality. Nigel has a passion for learning, the people, and the planet. He finds inspiration through helping others and seeking challenges. Nigel has competed in and won IFT student competitions such as the Protein Innovation Challenge in 2022 and the 'Don’t Spoil It!' International Digital Hackathon in 2021. In Summer 2022, he completed an R&D internship with PURIS. He transferred to the PhD program in Spring 2023 and is investigating oat proteins more deeply. Nigel served as Treasurer for the Food Science and Nutrition Club and Phi Tau Sigma from 2021-2023. Catch him representing the FScN department at pop-up booths at the Minnesota State Fair or Bell Museum. Outside of academia, Nigel enjoys spending time with friends and family, working out, organizing weekly open volleyball sessions at the St. Paul Gymnasium, being outdoors (when it is nice and sunny), cooking, and going for all-you-can-eat buffets.

Brittany, a second year Food Science PhD student and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, completed her Bachelor's of Science in Dietetics, Master's in Food and Nutrition, and accredited Dietetic Internship at Bowling Green State University. Her undergraduate and thesis work at BGSU compared products grown in an aquaponic system to conventionally grown products with an emphasis on physical and nutritional characteristics. Her love for both research and the connection between human health and environmental health/sustainability brought her to UMN where her doctoral research involves combining oat, pea, and chickpea proteins to optimize functionality, nutrition, and flavor with a meat analogue application being the final end product. Brittany is a MnDRIVE fellowship recipient and a member of various IFT divisions including the International Division in which she is a Student Representative. She is excited to merge her background in nutrition alongside her future food science education into a plant-based research industry career. Brittany was able to experience a taste of her future first hand this past summer via a Process Engineering internship at the German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL) in Quakenbruck, Germany. Her time at DIL allowed her to dive deep into the complex process of producing various meat analogues using high-moisture extrusion (HME). Brittany has a passion for serving at her local church, Substance, and exploring the beautiful Twin Cities and beyond!

Saajewa graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2017 after completing her B.S degree in Nutrition with a minor in African and African American Studies. She then worked for Allina Health and the University of Minnesota Extension focusing on clinical and community nutrition as a Nutrition Ambassador, Dietetic Technician, and Cooking Matters Program Coordinator before joining the Ismail Lab in the fall of 2021 to begin her Masters degree. Her research is focused on screening varieties of camelina and pennycress for protein nutritional quality, functionality, and digestibility in an effort to develop optimal lines of each crop variety for food use. Saajewa has since completed an R&D Product Development summer internship with Cargill in 2022, where she worked on the application of soluble fibers in bakery and snack goods. Saajewa currently serves on the executive board of the Food Science and Nutrition Club as the Community Outreach Chair. In this position, she has been able to not only connect her love for both food science and nutrition, but also support Minnesota communities through philanthropic work.

Alisa Smovzhenko started out as a researcher in PPIC lab for a semester in Spring 2020, before transitioning to her Masters in the Fall. She chose this lab particularly because of her interests in plant proteins, and moved all the way from Florida, where she got her B.S. in Botany from the University of Florida! For her Masters project, she first focused on extracting protein from Alfalfa and characterizing its structure and function. It eventually became apparent that this wasn't reasonably feasible, as endogenous enzymes quickly degrade the protein once it's hydrated. With that in mind, she's now investigating how different postharvest methods affect the protease activity, degree of hydrolysis, and will be testing a few extractions and protease deactivation techniques to see what's most successful. In her free time, Alisa loves taking random classes and picking up hobbies, such as fire spinning, ice skating, hiking, and gardening. During winter, however, she finds herself staying inside more while reading, playing board games, and cooking up a feast!

Charu completed her M.S in Food Science and Technology in 2020 at the Iowa State University. During her Masters she worked with pea protein concentrate and amaranth. Then she worked for a startup as a researcher for 2 years, where she helped in developing wireless sensors to monitor cell growth. She joined Ismail lab in 2022 and works as a researcher. She currently works on enzymatic modification of hemp protein and improving its solubility. She will soon be working with protein extraction and protein extrusion. In Charu's free time, she enjoys watching movies, and traveling.

