Anton Alldrick was born in Wednesbury England in 1955. He studied at the University of London, obtaining a BSc in Biochemistry in 1976 and a PhD (studying the genetics of bacterial drug metabolism) in 1980. From 1980 through 1981 he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Maryland Baltimore County working on the molecular biology of ultraviolet light damage in bacteria. In 1981 he returned to the UK and joined BIBRA International as a research and regulatory toxicologist, specialising in the effects of diet on carcinogen metabolism. from there he moved to the Flour Milling & Baking Research Association (now part of Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association, CCFRA) in 1990; where he has held a number of management positions and is currently employed as a Special Projects Manager. In his current position he provides consultancy and project management services in the areas of quality management, product/process design and optimisation as well as the application of developments in nutrition and toxicology to the food industry. In recent years he has been particularly active in the areas of functional foods, food allergy and mycotoxins. His clients include the food industry, government organisations and legal firms. He has written over 60 publications aimed at either scientific or industrial audiences.

Arthur Ouwehand was graduated to be teacher in biology and chemistry in 1987. He subsequently did his masters in biology at Wageningen University; specialising in microbiology and biochemistry (1992). Arthur did his PhD in microbiology at Göteborg University where he worked on interactions between dairy proteins and probiotics and pathogenic E. coli (1996). At the University of Turku he did his post-doc continuing to work on probiotic adhesion and working on other functional aspects of probiotics and the intestinal microbiota. Since 2004, Arthur has been working for Danisco as group manager within the Health and Nutrition team in Kantivk (Finland); working on the health aspects of probiotics and prebiotics, and the composition and activity of the intestinal microbiota. He remains, however, associate professor at the University of Turku for the Functional Foods Forum.

Born in Rome (Italy) in 1957, Prof. Ferri Micol got his degree in medicine cum laude in 1982 at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. In 1987 he obtained cum laude the specialization in Internal Medicine at the same University, where he was a researcher until 1999. After this date he was at the University of L’Aquila, firstly as Associate Professor in Internal Medicine and then, starting from 2005, as Full Professor in Internal Medicine. Nowadays, he is the Head of the Division in Internal Medicine and manages the research group on vascular endothelial function in the University of L’Aquila. His main target is to establish a relationship between flavonoids and nitric oxide bioavailability. He has supervised a number of R&D Projects and has written more than 100 papers in international journals (Circulation, JAMA; JASN, JACC, ATVB). He is also the Vice President of the Italian Forum of Internal Medicine and member of the board of Clinical Science, Vascular Health Trends and Ipertensione Arteriosa e Prevenzione Cardiovascolare.

Claus Vögele obtained his PhD from the University of Hamburg, in 1988 and his professorial qualification (Habilitation) from the University of Marburg in 1997. Over the last 20 years he has held a number of academic posts at both German and British Universities (St George’s Hospital Medical School, London; School of Psychology, University of Birmingham; Department of Psychology, University of Marburg; Department of Psychology, University of Luton; School of Human and Life Sciences, Roehampton University, London) before joining the University of Luxemburg in February 2010 as Professor of Health Psychology. He is consultant editor for over 40 national and international journals and editorial board member of two international journals. He is an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (UK). A chartered Clinical and Health Psychologist he has been practising for the last 20 years and has held a senior position in the NHS.Prof. Vögele’s research interests encompass topics such as the psychophysiology of eating disorders and craving, consumers' perception of nutrional profiles, human decision-making, the interaction of personality and genetic predisposition in the development of cardiovascular disorders (essential hypertension, coronary heart disease), diet, physical activity and body weight regulation in relation to obesity, exercise adherence, psychological preparation for surgery, and the psychological consequences of HIV/AIDS. He has been involved in basic experimental work as well as intervention trials, which he has published in journals such as the International Journal of Psychophysiology, Behaviour Research and Therapy, Appetite, the International Journal of Eating Disorders, the Journal of Psychosomatic Research, the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, Physiology & Behavior and Depression and Anxiety. He has been principal and co-investigator on numerous grants including those funded by the “Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft” (German Research Council), the British Council, the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI), the EU and the pharmaceutical and food industry.Prof. Vögele has been involved in the design and publication of intervention programmes to increase health behaviours in adults and children. More recently he has co-authored an outpatient intervention programme (Power Kids) for overweight and obese children which is now in its third revised edition and has sold more than 80,000 copies

