Biography
Dr. Xu is a Full Professor in Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College (UIC), Zhuhai Scholar Distinguished Professor, Associate Director of UIC Key Lab -Laboratory for Health Promotion Mechanism of Medicinal Food and Folk Remedy, author of 140 peer-reviewed papers. Dr. Xu received Ph.D in Chungnam National University, South Korea. He conducted postdoctoral research work in North Dakota State University, Purdue University, and Gerald P. Murphy Cancer Foundation during 2005-2009. Dr. Xu is serving as Associate Editor-in-Chief of Food Science and Human Wellness, the Editorial Board member of several international journals. He received inaugural President’s Award for Research of UIC in 2016.
Research Interest
The overall goal of his research is to understand health promoting effects of phytochemicals. Specific interests include: 1) Complex relationship among diet, gut microbiota, and human health, 2) health benefits (targeted at aging, cancers, obesity, and diabetes) assessment of phyto-chemicals from natural products; 3) cellular and molecular mechanisms of bioactive components in disease prevention; 4) Dietary polysaccharides and their functional properties.
Biography
Sylvanus Thompson is an Associate Director at Toronto Public Health. His Formal Education includes a BSc (Environmental Health), a MSc (Food Safety), and PhD (Public Health Administration). Additionally Sylvanus is a Fellow of the Canadian Health Service Research Foundation (EXTRA Program) which is focused on evidence –based decision making. He has extensive training and experience in developing, implementing and evaluating public health programs and services. He is a major resource personnel on environmental public health issues particularly in food safety and quality assurance. Sylvanus is a member of several local, national and international professional organizations including National Environmental Health Association, International Federation of Environmental Health, and the American Society for Quality, the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors, and the Association of Supervisors of Public Health Inspectors of Ontario. He is the Secretary for the International Federation of Environmental Health, a Technical Advisor for the National Environmental Health Association and the ASPHIO Food Safety lead. Sylvanus was very instrumental in the development of Toronto’s award winning food inspection and disclosure system, DineSafe, and has since provided consultation to a number of countries, including the UK, Australia, China, Hong Kong and parts of the US in implementing similar systems. Toronto Public Health was the recipient of the prestigious Samuel Crumbine Consumer Protection Award for this effort. Sylvanus is a recipient of a number of professional and community awards including the National Sanitation Foundation /CIPHI Award for outstanding contribution to food safety. He has been awarded the Crumbine Medal, USA (2011) for outstanding contribution to food safety and consumer protection, the Canadian African Unsung Heroes Awards for ground-breaking contribution to public health Awards, the Public Sector Quality Fair Gold Award for consumer protection and was recognised among the "140 Faces of OEC", University of Guelph. Most recently he was recognized by Toronto Public Health and the Government of Ontario for Outstanding Community Contribution.
Research Interest
Food Safety, Public Health etc..
Biography
Dr. Sergiy Olishevskyy completed with distinction a BSc in Biology (2001) and an MSc in Microbiology and Immunology (2002) from Kyiv National University, the largest and most renowned university in Ukraine. He continued his post-graduate studies at the Institute of Experimental Pathology, Oncology and Radiobiology of National Academy of Science of Ukraine, where he gained a PhD degree in 2007. Dr. Olishevskyy has been engaged in many scientific projects focusing on research and development in the areas of Cancer Biology, Microbiology and Exercise Immunology. His strong, multidisciplinary scientific expertise and leadership allows him to design, develop and manage successfully different R&D projects with his laboratory teams. In 2012, Dr. Olishevskyy joined FoodChekâ„¢ Laboratories Inc. as Senior Scientific Project Manager where he continued his postdoctoral studies supported by the Industrial R&D Fellowships Program from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. He has led multiple R&D projects aimed at the development of modern approaches for the detection of pathogenic bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and E.coli O157:H7 in the food industry. In 2017, Dr. Olishevskyy was promoted to Vice President, Research and Development.
Research Interest
Food Microbiology including Foodborne Pathogen Detection and Enrichment Media Development