Keynote Speakers

Celebrated chef and food writer J. Kenji López-Alt is a The New York Times columnist and the author of The New York Times best-selling and James Beard Award–winning cookbooks The Food Lab and The Wok. Known for his approachable, science-driven style, Kenji has helped millions of home cooks understand how great food really works—and how to make it at home.

On YouTube, more than 1.5 million subscribers tune in to Kenji’s Cooking Show for his unedited, deeply nerdy kitchen experiments and practical cooking tips. He’s also the author of the best-selling children’s book Every Night Is Pizza Night, a story about curiosity, community, and the joy of food.

Kenji lives in Seattle with his two children, where he spends his time exploring the city’s vibrant food scene and sharing his favorite local bites and hidden gems.

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Dr. Brendan A. Niemira is the Chief Science and Technology Officer of IFT, the Institute of Food Technologists based in Chicago, IL. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago (AB) and Michigan State University (PhD) and holds certifications in government affairs from American University and Georgetown. As CSTO, Dr. Niemira provides strategic direction and vision for all of IFT’s scientific and technical initiatives, including journals, science policy and advocacy. Following a 25+ year research career with USDA-ARS, Dr. Niemira is recognized as a leading subject matter expert in cold plasma, irradiation, and other nonthermal food processing technologies. He is the co-editor and author of a well-regarded reference text, holds two patents, and has published more than 200 peer-reviewed research articles, book chapters, and critical reviews related to food microbiology and food safety. Dr. Niemira is a Fellow of IFT and has served on IFT’s Board of Directors. He is the recipient of the 2016 Department of Defense Award for Excellence and the 2020 Federal Laboratory Consortium Technology Transfer Innovation Award.

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Dr. Andrew (Drew) A. Bremer is the current Director of the NIH Office of Nutrition Research (ONR), part of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI) in the NIH Office of the Director. Since April 2025, he has also been the Acting Director of the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) within DPCPSI. Drew is a board-certified internist, pediatrician, and pediatric endocrinologist, and has a Ph.D. in pharmacology. Prior to his appointment as the ONR Director, Drew was the Chief of the Pediatric Growth and Nutrition Branch at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Drew's areas of expertise include endocrine disorders, obesity, developmental origins of health and disease, and the role of nutrition in health throughout the life cycle. He earned his B.S. at Yale University, completed his M.D./Ph.D. training at Boston University, his internal medicine and pediatric residencies at the Baylor College of Medicine, his pediatric endocrinology fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco, and subsequently received an M.A.S. degree in clinical research from the University of California, Davis. Drew joined the NIH in 2013 after holding academic positions at the University of California, Davis (2007-2010) and Vanderbilt University (2010-2013).

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Dr. Odoms-Young’s research examines how social and structural conditions shape dietary intake and contribute to diet-related chronic disease risk in the United States. Specifically, her work centers on understanding how systemic inequities in food environments, policy contexts, and lived experience produce population-level disparities in diet-related health and food and nutrition security across the life course. Her scholarship further integrates implementation science to assess the feasibility, effectiveness, and scalability of community-based and policy-level nutrition interventions in real-world settings. A central contribution of this work is the translation of empirical evidence into the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policies aimed at improving diet quality.

Dr. Odoms-Young has also contributed to national food and nutrition policy through service on expert advisory bodies, including the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She has served on committees that set nutrition standards for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs and revised food packages for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Most recently, she served as Vice Chair of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

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Anupama Joshi leads CSPI’s program strategy on national, state, and local policy advocacy; legislative campaigns; and regulatory affairs to support equitable access to healthy, affordable, and sustainable food. She oversees projects on a wide range of issue areas such as school nutrition, healthy food access, food retail, food service guidelines, pouring rights, labeling, corporate engagement, food safety, additives, dietary supplements, and agricultural biotechnology.

Anupama is an experienced leader driving evidence-based policies, programs, and funding in the nutrition, public health, agriculture, and environmental sectors. Previously, Anupama was executive director of the Blue Sky Funders Forum (a working group of the Environmental Grantmakers Association). Prior to that, Joshi was the founding executive director of the National Farm to School Network, where she successfully built cross-sectoral partnerships, scaled up program models, and advocated for local, state, and federal policies. She holds an MS in nutrition from M.S. University in Baroda, India, and spent the first part of her career on related projects in India, Thailand, and Malaysia. She is co-author of Food Justice (MIT Press, 2010).

