Dr. Alejandro (Alex) Castillo is associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology at Texas A&M University, teaching Food Microbiology, Food safety and Preventive Controls for Human Food, and conducting research on microbial food safety, focusing on fresh and fresh-cut produce and fresh meats. He leads a food safety program, seeking partnerships with international universities to promote global food safety. He has taught invited graduate and undergraduate courses in various topics of food safety at various Latin American universities and has collaborative research projects with various international universities Castillo received a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Pharmacy in 1977, a specialty in Sanitary Microbiology in 1980 and a master’s degree in Food Microbiology and Hygiene in 1987, all from the University of Guadalajara, Mexico. In 1998, he received a doctorate in Food Science and Technology from Texas A&M University and completed post-doctoral studies in 1999 at Texas A&M. Before joining the Texas A&M faculty in 2002, Dr. Castillo was a professor in the Department of Biology and Pharmacy at the University of Guadalajara. He has served the food industry in various countries by providing food safety training and conducting food safety process validation studies. Is an accredited lead instructor for HACCP, and Food Safety Preventive Controls and Produce Safety, and is accredited trainer of trainers for the Produce Safety Alliance. His research interests include the development and validation of control measures for minimizing and reducing pathogens in fresh and fresh-cut food products, the bacterial reduction on beef and pork products and fresh produce by sanitizing rinses, the ecology of bacterial populations on the surface of raw fruits and vegetables, and the use of electron beam irradiation for food safety purposes. Dr. Castillo has published 91 articles in peer-reviewed journals, 11 book chapters and 3 books as editor. Serves as Academic Editor for the International Journal of Food Science, and Foods and is an active member of various international and local food professional organizations.

Yuanlong Pan is Principal Research Scientist at Nestlé Purina Research. He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Science-St. Louis. His research has been focused on nutritional management of healthy brain aging and cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) in dogs and cats. CDS is a condition in pets similar to AD in people. His research projects use state-of-the-art cognitive, nutritional and metabolomics approaches to develop nutritional solutions to promote healthy brain aging and improve clinical symptoms of CDS in pets. He has published more than 20 papers and obtained 78 patents.

Initial Research on the isolation, purification and action of the putative cell growth protein, Chalones. Required biochemical, (Liquid Chromatography, electrophoresis, freeze-drying) cell culture (lymphocyte isolation, PHA and Con-A stimulated cell culture, cell counting. Monitoring cell growth using tritiated thymidine). Developed skills in monoclonal and polyclonal antibody production. Utilised these skills to study human diseases, developing tests for melioidosis and gastric ulcers. Developed ELISA assays as a method for monitoring proteins Lead to identification of Food proteins and the development of techniques for the identification of assays for meat speciation, development other immunoassays applicable to food quality assurance. Studied the effects of anaesthesia on the immune system. Studied Helicobacter pylori, initially identifying specific antigens suitable for diagnosis of ulcers and subsequently developing culture techniques for the culture of Helicobacter in fermentation systems. Adapted techniques to applications associated with other microbial human diseases. Worked on the Heat shock proteins in plants – potential for development of crops capable of survival when exposed to high temperatures. Developed immunoassays to pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics and other molecules of environmental importance. Studied functional food components e.g. arabinoxylans.