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Speakers' Profile

	DAVID BENTON is Professor of Psychology at the University of Swansea, UK. After training as a Psychologist, he studied Biochemical Pharmacology and now specializes in the study of the influence of nutrition on psychological functioning. His research objective is to develop either food items, or dietary recommendations, that will facilitate memory and mood. His projects have considered the role of dietary induced changes in blood glucose on mood and cognition; the influence of meals, in particular breakfast and snacks; the impact of various vitamins and minerals; the role of macronutrient intake in mood and cognition; and the influence of food-related substances including lecithin, carnitine, creatine, phosphatidylserine, docosahexaenoic acid and chocolate. Prof Benton has worked with many multi-national food and ingredient manufacturers in Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, UK and the USA. He has produced over 200 research publications and over the last 15 years has received more than 120 invitations to speak from over 20 countries.
	J STEVEN REZNICK is Professor of Psychology, and Associate Dean for First Year Seminars and Academic Experiences at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, USA. He is also the Director of the Research Participant Core and Co-director of Behavioral Measurement Core at the UNC Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Center. Prof Reznick's primary research interests are cognitive development in infants, detecting infants who are at risk for an eventual diagnosis of autism, and exploring nutritional influences in early development. He has published numerous books, monographs, chapters and articles and is serving on the editorial board of several journals including Developmental Science and General Psychology Review. Prof Reznick received his BA in Psychology from UNC Chapel Hill and his PhD from the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA.
	SASKIA OSENDARP is a Science Leader, Child Nutrition at the Unilever R&D Vlaardingen, The Netherlands, as well as a visiting assistant professor in micronutrients and international health at the Department of Human Nutrition at Wageningen University, The Netherlands. Before joining Unilever in 2001, she worked for 10 years in public health nutrition research in developing countries, including Ivory Coast and Bangladesh. From 1994 until 2001 she worked as a nutrition scientist focusing on micronutrient nutrition during pregnancy and infancy at the ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and Population Research in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dr Osendarp has published numerous papers on the impact of micronutrients on pregnancy outcomes and children’s cognitive development. More recently, she worked in the area of micronutrients and obesity in children in transitional countries as well as the impact of fatty acids on children’s health and development. Dr Osendarp obtained her MSc in Human Nutrition and her PhD on zinc supplementation during pregnancy and infancy from Wageningen University.
	PETER WILLATTS is currently a Senior Lecturer at the School of Psychology of the University of Dundee, UK. He studies cognitive development in infants and young children, and has a special interest in thinking and problem solving. This work has led to the development of several tests of infant problem-solving ability which have been widely used to assess the effects of nutrition on cognitive development. Dr Willatts also studies the effects of early diet and nutrition on cognitive development, and his published research includes the effects of LC-PUFAs on cognition and behaviour in normal children, and the influence of iodine and thyroid hormone insufficiency on the development of children born preterm. He is on the Editorial Board of the journal Infant and Child Development, and is an Expert Panel Member of the Working Group of the Scientific Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies at the European Food Safety Authority. Dr Willatts obtained his PhD in Psychology from the University of London, UK.
	NAMSOO CHANG is presently a full Professor of Nutrition in the Department of Nutritional Science and Food Management at Ewha Womans University, Korea. She is an established researcher in the field of vitamin nutrition and metabolism in health and disease, and she has published over 120 archival journal papers and presented many papers in international conferences. She is the Vice President of the Korean Society of Medical Nutrition Science and the immediate past President of the Korean Nutrition Society. Prof Chang has previously served on the WHO/FAO Expert Working Group on Vitamins/Minerals Risk Assessment, NIH/Office of Dietary Supplements Annual Bibliography Projects, and on a number of committees including the Upper Limits committee (chair), Korean Dietary Reference Intakes, etc. In 2009, she was the recipient of the National Medal for Promotion of Science and Technology by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Korea. Prof Chang received her PhD from Rutgers University, USA, and completed her dietetic training at Yale-New Haven Hospital, USA.
