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Dean Della Penna |
(517) 432-9284
dellapen@msu.edu
Dean Della Penna is a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Michigan State University. Della Penna is a world authority on the biosynthesis of micronutrients in plants, doing pioneering research on vitamin A and vitamin E biosynthesis and using biochemistry, genetics and genomics to discover enzymes plants use to make them. He also has advocated for biofortification to the international community, leading to projects funded by international agencies and The Gates Foundation to improve the nutritional quality of rice, cassava and other foods in developing regions. His research also illuminates how vitamins contribute to the growth and stress tolerance of plants, which could lead to plants that thrive in substandard environments. More>>
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Thomas Dietz |
(517) 353-8763
tdietz@msu.edu
Thomas Dietz is a professor of sociology and crop and soil sciences at Michigan State University; director of the Environmental Science and Policy Program; and associate dean in the colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Natural Sciences and Social Science. The National Academy of Sciences appointed Dietz to the leadership committee for the $6 million America’s Climate Choices study, where he also is vice-chairperson of the study’s science panel. Dietz also chairs its Panel on Public Participation in Environmental Assessment and Decision Making. His current research focuses on the human forces that drive environmental change and the interplay between science and democracy in environmental issues. (See www.stirpat.org.) He also has a strong interest in evolutionary process. More>>
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| Robert Last click for high-resolution image |
(517) 432-3278
lastr@msu.edu
Robert Last is a professor of plant biology and biochemistry and molecular biology at Michigan State University. His research group uses genetic, genomic and biochemical approaches to understand the regulation of biosynthetic pathways of importance to flowering plants and the animals that depend on plants for sustenance. He and his colleagues use high-throughput genetic screening and advanced analysis technologies for their research. In the National Science Foundation-funded Chloroplast 2010 project, he focuses on functional analysis of several thousand nuclear genes that encode chloroplast-targeted proteins. They take an integrated approach to lay the foundation for a longer-term systems biology understanding of the entire network of genes and proteins in plants. More>>
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| Jon Miller click for high-resolution image |
(517) 432-4286
jdmiller@msu.edu
Jon Miller is the John A. Hannah Professor of Integrative Studies at Michigan State University. The chair is appointed jointly by the deans of the colleges of Natural Science, Social Science and Arts and Letters. Miller has measured the public understanding of science and technology in the United States for the last three decades, and has examined the factors associated with the development of attitudes toward science and science policy. He directed biennial national surveys for the National Science Board for 20 years and has pioneered the definition and measurement of scientific literacy. More>>
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| John Spink click for high-resolution image |
(517) 432-3100
spinkj@msu.edu
A Certified Packaging Professional, Spink earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Michigan State University School of Packaging and is a faculty instructor at the MSU Food Safety and Toxicology Center. He developed and teaches online graduate classes in packaging for food safety and is co-principal investigator for the Food Safety Policy Center-funded grant to research the business case for anti-counterfeit systems research in food. He spent 12 years with Chevron Corp. and today chairs the packaging subcommittee for Michigan’s Agriculture and Food Protection Strategy Team. He also is involved in numerous sustainable packaging initiatives. More>>
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| Ewen Todd click for high-resolution image |
(517) 355-8371
todde@msu.edu
An internationally known expert on food-borne disease and risk assessment, Todd is former head of MSU's National Food Safety and Toxicology Center and the Contaminated Foods Section, Bureau of Microbial Hazards Health Products and Food Branch of Health Canada in Ottawa. Todd earned his doctorate degree in bacteriology from the University of Glasgow, where he was an assistant lecturer. He has been involved with the reporting and surveillance of foodborne disease, developed methods to detect E. coli 0157:H7, shiga toxin-producing E. coli and salmonella in food, estimated the number and cost of cases of food-borne disease in Canada and the United States, determined the impact of seafood toxins and developed quantitative risk assessments for pathogens in foods.
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