Laureates & Talents
The Nils Foss Excellence Prize 2024:
Professor Rudolf Krska
In 2024, the Nils Foss Excellence Prize was awarded to Professor Rudolf Krska, Technical University of Denmark, for his more than 30 years of performing excellent research. He has become a global leader in the identification, assessment and management of known and emerging food safety hazards and associated risks with special emphasis on mycotoxins and other secondary metabolites produced by plants and fungi.
The Nils Foss Talent Prize 2024:
Leoni Jahn
In 2024, the Nils Foss Talent Prize went to Co-Principal Investigator Leoni Jahn from the Technical University of Denmark, for her work on harnessing the power of microorganisms to develop sustainable, nutritious, and delicious foods combined with high throughput analytical testing.
The Nils Foss Excellence Prize 2023:
Professor Anne S. Meyer
In 2023, the Nils Foss Excellence Prize was awarded to Professor Anne S. Meyer, Technical University of Denmark, for her work with the “minimal enzyme cocktail paradigm” for biomass processing, the enzyme-assisted production of prebiotic oligosaccharides, and the gene structure-based classification of formate dehydrogenases for CO2 conversion.
The Nils Foss Talent Prize 2023:
Lutz Grossmann
In 2023, the Nils Foss Talent Prize went to Lutz Grossmann, University of Massachusetts Amherst, for his work in exploring new food ingredients by extending analytical methods to alternative proteins from algae, bacteria, and plants.
The Nils Foss Excellence Prize 2022:
Professor Eric Andrew Decker
In 2022, the Nils Foss Excellence Prize was awarded to Professor Eric Andrew Decker, University of Massachusetts Amherst, for his work with food lipids with emphasis on sustainability, functional properties, antioxidants, and health effects.
The money from the prize will be used for further promoting and build on his field of research.
The Nils Foss Talent Prize 2022:
Laura Roman Rivas & Mahesha Manjunatha Poojary
In 2022, The Nils Foss Talent Prizes went to Laura Roman Rivas, Aarhus University, for her work with plant-proteins, biopolymers extrusion, food structure, food processing, glycomics and to Mahesha Manjunatha Poojary, University of Copenhagen, for his work with food analytical chemistry and food protein chemistry.
Their prize money will be used for further promoting their respective research areas and for networking and presenting at several global conferences, like the Food Analytics Conference.
2022 was a special year, and one which underlined the growing focus on sustaining the world’s food production, because the nominee field was extremely difficult to narrow down, and it ultimately proved impossible to only choose one talent. Thus, as a rare exception, The Nils Foss Talent Prize was awarded to two people in 2022.
The Nils Foss Excellence Prize 2021:
Roy Goodacre, University of Liverpool
In 2021, the Nils Foss Excellence Prize was awarded to Professor Roy Goodacre, University of Liverpool, for his extensive work in establishing a range of novel analytical approaches. Professor Roy Goodacre is a pioneer in the field of large-scale metabolomics, and he has developed a series of innovative Raman solutions to protect the integrity of our food supply chains. These methods include the highly innovative quantitative surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS).
The Nils Foss Talent Prize 2021:
Mario Martinez-Martinez
In 2021, The Nils Foss Talent Prize went to Mario Martinez-Martinez, Aarhus University, for his work with plant-proteins, biopolymers extrusion, food structure, food processing, glycomics
Their prize money will be used for further promoting their respective research areas and for networking and presenting at several global conferences, like the Food Analytics Conference.
The Nils Foss Excellence Prize 2019:
David Julian McClements, University of Massachusetts
In 2019, the Nils Foss Excellence Prize was awarded to Professor at University of Massachusetts, David Julian McClements, for his significant contributions in food science for many years. He has revolutionized how we think about the food supply and has served as a paradigm for many other researchers in the field. The distinguished professor’s research helps to enhance what we eat through nanotechnology, improving the physico-chemical, sensory, physiological properties and nutritional profile in produces. The result is functional foods designed from the bottom up, to enhance their quality, nutrition, safety and sustainability.