	LINDAWATI WIBOWO is currently an Academic Staff at the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization - Tropical Medicine and Public Health (SEAMEO-TROPMED) Regional Center for Community Nutrition (RCCN) at the University of Indonesia, Indonesia. A nutritionist by profession, she has special interest in the area of nutrition intervention, epidemiology, and health and nutrition programmatic issues. She has done research on micronutrients supplementation for Indonesian children and has worked with the Nutrition Enhancement for Mental Optimization (NEMO) Study Group, investigating the effect of micronutrient intervention on learning and memory in school children. Ms Wibowo is currently a PhD candidate in International Nutrition at Cornell University, USA, under the International Nutrition Foundation and Nestle Foundation Fellowship. She obtained her MSc in Community Nutrition from SEAMEO-TROPMED RCCN, University of Indonesia, and her Bachelor degree in Environmental Microbiology from Satya Wacana Christian University, Indonesia.
	SRINIVASAN KRISHNAMACHARI is a Professor in Psychiatry at the St. John’s Medical College and a Vice Dean at the St. John’s Research Institute, India. He obtained his training in Psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences, India before joining St. John’s Medical College. He has done research in the area of nutrition status and childhood cognitive performance in recent years. Prof Srinivasan has published numerous peer-reviewed publications. He is a member of the editorial advisory board for Electronic Journal of Biomedicine as well as a reviewer for numerous journals. He received his MBBS from Maulana Azad Medical College and his MD in Psychiatry from the National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences, India.
	PATTANEE WINICHAGOON is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Nutrition, Mahidol University, Thailand. Her work in the area of maternal and child micronutrient status, micronutrient intervention and community-based nutrition is well regarded and she has provided advice and consultation to various WFP, UNICEF-EAPRO and AUSAID projects, to name a few. She has also published numerous peer-reviewed articles and monographs. Prof Winichagoon was the Vice Chair of the Scientific Committee for the 19th International Congress of Nutrition held in Bangkok in 2009. She obtained her MSc in Nutrition from University of Hawaii and her PhD in International Nutrition from Cornell University, USA.
	MICHAEL FENECH is a Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO Food & Nutritional Sciences, Australia, and an adjunct Professor at the University of South Australia. He has over 20 years of research experience in the fields of genetic toxicology and nutrition. His current research focuses on the use of nutrional genomics approach to determine micronutrient requirements for optimizing genome stability and to define Dietary Reference Values based on DNA damage prevention. He also investigates the practical implementation of the Genome Health Clinic concept which he developed based on the personalized diagnosis of DNA damage and its prevention using dietary and life-style strategies. In 2008, Prof Fenech was awarded the prestigious Alexander Hollaender medal by the US Environmental Mutagen Society for outstanding contributions to environmental mutagenesis research and protection of human health. His publications have been cited more than 6,500 times and his current H-index is 42.
	ANDREW SINCLAIR is the Director of the Metabolic Research Unit and Professor of Nutrition Sciences in the School of Medicine at Deakin University, Australia. Professor Sinclair teaches at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and also supervises higher degree students. Prof Sinclair’s research interests cover a range of areas related to fatty acid metabolism in man and animals and the composition of foods (lipids and fat soluble vitamins). His latest research interests are in the role of essential nutrients in brain function (zinc, DHA, DPAn-3), lipidomic analysis of brain regions and omega 3 fatty acid metabolisms in fish and mammals. He is the immediate past President of the Nutrition Society of Australia (NSA) and the current President of ILSI SEAR Australasia. Prof Sinclair serves on the Publication Advisory Board of AOCS and is an Editor for the British Journal of Nutrition. He has over 250 publications in peer-reviewed journals.
	NG TZE PIN is an Associate Professor at the Department of Psychological Medicine at the National University of Singapore, Singapore. He is also the Director of the Gerontological Research Programme and the Principal Investigator of the Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Studies. His research interest is in the area of chronic diseases epidemiology, aging and health, neuropsychiatric disorders, and clinical epidemiology and health services research. Prof Ng currently conducts randomized controlled trials of physical, nutritional and cognitive interventions for prefrail elderly. He has published over 170 papers and has been invited to speak at various meetings. He received his Doctorate in Medicine from the National University of Singapore in 1993.
	SUZANA SHAHAR is a Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics and the Deputy Dean of Research and International Relations at the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia. Her research interest is on the nutritional epidemiology in aging and cancer and has led several related projects including Development of Nutritional Screening Tools for Elderly Individuals, Determination of Risk Factors of Breast and Prostate Cancers, Clinical Trials for Prevention of Cognitive Decline and Sarcopenia in Elderly Individuals, etc. She has been involved in several national task forces to formulate the Recommended Nutrient Intake of Malaysia, Malaysian Dietary Guidelines, etc. Prof Shahar is the Chief Editor of Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences, an editor of Sains Malaysiana and reviewer of several journals. She has published more than 40 articles in journals, 13 books and chapters in books. She is a life member of the Gerontology Association of Malaysia and the Nutrition Society of Malaysia. Prof Shahar obtained her PhD in Human Nutrition from the University of Sheffield, UK.