Allie joined the PPIC team in January 2022 as a graduate student after working with Professor Pam Ismail as an undergraduate researcher since Fall 2018. Allie completed her B.S. in Food Science in May 2021 at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities before spending the following fall semester as a full-time PPIC researcher working closely with industry partners. For two consecutive summers (2021 and 2022), Allie interned at SunOpta working alongside their beverage and formulations team to advance the product line while also bringing enhancements to their oat extraction process. Allie is currently working on a novel procedure to produce and isolate glycated pea proteins for assessment of their structure and function. Outside of the lab, Allie continues to feed her passion for food through various leadership roles throughout the Food Science and Nutrition Club, Phi Tau Sigma's Honors Society for Food Technologists, and Boynton’s Nutritious U Food Pantry. In Allie’s free time she enjoys traveling with friends and family, hiking, and taking her roommate’s dog Rocky out for chilly Minnesotan walks.

Yi is a food science master's student at Dr. Ismail’s research lab. She completed her B.S in Food Science in May 2020 at the University of Minnesota. In the same year, Yi joined Ismail’s lab, working as a PPIC researcher. She participated in 6 projects, mainly working on the structural and functional characterization of soy, pea, chickpea, cranberry, buckwheat, pennycress, and rice proteins. After being a researcher for 2 years, Yi decided to pursue her M.S. degree in Food Science under Dr. Ismail in the fall of 2022. Her research focuses on screening four varieties of hemp grains for differences in protein functionality and nutritional quality and the evaluation of the texturization potential of hemp protein using high moisture extrusions for meat analogues. Outside of the lab, Yi enjoys snowboarding, cooking, traveling, and playing with/training her little parrot Pearl.

Jeanne completed her B.S. in Food Science in 2021 at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. After spending a year working as a Quality Control Analyst in the food and pharmaceutical industry, she decided to join Dr. Ismail to learn more about plant-based proteins. Her research involves comparing the functional and structural characteristics of winter pea proteins to spring pea proteins. She will also be working with camelina, pennycress, and pea proteins to determine the optimal blending ratio. Outside of the lab, Jeanne enjoys making Malaysian dishes, walking around parks/neighborhoods, and spending time with friends.

Shree graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Food Science and Nutrition from the University of Minnesota Twin-Cities in May 2023. He started out in 2020 as an undergraduate research assistant and has now transitioned to a M.S. student. He has worked on compositional and functional assays with Soy, Pea, ChickPea, and Oat Protein Isolates for PhD and post-doctoral researchers and his M.S. research will involve protein extraction from Alfalfa and characterizing its structure and function, following post-harvest protease deactivation treatments. He has worked as a Quality Assurance Intern with Mars Petcare, R&D intern with Mars Wrigley, and R&D intern with General Mills. He has also been the Vice President of the Food Science and Nutrition club, and is an active participant in IFT product development competitions. Outside academia, Shree loves spending time with friends and family, playing tennis or soccer, hiking, traveling, listening to music, or watching movies.

Anastasia Natania (she/they) is a second year graduate research assistant and Master’s student in the Ismail lab. She was born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia before moving to the United States for high school. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in Spring 2021 and started her position as a research specialist in Plant Protein Innovation Center (PPIC) in Fall of 2021 to Spring 2022, continuing on to start their graduate studies in Fall 2022. Anastasia’s current project is to develop a method to extract proteins from perennial flaxseeds. In her free time, Anastasia enjoys going to bakeries, drawing, and doing fiber arts.

Andressa joined the PPIC team in September 2022 as a Research Intern and worked in different PPIC projects involving plant proteins. She graduated with a Bachelor of Food Engineering from Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná (Brazil). During this time, Andressa was awarded a full scholarship program for partial studies abroad and was able to spend 16 months studying at Wayne State University in Detroit-MI. After her graduation Andressa worked for 2 years in the food industry as a quality control analyst and R&D assistant. She is in her last semester of her Master’s degree in Food Science at Universidade Estadual de Londrina (Brazil) and her thesis focused on bioactive peptides from germinated and non-germinated bean flours. Andressa started her PhD in Spring 2024 and is working on the production and isolation of glycated pea proteins to improve functionality.
 