Demosthenes Panagiotakos is Associate Professor in Biostatistics - Epidemiology at Harokopio University, Greece. He has studied Mathematics (BSc), Mathematical Statistics (MSc/PhD), Biostatistics (MSc) and he has a Doctorate in Medicine (epidemiology) from the Universities of Patras and Athens. His post-Doctorate training was in Cardiovascular Epidemiology, at VAMC/Georgetown University, Washington DC, as well as in Climate Change and Human Health at LSHTM, University of London. His main research interests include cardiovascular epidemiology and risk modelling. He has published three books, 15 chapters in book series, 401 papers in peer-reviewed international journals, and 35 papers in Conference Proceedings or other Journals.

Denis Poncelet was born in Belgium in 1956. He studied chemistry at the Liège University and got the PhD in Sciences in 1986. He moved to Canada where he stayed 7 years as research associate and then became adjunct professor. He came back in Europe in 1992 at Flamel Technology (Lyon, France). In 1993, he became Professor and head of the biochemistry department at ENSAIA (Nancy, France). In 1999, he moved to Nantes at food process engineering department at ONIRIS (previously ENITIAA). He is member of the French National Research Scientific Council unit 6144 (GEPEA). Since 1986, he has been working on microencapsulation technology research and development. He has published almost 100 articles and book chapters, as well as presented more than 100 conferences on this topic. In 1990, he founded the Bioencapsulation Research Group.This International scientific association counts today 7000 members over 90 countries, including 66 % industrials. Prof. Poncelet is chair of COST actions 840 and 865, member of several international journals’ editorial board. Every year, he organises several conferences and industrial workshop. He is involved in many European and industrial projects. In 2006, he co-founded a SME, Capsulae to valorise his group work and to offer a multidisciplinary and multi-technology platform for microencapsulation process development. In 2008, he also co-founded a small company Impascience to provide support through internet tools for organizing conferences and managing projects.

Dr. Igor Pravst studied at the University of Ljubljana and obtained PhD degree in chemistry. He performed research in the area of the chemistry of natural compounds, particularly phenols and aromatic ketones, and their derivatives. In 2003 he was employed by University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, where he worked as academic assistant and researcher until 2009. In the following year he received a status of independent researcher and collaborated with different research institutions and companies in the area of functional foods, nutrients metabolism and proper labeling of foods. >From 2009 he is employed at Nutrition Institute (Slovenia) where he is both researcher and Head of the Health and Nutrition Claims Support Unit. He conduct research in the field of food sciences and nutrition, particularly in connection with the composition of foods, stability of nutrients, importance of particular foods for people in connection with the intake of nutrients and non-nutrients. He is the author of several scientific papers in well-respected international journals.

Joe Romano was born in Abington, Massachusetts in 1953. He studied at Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, Massachusetts obtaining a BA in Earth Sciences in 1975 and earned a Masters decree in Analytical Chemistry in 1986. From 1977-1984, he worked for DuPont as a methods development chemist in the analytical department. He joined Waters Corporation in 1984 and has been with Waters for twenty five years. He has been involved with chromatographic separation sciences for 32 years. At Waters he has held positions in customer education, applications laboratory, and marketing manager for environmental, food and beverages and natural products. He is currently a Senior Manager and is responsible for worldwide business development of Chemical Analysis markets