	PARAMJEET SINGH is a Senior Manager at the BRAND’S Health Science Centre, Regional R&D, Cerebos Pacific Limited, Singapore. His research interest is on food and brain-centered total body physiology, how consumed bioactive ingredients influence diverse body functions by acting mainly on the brain. He also investigates the mechanisms of immediate action of known and novel bioactive ingredients on the brain and the secondary pathways for distal effects. Prior to joining Cerebos, Dr Singh was an Assistant Professor at the A*STAR Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Singapore, where he also headed the applied cancer research programme at the Cancer and Developmental Biology Division. He has authored several peer reviewed publications in the area of biochemistry. Dr Singh received both his PhD in Biochemistry / Genetics and his bachelor degree from the National University of Singapore, Singapore.
	ANDREW SCHOLEY is a Professor of Behavioural and Brain Sciences at the Brain Sciences Institute (BSI), Swinburne University, Australia. He is also the Head of their Herbal and Nutritional Medicine Research Unit and Co-Director of the NICM Centre for the Study of Natural Medicines and Neurocognition. In 1998, he established the Human Cognitive Neuroscience Unit at Northumbria University, UK, and was the Unit’s Director until joining the BSI in 2007. Prof Scholey was also co-director of the UK’s Medicinal Plant Research Centre and remains as Honorary Director of Neurocognitive trials. Prof Scholey has published dozens of journal articles focusing on the potential mood and cognition enhancing effects of natural products. His research uses state-of the-art methodology, including neurocognitive assessment, brain imaging and various physiological analyses to disentangle the neurocognitive effects of specific nutritional interventions focusing on plant extracts to enhance cognitive performance.
	RACHEL L GALLI is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of Psychobiology at the Simmons College in Boston, USA. Since 1998, she has been a collaborator with Dr Barbara Shukitt-Hale of the Neuroscience Laboratory at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, USA. Prof Galli’s research examines cellular and molecular changes in the brain that may underlie normal aging and the effects of nutritional interventions targeting deficits in learning and memory. She is currently investigating the potential of a normal diet supplemented with fruit high in polyphenols in slowing or even reversing age-related deficits in cognitive and motor function. Prof Galli received her undergraduate degree in Physiological Psychology from Hofstra University, USA, and her PhD from the Brain, Behavior and Cognition program at Boston University, USA.
	REMA VAZHAPPILLY is a Research Scientist at Abbott Nutrition, Pacific Asia R&D, Singapore, working on early stage development of novel food ingredients for cognition enhancement. Prior to joining the company, she had over 9 years of post-doctoral experience in molecular neuroscience at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and National University of Singapore. Her research previously focused on N-methyl D-aspartate Receptor, a receptor protein which play major role in cognition, neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases. Dr Vazhappilly had authored several publications in peer reviewed journals. She received her PhD from University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
	JEROEN A J SCHMITT is currently the Head of Clinical Evaluation at Nestlé, Switzerland. The Clinical Evaluation group ensures high quality Clinical Operations for Nestlé clinical trials worldwide. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Brain Sciences Institute of Swinburne University, Australia. From 2006 to 2010, he was the Head of the Cognitive Sciences Group at Nestlé Research Center, investigating the role of nutrition in mental health and cognition throughout life in clinical and pre-clinical studies. He had also worked as an Assistant Professor in Biopsychology and Psychopharmacology at Maastricht University, The Netherland, investigating the role of serotonin and dopamine in human cognitive behavior by using human intervention studies with antidepressants, as well as tryptophan and tyrosine depletion methodologies. For the past 5 years, Prof Schmitt has chaired ILSI Europe’s Mental Performance Taskforce, which promotes methodological research in the field of nutrition and cognition. He received his PhD in Psychopharmacology at Maastricht University, The Netherlands.