Dr. Pandalaneni joined PPIC in Nov 2020 taking responsibilities as Manager of Operations. He moved to St. Paul, MN after working as a Global Application Scientist after his Ph.D. in Food Science from Kansas State University (2018). During his Ph.D. he worked on improving dairy processing techniques in lactose crystallization and worked on evaluating high protein dairy beverage stability by studying ingredient functionality in the application. He brings expertise on ingredient functionalities and their interactions in food applications. Dr. Pandalaneni obtained his Master’s in Food Biotechnology from the University of Leeds, UK, in 2010 and his Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Biotechnology from India, 2009. He has work experience working in different roles in the food industry in both the UK and India as well. Dr. Pandalaneni is responsible for managing research projects, collaborations with PPIC industry partners, in addition to coordinating PPIC events, communications, and web design.

Echo Crawford joined the PPIC team in April 2024 as a Research Project Manager. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a Master of Science in Food Science. Her research focused on evaluating processing conditions and hydrocolloid addition on the functional properties of Aquafaba (the cooking water from chickpeas) and exploring optimal conditions of processing and hydrocolloid addition to use it as an egg substitute in cake. While at UGA, Echo also taught in the Food Processing Lab - getting hands-on experience with pilot plant level equipment. After graduating, Echo went on to work as a project coordinator for a safety and regulatory compliance consulting group before spending time working in Quality and Operations for a protein powder/dietary supplement company. As a vegan for over a decade, Echo has had a longstanding passion for animal protein substitutes and interest in new and sustainable plant-based foods. In her free time, you’ll likely find Echo in the air doing circus arts – with dance trapeze, aerial hoop, and aerial silks as her main disciplines – or cooking up a storm.

Serap Vatansever, Ph.D., joined PPIC as a postdoctoral researcher in August 2021. Her current research focuses on nutritional, structural, functional, and flavor characteristics of various plant proteins and their processing. Serap received her doctoral degree in the Cereal Science Program as well as a graduate level certificate in the Statistics at North Dakota State University, USA, in May 2020 and then was a postdoctoral research associate at South Dakota State University (SDSU), USA, between June 2020 and August 2021. She focused on enhancing the utilization of pulse ingredients in the food system through flavor modification using supercritical carbon dioxide extraction during her doctoral program. During her postdoctoral study at SDSU, she investigated the effects of diverse storage conditions on the nutrient and functional characteristics of pulse flours as well as supervising three graduate and eight undergraduate researchers for other research activities at the laboratory. She also had experiences on pulse ingredient functionalities and their food applications, sensory evaluation of foods, food fermentation, food microbiology and biotechnology, other food processing technologies, and applied statistics over five years. Serap concluded her B.Sc. (2009) and M.Sc. (2012) in the Department of Food Engineering at Pamukkale University in Turkey. Also, she was an exchange student through Erasmus Program for a year in the Department of Food and Nutrition at University of Helsinki, Finland, during her undergraduate program. Serap has published fourteen journal articles and one book chapter, and presented various technical presentations globally. Serap is an active member of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS), and Cereals and Grains Association. She is the recipients of “Elwood F. Caldwell Scholarship Award for Volunteer Service of MN IFT Section” in 2020 and “Outstanding Volunteer Award of IFT Protein Division” in 2021.

Dr. Sima Saeidy joined the PPIC team in October 2022 as a postdoctoral associate. She graduated from Isfahan University of Technology (IUT), Iran with a PhD degree. Her research focused on extraction of Ferula assa-foetida gum (an endemic gum exudates) and chemical characterization of its polysaccharide and protein. During her PhD, she enrolled in the GePEB group of Université Clermont-Auvergne, France working on several methods of structural elucidation of the gum including NMR, HPLC, GC-Mass, etc. Also, she has expertise in characterization and improvement of functional properties of hydrocolloids as emulsifying, foaming and thickening agents.  She continued working as a postdoctoral researcher in IUT on technology development for extraction of value-added components from sugar beet byproducts. She conducted several industrial projects, advised numbers of graduate students and worked as a university teacher as well. As a researcher in FSCN, she is working with Professor Pam Ismail attending optimization of protein extractions from different plant sources as well as novel functionalization technologies to improve textural, nutritional, and flavor properties of protein ingredients and products. In her free time and special occasions she enjoys baking and decorating cakes!