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Dr. Tia M. Rains is an influential voice in food and nutrition and the current Global Co-chair for the International Life Sciences Institute. A scientist with more than 25 years of experience across the food and beverage industry, she is known for her evidence-based leadership in reshaping public understanding of food industry topics, most notably misunderstood ingredients such as eggs and monosodium glutamate (MSG). Until recently, Dr. Rains was Vice President of Science, Innovation & Corporate Affairs at Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America, Inc., where she led the R&D, Marketing and Corporate Communications teams. Before joining Ajinomoto, she held senior roles at Kraft Foods, the Egg Nutrition Center, Biofortis Clinical Research, and Merieux NutriSciences. She holds a Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and a B.S. in Food Science and Nutrition from Arizona State University.

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Mary Ellen Camire is the Editor-in-Chief of Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety and a Professor of Food Science & Human Nutrition at the University of Maine School of Food & Agriculture. She holds an A.B. in biology from Harvard-Radcliffe College, an M.S. in nutrition from the University of Massachusetts, and a Ph.D. in food science from Texas Woman’s University. Her research interests include consumer acceptability of healthy foods and developing healthy products and processes. She teaches graduate courses in sensory evaluation, nutrition and aging, integrative and functional nutrition, and responsible design, conduct, and research analysis. She received the 2006 Babcock-Hart Award from IFT and ILSI, and in 2007 became an IFT Fellow. She also received her College and University Outstanding Researcher Awards and American Society for Nutrition’s General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition Innovation Award. She was the 75th president of IFT in 2014-2015.

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Bill McDowell is vice president of content and channel strategy at the Institute of Food Technologists, where he aligns content and digital strategy to reach and engage IFT’s global community of professionals across the food sciences.

Previously, McDowell was vice president and editorial director of MTG Media Group, overseeing content strategy for several award-winning food and hospitality publications, including Meatingplace, CarneTec, Plate, and Hotels. His journalism career has been solely rooted in the food and beverage sector, including editorial roles at VerticalNet, Advertising Age, and Restaurants & Institutions.

He has served on multiple industry award juries, including the Jesse H. Neal Awards, and is a frequent guest lecturer at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where he earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. 

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Laura A. Lindenfeld, Ph.D. is Executive Director of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science and Professor of Communication at Stony Brook University. She is passionate about helping the scientific community advance meaningful, productive interactions with communities, stakeholders, and decision-makers. As a communication researcher, her work explores environmental sustainability communication and cultivates leadership that translates scientific knowledge into public action on critical issues and societal challenges. Dr. Lindenfeld’s most recent co-authored book Science Communication for Scientists: Linking Strategy with Creativity, Practice, and Respect is the first of its kind open-access textbook on science communication.

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Charlie Arnot is respected strategist and thought leader in food and agriculture. As both a writer and sought-after speaker, he engages audiences across the globe. Charlie has decades of experience working in communications, public relations and issues management within the food system. He is the founder and president of Look East and serves as CEO of The Center for Food Integrity, an international non-profit organization dedicated to building consumer trust and confidence in today's food system. One client said of Charlie’s work, “others help us talk about our business, you help us think differently about who we are and what we do.” His commitment to excellence, innovation and integrity have positioned him as a trusted counselor to CEOs, government leaders and executives, and a respected industry advisor on critical issues within the food system.

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Hydroxide is a food scientist and content creator who creates “edutainment”-style content across social media platforms. Her content combines education with humor and has garnered her over 550k+ followers across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, where over 8 million people have tuned into her content. She's guested on multiple podcasts, including Eater's Digest, SeaMossGirlies, MyFoodJob Rocks, and more. Hydroxide realized early on that she would have to be prepared to have hard conversations about food science. Now, Hydroxide does content creation that transforms the public’s beliefs about food and provides a sigh of relief for everyone who is confused about the fast-moving world of food. She was a part of the 2016 IFT Food Communicators Cohort and was the 2019 IFT competition chair for Developing Solutions for Developing Countries product development competition. She is excited to be back at IFT!

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Laura Chalela Hoover, MPH, RDN brings nearly 25 years of experience at the intersection of food, health, and strategic communications. A registered dietitian with a master’s in public health and a published author, she specializes in translating complex nutrition science and emerging science into clear, compelling narratives that build brand credibility and earn consumer trust.

At Edelman, Laura partners with food, wellness, and CPG clients, from emerging brands to legacy commodity groups, to lead integrated communications strategies that sit at the intersection of science, business objectives, and the cultural and regulatory landscape. She is known for helping brands navigate the gap between what they know, what they want to say, and what audiences are ready to hear.

Informed by Edelman’s Trust Barometer, the world’s largest study on trust, she brings both scientific rigor and cultural acuity to help brands drive impact with clarity and confidence.

She is the author of Mom’s Sugar Solution (Adams Media, 2018), and an active member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Laura lives in Bend and can usually be found hiking the Cascades when she’s not helping food and wellness brands earn the trust they need to grow.

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