	KATHRYN ELLIS is a Research Psychologist with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Australia. She is also the Head of the Clinical Research Group at the Mental Health Research Institute, the National Manager of the Australian Imaging, Biomarker & Lifestyle Flagship Study of Ageing (AIBL) study, and the Manager of the biomarkers discovery stream of Dementia Collaborative Research Centre 2 – Early Diagnosis and Prevention. Her main research interests include cognition, neuroimaging and Alzheimer’s disease, with a focus on identifying risk factors for cognitive decline. Dr Ellis obtained her PhD in behavioural neurosciences from Swinburne University, Australia. She conducted research focusing on cognition, psychopharmacology and neuroimaging undertaken during a year’s placement at Imperial College of London, UK.
	RICHARD HEAD is the Director of CSIRO Preventative Health Flagship, Australia, and a coordinator of the 'Promoting Health' Sector Domain across CSIRO. Under his leadership, the Flagship engages with 7 CSIRO Divisions, over 30 Australian and 8 international or overseas research institutions and agencies. He specifically oversees development of early detection and intervention in colorectal cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and obesity. Prof Head was formerly the Chief of CSIRO Division of Health Sciences and Nutrition and has also served as Professor of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology at the University of Adelaide, Australia. He has over 40 years of research experience in investigating the etiology of chronic diseases that affect societies. Prof Head has published extensively in the field of biomedical science and managed science portfolios of significant size. He is a member of numerous professional organizations and is a board member of Australian e-Health Research Centre and School of Molecular and Biomedical Science at the University of Adelaide, Australia.
	TOSHIO SHIMIZU is a Professor at the School of Health and Human Life in Nagoya-bunri University, Japan, and President of FrescoJapan Co. Ltd. He is also a lecturer at the Niigata University of Pharmacy and Applied Sciences, Japan. Prof Shimizu is very involved in regulatory science, mainly on functionalities and health claims of foods, especially Food for Specified Health Use (FOSHU) and dietary supplements. He is a Council of the Japanese Clinical Nutrition Association and the Organization for Japan Supplement Adviser Authority as well as a Committee member for qualifying Nutrition Representatives in the National Institute of Health and Nutrition. He has published numerous scientific publications on R&D and regulation of functional foods and biotechnology of food. Prof Shimizu received his PhD in biochemistry from the University of Tokyo, Japan.
	TEE E SIONG is a Nutrition Consultant for TES NutriHealth Strategic Consultancy, Malaysia. He was the Head of the Cardiovascular, Diabetes and Nutrition Research Center of the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) in Kuala Lumpur until his retirement in 2002 after serving for 30 years. He is currently a Nutrition Advisor to the Food Safety and Quality Division (FSQD) of MOH Malaysia and the Chairperson of the following sub-committees: (1) National Codex Sub-Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses; (2) Expert Working Committee on Nutrition, Health Claims and Advertisement; and (3) Working Group on Food/Drug Interface products. He is also a member of the National Advisory Committee on Food Regulations and the National Coordinating Committee on Food and Nutrition. Dr Tee serves as Scientific Director on the Board of ILSI SEA Region and is also the President of the Nutrition Society of Malaysia. He has published over 150 scientific articles and papers and made over 200 presentations on various aspects of food and nutrition in seminars and conferences within and outside Malaysia.
	ROB WINWOOD is currently the Director of Scientific Affairs in Europe and Asia at Martek Biosciences, USA. He has held a series of senior technical and business development positions in various global food ingredient companies including Archer Daniels Midland, Kelco International and Tunnel Avebe Starches. He is a specialist in vegetable oils and macromolecular fermentation and has recently served as President and Vice-President of Biopolymer International. Dr Winwood has a doctorate and honours degree in Food Science. He is a Chartered Scientist and Fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology. He is also a member of International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids and serves on the scientific committee of GOEDomega3 and the lipids committee of the Society of Chemistry for Industry. Dr Winwood has written a book on the UK Food Manufacturing Industry and has authored numerous scientific publications. He has been an invited speaker at many conferences around the globe.
	JOSEPHINE WILLS is the Director General of the European Food Information Council (EUFIC), Belgium. Based in Brussels, the organization aims to enhance the public’s understanding of food safety and quality, and health and nutrition related issues, and the active role they play in safe food handling and choosing a well-balanced and healthy diet. Prior to joining EUFIC, she worked for Mars in science, communication, and regulatory roles for 18 years, latterly as European Head of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs for all product categories. Dr Wills has published over 80 scientific papers, edited four books and lectured extensively worldwide. She obtained her bachelor degree from the Royal Veterinary College in London and her PhD from the University of Bristol Veterinary School, UK. She also completed several years of postdoctoral research at the University of Manchester Medical School, UK.