Born in Lérida (Spain) in 1963, Dr. Vicente Micol got his PhD in 1990 on the study of the molecular interactions between lipophilic active compounds such as vit E or diacylglycerols and phospholipid membranes using liposomes as a model. He was at the California Institute of Technology (Pasadena) as a postdoctoral Fullbright fellow between 1990 and 1994, studying the molecular biology of mitochondrial biogenesis and the mechanism of mitochondrial related diseases.Nowadays, he manages the research group “Biomembranes and bioactive phytochemicals” at the Institute or Molecular and Cellular Biology of the University Miguel Hernández (Elche-Alicante), which is focused on natural compounds from different points of view. His main target is to establish a relationship between the biological activity of many lipophofilic natural compounds (antioxidant, antiinflammatory, antimicrobial and anticarcinogenic compounds) and their effects on biological membranes.He is Full Professor in Biochemistry since 1999 and teaches Biochemistry related subjects in Food Science, Enology and Biochemistry degrees. He also supervises the R&D activities of the companies Monteloeder Ltd. and New Developments in Nutraceuticals Ltd.He has supervised more than 40 R&D Projects and has written about 50 articles in international journals (Embo Journal, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, Archives in Biochemistry and Biophysics, Biophysical Journal, Biochemical Pharmacology, Free Radical Biology Medicine, Antiviral Research, Food Chemistry, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, etc).

Peter Engel was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1965. He studied at the Johann-Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt, obtaining a Diploma in Biology (Microbiology) in 1990. He graduated as a PhD at the Institute of Biochemistry in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1993. From 1994 to 2000 he worked for Hoffman-La Roche as pharmaceutical representative, product manager, medical manager and regional manager in the fields of infectious and metabolic diseases, as well as disorders of the central nervous and cardiovascular system. In 2000, he joined a German full-service communication agency specialized in life science and healthcare projects where he held a position as managing director. Between 2002 and 2008 he worked as corporate communications manager, corporate publisher and company spokesperson for Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd. in Allschwil, Switzerland. Since 2009 he acts as scientific spokesperson for DSM Nutritional Products Europe Ltd in Basel, Switzerland, supporting business by B-to-B and B-to-C communications of scientific information linked to the requirements and efficacies of micronutrients. He runs the website www.nutri-facts.org.

Dr. Matulka has 10+ years of working on the front lines of food and dietary supplement safety assessment. He has considerable depth of experience in generally recognized as safe determinations (GRAS), GRAS Notifications, New Dietary Ingredient Notifications, Food Contact Notifications and risk assessments on food contaminations. Dr. Matulka has mastered the literal doctrine and the important nuances of food and feed ingredient regulations and; has applied these principles in his experience in one-on-one negotiations with the Center for Food Safety and Nutrition and the Center for Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Matulka earned a doctorate in toxicology from the Medical College of Virginia, and has post-doctoral experience at both Boston University School of Medicine and the University of North Carolina. He has had industry experience at the Nebraska Dept. of Environmental Control and as a senior genetic toxicologist at Genesys Research in North Carolina. He is co-author of two book chapters and has authored 20 publications since obtaining his doctoral degree. Dr. Matulka has experience presenting information to the FDA, USDA and EPA

Undurti N Das is an M.D. in Internal Medicine from Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, India and a Fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, India. Since 1976 he has turned his attention to clinical-orientated research, with specific interests in the role of polyunsaturated fatty acids, cytokines, nitric oxide, free radicals, and anti-oxidants in various clinical conditions especially in cancer, inflammatory conditions, metabolic syndrome X, and schizophrenia. Undurti N Das has held several research positions including those in Osmania University, India, and Efamol Research Institute, Kentville, Canada; and was previously Research Professor of Surgery and Nutrition at SUNY (State University of New York) Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, USA. He is currently the Chairman and Research Director of the privately held biotech company UND Life Sciences LLC, Shaker Heights, OH, USA. Undurti Das is also the Editor-in-Chief of Lipids in Health and Disease. Dr Das has more than 350 international publications in peer-reviewed journals and has been awarded 3 USA patents

Dr. Yang Zhu studied Biochemical Engineering in China and got his PhD in Bioprocess Engineering at Wageningen University, the Netherlands. He has worked as university lecturer in biochemical engineering and food science and as researcher in industrial microbiology, food biotechnology and plant sciences. His interest covers biotechnology, agro-food processing and biomedical sciences. He has published many papers and patents in related fields.