The Nils Foss Talent Prize 2019:
Qian Janice Wang, Aarhus University
In 2019, The Nils Foss Talent Prize went to Qian Janice Wang, Aarhus University, for her investigations into the flavor perception of what we eat and how it is affected by our senses, especially sounds. With this intriguing work, Wang aims to understand the brain flavor system and how what we hear influences how and what we taste.
The Nils Foss Excellence Prize 2018:
Robert David Hall, Wageningen University & Research
In 2018, the Nils Foss Excellence Prize was awarded to Professor of Plant Metabolomics at Wageningen University & Research, Robert David Hall, for his pioneering developments and work with establishing metabolomics technologies to study the metabolic profiles of plants, with a particular emphasis on crop species. His aim of the research is to provide us with a better understanding of the biochemical composition of plant and food materials and to design new strategies for the development of improved food products of a higher quality.
The Nils Foss Talent Prize 2018:
Klavs Martin Sørensen, University of Copenhagen
In 2018, The Nils Foss Talent Prize went to Klavs Martin Sørensen, Associate Professor at the department of food science, chemometrics and analytical technology at the University of Copenhagen, for his extensive knowledge of applied solutions. Klavs specialises in on-line analysis and analysis automation, and holds a PhD in process analytical technology and on-line spectroscopic measurements of chemical meat quality. Klavs possesses and brings with him a talent for innovative thinking, which has already lead to significant advances in the industry.
The Nils Foss Excellence Prize 2017:
Frank M. Aarestrup, Technical University of Denmark
In 2017, the Nils Foss Excellence Prize was awarded to Head of Research Group, National Food Institute at Technical University of Denmark, Frank M. Aarestrup, for his important contributions to map out and prove that the use of antibiotics for animals actually has consequences and that we can do something about it by reducing the amount of antibiotics. With a background as a veterinarian, Frank M. Aarestrup started his work in the laboratory, researching bacteria in mastitis, and his journey has then taken him to the area of antimicrobial resistance and the spread of infectious diseases on a global scale. Currently working with building a global framework for surveillance of infectious diseases, Frank M. Aarestrup is making a true impact on global food safety and human health.
The Nils Foss Talent Prize 2017:
Kristian Holst Laursen, University of Copenhagen
In 2017, The Nils Foss Talent Prize went to Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Science, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, Kristian Holst Laursen, for his work with identifying and treating manganese deficiency in plants. His research has led to several international ventures, and his passion for solving local agricultural challenges has helped farmers all over the world. His latest research works to safeguard organic food producers by looking at plant authenticity, which can define and eliminate food fraud.
The Nils Foss Excellence Prize 2016:
Rasmus Bro, University of Copenhagen
In 2016, the Nils Foss Excellence Prize was awarded to Professor at University of Copenhagen, Rasmus Bro, for his introduction of new mathematical methods to help make better use of the vast amounts of valuable data generated by modern analytical instrument platforms in use in the medical, pharmaceutical and food & feed industries. He has also pioneered a new mathematical approach to chemical analysis to aid environmental monitoring and has developed a revolutionary concept, Biocontour, for predicting the risk of developing breast cancer based on a blood sample test.
A key theme throughout Professor Bro’s work is the concept of covariance drawing on the combined strength of normally isolated data sources to give a clearer picture of what is going on in complex processes such those as involved in food and pharmaceutical production. With support from organizations such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Arla foods and Novo Nordisk, he has put together the world’s first university education on the theme of using advanced data for better production of food and pharmaceuticals.
The Nils Foss Talent Prize 2016:
Bekzod Khakimov, University of Copenhagen
In 2016, The Nils Foss Talent Prize went to PhD in metabolomics and post doc at the University of Copenhagen, Bekzod Khakimov, for his work with metabolomics. His research is an exciting new area of food science with positive implications for future food production.
Until recently, food analyses were limited to estimating nutritional values within the content of six broad categories: carbohydrates, fats, proteins, water, vitamins, and minerals. Metabolomics is transforming all that by revealing the thousands of bioactive food components that could affect human well-being and health. In turn, this can help food producers to optimise the composition of processed food and also help them to screen raw material for unwanted components due to deliberate or accidental adulteration.