Christopher Sherve is a Researcher II in the Plant Protein Innovation Center and Dr. B. Pam Ismail’s Lab located in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota. He joined in February of 2022 after coming from General Mills (GMI) as a Lab Technician in their Analytical Lab at the Oat Production Plant in Fridley MN. Chris finished his course work in Biology in the Spring of 2020 before beginning work at GMI the following fall.  Before beginning his food science career path Chris was an Exercise Physiologist and Cross Country/Track and Field Coach during which he completed a Masters degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology from the University of Mary, Bismarck ND in 2016.

Medora joined the PPIC team in January of 2023 as a Research Specialist after she graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s in Food Science and a minor in Chemistry. During her undergraduate career, she participated as a research assistant in various in vivo projects studying Salmonella control and prevention in turkeys and turkey products. Prior to joining PPIC, Medora was working as a lab technician in a food microbiology quality testing laboratory. Following her interests in food sustainability, Medora has shifted her focus to plant protein research in preparation for pursuing a Master's in Food Science. In her free time, you can find her trying new recipes and crafts, traveling and camping around new places, or playing trivia!

Katie joined PPIC in May 2023 as a research specialist after graduating from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in Food Science and minor in Nutrition. During her undergraduate studies, Katie completed internships in R&D, test kitchen, and confectionery positions where she developed artisan and novelty chocolates in addition to reducing waste streams of snack products. She is now focusing on plant protein research prior to pursuing a Master’s degree in Food Science. In her free time, Katie enjoys baking, reading, playing piano, and going to hockey games.

Sarra joined the PPIC team in August 2023 as a Research Intern. She completed a Master of Science degree in Food Safety and Microbiology at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Her research focused on the microbial safety of food products with an emphasis on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) spread in the food chain. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology (Honors) from the Lebanese American University, Lebanon. Sarra completed both her master’s and bachelor’s degrees as a recipient of the fully funded Tomorrow's Leaders Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) scholarship awarded by the U.S. Department of State for excellent academic standing and leadership potential. During her undergraduate journey, Sarra was also awarded a fully funded opportunity to attend the University of California, Berkeley for an exchange semester in the United States. Sarra has acquired extensive research and laboratory skills working as a graduate student researcher at the Food Microbiology laboratory at the American University of Beirut where she developed experimental protocols and contributed to the AMR research taking place at the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences.    

Samara joined the PPIC team in September 2023 as a PPIC Research Intern. She graduated with a Master of Science in Food Quality and Safety from the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB), Portugal. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Food Engineering from the Federal University of Technology – Paraná (UTFPR), Brazil. Samara's academic journey was enriched by international experiences. Prior to beginning her Bachelor's degree, she was awarded with a full scholarship for a cultural exchange program in San Francisco, California. During her undergraduate studies, she participated in a double diploma degree program that enabled a year-long academic adventure in Portugal, with affiliations to both UTFPR and IPB. She is a PhD Student Member of the Mountain Research Center (CIMO), Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB), Portugal, and Laboratory of Separation and Reaction Engineering and Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials (LSRE-LCM), University of Porto, Portugal. Samara is currently pursuing her PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Porto, Portugal, and her thesis focuses on developing integrative and sustainable approaches to valorize protein fractions from Spirulina biomass as natural emulsifiers and colorants. Beyond her academic pursuits, Samara loves hearing people's stories and experiences. Family holds a special place in her heart, and she finds joy in spending time with them, especially around the dining table where her passion for cooking comes to life. Samara's character is further enriched by her faith, and she firmly believes in the harmonious coexistence of faith and reason.

