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Alejandro Cifuentes is a Full Research Professor at the National Research Council of Spain (CSIC) in Madrid, Head of the Laboratory of Foodomics and Director of the Metabolomics Platform (International Excellence Campus CSIC + University Autonoma of Madrid). He has been Founding Director of the Institute of Food Science Research from CSIC. Alejandro’s activity includes advanced analytical methods development for Foodomics (including transcriptomics, proteomics, lipidomics and metabolomics), food quality and safety, as well as isolation and characterization of natural bioactive compounds and their effect on human health. He is member of the Editorial Board of 17 international journals, Specialty Chief Editor of Frontiers in Nutrition (Nutrition and Food Science Technology), Editor of TrAC-Trends in Analytical Chemistry, Editor of Electrophoresis and Editor-in-Chief of Exploration of Foods and Foodomics. He has published more than 300 SCI papers (plus 30 books/book chapters and 9 patents) that have received more than 28000 citations. Alejandro has given more than 200 invited lectures in different meetings in Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Oceania. He has defined for the first time in a SCI journal the new discipline of Foodomics. He has been included in the Top 1% World Scientists by the Stanford University Ranking.

“As a scientist, I am alerted to the growing challenges to food, from health and safety to preference and sustainability, all in the context of a changing world. This program provides a unique environment to empower students with the knowledge they need to make wise decisions about where innovation will be most needed and solutions most effective. Big challenges need bold solutions.”

Dr. Bruce German is a professor and chemist of food science and technology at the University of California, Davis and the director for the university’s Foods for Health Institute. Dr. German’s work includes researching the role of fats and other components in the diet and developing ways to assess health and metabolism in response to foods. He uses milk as the model for the genetic blueprint for foods that support health, as milk evolves for the purpose of nourishing growing mammals. This evolutionary logic forms the basis of research for discovering physical, functional, and nutritional properties of milk components and applying these properties to foods.

Dr. German has published articles in more than 400 peer-reviewed publications, including Food in an Evolutionary Context and Nutrigenomics and Personalized Diets: What Will They Mean for Food? He has received honors as a Dean’s Distinguished Lecturer and a Distinguished Professor, and he was recognized by the Institute for Scientific Information as a Most Highly Cited Scientist.

Timothy Griffin is Teri and Barry Volpert Family Professor in Nutrition, Agriculture, and Sustainable Food Systems at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University. At the Friedman School, he is currently the Dean of Educational Affairs, served as Division Chair for the School’s Agriculture, Food and the Environment program from 2009 to 2024, and teaches classes on U.S. agriculture, agricultural science and policy, and the linkage between food system domains. In 2018, he was named as the inaugural recipient of a professorship in Nutrition, Agriculture, and Sustainable Food Systems.

His current research focuses on assessment of sustainability across environmental, social and economic metrics, regional food systems, and climate change impacts on agriculture. He supervises doctoral students conducting research on topics ranging from precision agriculture to food access to water rights. He served as an Advisor to the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, focusing on Sustainability, and also as a member of the National Academy of Sciences study Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects. He has given many scientific and public presentations on agriculture and the food system, and published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles. Prior to coming to the Friedman School, he served as Lead Scientist/Agronomist at USDA-Agricultural Research Service (2000-2008) and Extension Specialist in Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Maine (1992-2000), the first such position in the U.S.

Dr. Carlos A. Faerron Guzmán is a global health professional passionate about education and committed to health equity, addressing complexity, and emphasizing values in shaping a better world. As an educator, he fosters collaborative learning and knowledge exchange. He serves as an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore Graduate School, Director of the InterAmerican Center for Global Health in Costa Rica, and Senior Advisor  of the Planetary Health Alliance at the Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Faerron also holds adjunct positions at Northwestern University and Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

Expertise: Maternal and child nutrition, agriculture, policy

In a typical work week, I spend as much time with farmers, soil experts, and community food workers as I spend with my medical colleagues. I am a practicing family physician, science writer, Clinical Professor at the University of California San Francisco, and Research Scientist at the University of California Berkeley School of Public Health. I started the Health from the Soil Up Initiative at UC Berkeley Center for Occupational and Environmental Health to engage other health professionals in transforming our food system from the soil up. I am also Curriculum Director for Community and Integrative Medicine in the Lifelong Family Medicine Residency Program in Richmond, CA, where I partner with Urban Tilth, a local farm, to teach doctors-in-training about the the connections among food, soil, community, and health.

I am a regular health and science contributor to the Washington Post and you can read some of my articles here. I have two books about food, farming, and health: The Jungle Effect, The Science and Wisdom of Traditional Diets (HarperCollins 2008) and Farmacology, Total Health from the Soil Up (HarperCollins 2013).  Farmacology appears in four languages and was the basis for the award-winning documentary In Search of Balance. 

I have consulted for and presented to organizations around the globe including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Indigenous Terra Madre and Slow Food International. I was one of the pioneers in the “Healthy Parks, Healthy People” initiative which helped build linkages between our medical system and our park system. My 2009 Washington Post article “Take a Hike and Call Me in the Morning” is widely credited with introducing “park prescriptions” into medical practice.

I am a graduate of Brown University and Harvard Medical School and completed my family medicine residency and an NIH-funded primary care research fellowship at UCSF.  I serve on the Advisory Board of the Re:wild Your Campus, the Edible Schoolyard Foundation, the UC Berkeley Center for Parks, People and Biodiversity, and Berkeley Open Source Food, and am a past Fellow at the Berkeley Food Institute and the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine.

I live and garden in Berkeley, California.

Joe brings 30 years of research experience integrating genomics with breeding, in addition to extensive management experience, fund raising and overseeing large networks. As director of Crops for Nutrition and Health, he coordinates the genetic resources, biotechnology, bean, cassava, forages, and rice programs. Joe’s research involves integrating genomics with breeding, coordinating genome editing, and conduct gene discovery for abiotic and nutritional traits. He assisted the Colombian Biodiversity Humboldt Institute in setting up its molecular lab at CIAT. Joe was the CIAT focal point working with Howdy Bouis from IFPRI to set up the HarvestPlus biofortification program. He coordinated the biotechnology activities of HarvestPlus till 2019 and is currently a member of the HarvestPlus Program Advisory Committee. He is the co-founder of the Global Cassava Partnership (GCP-21). With Daniel Debouck, he initiated the establishment of Future Seeds, an innovation hub for conservation, digital genebank, and digital engagement and training. Joe is coordinating Future Seeds construction with completion by mid-2021. Joe holds a Ph.D. in Crop Sciences from Michigan State University and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Natalia Vazquez Manjarrez, is a researcher in the realm of Nutritional  and Food Sciences. She earned her Master of Science degree from UNAM and subsequently pursued her Ph.D. and postdoctoral studies at the University of Copenhagen, where she specialized in nutritional metabolomics. Presently, she spearheads the Metabolomics Unit within the Department of Nutrition Physiology at INCMNSZ. In this role, she is responsible for managing the targeted metabolomics platform and advancing analytical methodologies. Her research endeavors primarily focus on elucidating the nutritional composition of foods and unveiling dietary biomarkers. These efforts aim to bridge the intricate relationship between diet and health.