Committee Members
S K Dash
DD Innovations Inc., USA
S K Dash is an adjunct professor of Health and Nutritional Sciences at South Dakota State University and Director of Research and President of UAS Laboratories,Inc. He has published more than 30 research papers in scientific journals and spoken at national and international conferences. Dr. Dash is serving the National Probiotic Committee and International Probiotic Association. Dr. Dash is the former Food and Drug Director of South Dakota State. He has been honoured as the distinguished man of the year and received the 2010 Frost & Sullivan Award for his probiotic research and innovations.
Franco Vicariotto
San PIO X Hospital, Italy
Franco Vicariotto currently a medical doctor (Ph.D.-medicine), is a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology and is now senior consultant of San PIO X Hospital of Milan. He has been deputy head of division of Ob/Gyn. of Niguarda Hospital of Milan for almost 20 years where he had conducted important researches in the field of infectious diseases in obstetrics and gynecology. He is one of the founders and Vice-president of the scientific society Esidog Italia (European Society for Infectious Diseases in Obstetrics and Gynaecology) and the member of the National board of S.I.C. (Italian society of Contraception). He is author of many publications and recognized moderator-spokesman in specialized conferences in Italy and abroad
Giuseppe Mele
Paidoss, Italy
Giuseppe Mele is a family pediatrician since 1982 who has devoted his life to improve the quality of life of children promoting vaccines campaigns, healthy eating habits, physical activity, and fighting hard against smoking. Giuseppe Mele is President of Paidòss, National Observatory on Children and Adolescents, Member of the Advisory Committee of AIFA (Italian Medicines Agency) for the pediatric area and founder and President of SIMPe – Italian Society of Pediatricians. The Observatory PAIDÒSS is born from a group of experts in children with the aim of helping to place the health issues of children and adolescents at the center of social and political choices of the Country. It aims to improve lifestyles and health conditions of the population of pediatric patients (0-14 years) over the entire Italian territory, choosing as modus-operandi to involve all the players in the healthcare system. He has collaborated, and he still collaborates, with the Italian Ministry of Health and he has published more than 20 scientific papers.
Dilek Heperkan
Istanbul Technical University, Turkey
Dilek Heperkan has completed her PhD in Egean University, Turkey. She worked as a researcher for 10 years in TUBITAK, National Research Center. She participated in World Working Party of Mycotoxin (2002-2007). She worked as a visiting scientist in countries such as Belgium, Germany, Netherland and UK. She worked for sabbatical in the USA in 2001. She also gave lectures at Universite de Vigo, Spain by Erasmus Programme in 2007. Recently, she organized 23rd ICFMH FoodMicro 2012 Congress and 14th Mediterranean Phytopathological Congress. She has around 95 published articles. She is currently working at Istanbul Technical University, Food Engineering Department.
Antonello Santini
Department of Pharmacy University of Napoli "Federico II", Italy
Prof. Antonello Santini, Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences, University of Napoli, Italy, 1992; Research Associate, Department of Chemistry, 1993-1994; National Research Council Fellow, University of Napoli, 1994-1995; Appointed to Faculty, University of Napoli "Federico II", 1994-today: Department of Food Science and since 2012 Department of Pharmacy. Responsible, Virtual Laboratory of research and Education in Food (www.lva.unina.it), 1999-; He has published more than 110 papers in reputed international Journals. Editor in Chief, Food Science and Technology Letters, 2011- ; Editor in Chief of Journal of Food Research, 2012-; Member of the European Food Safety Authority EFSA, ERWG, Parma, Italy; Member of Managing Board, Italian Chemistry Society (SCI) Division of Teaching (DD-SCI), Rome, Italy. His teaching includes Food Chemistry, General and Inorganic Chemistry, Laboratory of Chemistry. His research activity focuses on Food Chemistry; Nutraceuticals; Food contaminants; Mycotoxins and secondary metabolites; Food analysis.
Iryna Sorokulova
Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, USA
Iryna Sorokulova is the Professor of Microbiology, Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn
University, Auburn, AL, USA. She received her MS degree in Microbiology from Taras Shevchenko Kiev State University (Ukraine) and Ph.D.
and D.Sc. degrees in Microbiology from the Institute of Microbiology and Virology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. She has received
a solid background in formulation and regulation of biological products during the training courses in Bureau of Biologics (Ottawa, Canada) and
Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories (Boston, USA). Sorokulova is the author of 74 refereed scientific publications, 4 books, and 23 patents.
Svetla Danova
The Stephan Angeloff Institute of Microbiology, Bulgaria
Dr. Svetla DANOVA is a molecular biologist, with a strong background in microbiology and genetic research on medically and industrially important groups of microorganisms. She has graduated and completed her MSc and PhD thesis from Biological Faculty, Sofia University "St. Kl. Ohridski", Sofia, Bulgaria. In 2000 completed a post-doctoral study in ENITIAA and INRA-Nantes, France. Presently she is Assoc. Professor in the Department of General Microbiology, The Stephan Angeloff Institute of Microbiology. Since 2008 year Dr. S. Danova is a Head of laboratory "Genetics of lactic acid bacteria & probiotics". Coordinator of 3 national and 2 International projects and Participant in 7 National Project, 3 International Programs and 9 International projects. Author of more than 70 papers on taxonomy, physiology and biological activity of lactic acid bacteria and probiotics, student book "Probiotics" and 3 chapters of book. Supervisor of 4 PhD students and 15 MSc students. Technical external expert – Executive Agency Bulgarian Accreditation service for Accreditation laboratories - Microbiological control of food, feeds, cosmetics, water (EN ISO/IEC 17025; EN ISO/IEC 17020).