Matheus joined the PPIC team in November 2023 as Researcher III. Before he started in Dr. Pam Ismail’s lab, he was an exchange international student in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota, working with Dr. Gary Reineccius in the flavors lab. Matheus has extensive experience with protein with different applications. During his undergraduate journey, he worked as research assistant in various enzymes purification projects studying extraction, purification, and characterization of proteases from Aspergillus fungi. Matheus holds a Master's and PhD of Food Engineering from Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) – Brazil, and his research focused on improvement of the functional and antioxidant properties of rice protein by enzymatic hydrolysis for the microencapsulation of oil by spray drying. His recent publications include a paper on the performance of rice protein hydrolysates as a stabilizing agent on oil-in-water emulsions and a paper on increasing the retention of anthocyanins in rice bran protein by acting as an encapsulating agent in the spray drying of grape juice. Apart from this, he has contributed to various research projects related to use modification of vegetable protein on microencapsulation process. In his free time, he likes play basketball, go to the gym and watch the Brazilian football league. 

Kavan joined the PPIC team in January of 2024 as a research specialist after receiving his Bachelor of Science in Food Science from the University of Minnesota in the Fall of 2023. During his time at the University, he worked as an undergraduate research assistant with several projects including oat protein extraction and fractionation, camelina and pennycress protein extraction and ultrafiltration, and hemp protein extraction. Kavan has a passion for a sustainable food future and enjoys working with alternative protein sources, processes, and plant-based foods. During the Summer of 2023, he had the opportunity to work as an R&D Intern at PURIS, focusing on sustainable protein applications in the industry. He hopes to continue his studies at the University of Minnesota and work toward a Master of Science in Food Science. Outside of school, Kavan enjoys making music, baking sourdough, and exploring new places.

Mathias is a senior from Indonesia, double majoring in Food Science and Nutrition. His main inspiration for Food Science came from the fun and interesting flavors of snacks as well as ready-to-drink beverages. He joined the Plant Protein Innovation Center in July 2022 as an undergraduate researcher for Samira. He previously worked on amino acid digestion and size exclusion of pea protein isolates. Currently, he is working with Samira on Anion Exchange chromatography on pea proteins. In his free time, he likes to play volleyball, go sightseeing, and play video games.

Dr. Andrea Bresciani joined the PPIC team in April 2024 as a Visiting Scientist. He graduated with a Ph.D. in Food Systems from the University of Milan in 2022. His main research activity focuses on developing food products from pulses (or their fractions) with enhanced quality traits, also by setting up and applying suitable technological or bio-technological processes. Reformulated products are obtained through the extrusion process focusing on the identification of the best conditions and synergy between raw material and process conditions. Specifically, attention is paid to the biopolymer changes induced by both shear and thermal stresses. Such interactions are observed via conventional (empiric rheological tests, physical tests) and advanced (spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, etc) approaches. Finally, the effects of those interactions on the characteristics of the end-products, including texture, sensory and nutritional properties, are assessed to evaluate which process is more suitable for each type of pulse.

Emily is a senior majoring in Food Science. She joined the lab during the summer of 2021 and has worked with Samira on Soy Protein isolates analysis and assays. She has also worked with Serap on Pea Protein assays and data analysis and has worked with Saaj on camelina and pennycress assays. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her roommates, hiking, and going to local concerts.

Tina is a junior majoring in Food Science and minoring in Nutrition. She joined the lab in spring 2022 and worked as an undergraduate research assistant for Serap, and later worked with Charu on corn protein. In her free time, she likes to play puzzles, pickleball, and visit state parks in Minnesota.

Caleb is a junior majoring in Food Science. He joined the lab during the Fall of 2022. While working in the lab, he has enjoyed meeting new people and learning about different research projects and techniques. In his free time, Caleb enjoys alpine ski racing, baking, playing tennis, watching sports and "managing" fantasy football teams.

Michelle is a senior majoring in Food Science. She joined the lab in October of 2023 as an undergraduate researcher. In her free time, Michelle loves to hike, crochet, read, and bake!

Nardos joined the lab in spring 2024 as an undergraduate researcher. Her inspiration for majoring in Food Science stems from her passion for cooking. She plans to attend culinary school in the future. In her free time, Nardos enjoys cooking, listening to music and doing art.

Molly is a junior majoring in Food Science, and she joined the lab in Spring 2024 as an undergraduate researcher. Her motivation for studying Food Science is a passion for exploring the chemistry behind the food we eat. Beyond her academic pursuits, she loves to bake, sing with a chorus, and salsa or swing dance.