IAFNS Announces Two New Summer Fellows to Study Lipids, Recycled Resins

Newswise — Washington D.C. -- The Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS) has selected two highly motivated graduate students for a paid, part-time fellowship that provides the opportunity to directly participate in advancing food safety or nutritional sciences.

IAFNS is a nonprofit, scientific and educational organization. As part of our educational mission, IAFNS offers and freely shares many events and webinars with students and life-long learners. This fellowship program helps ensure that the scientific workforce reflects tomorrow’s consumers.

Summer Research Opportunity Fellowship

IAFNS is committed to ensuring that the opportunity to apply to this fellowship is open to a diverse pool of qualified applicants – not exclusive of those typically underrepresented in nutrition, toxicology, chemistry, food microbiology, risk assessment and other science fields, such as women, ethnic and racial minorities, low-income households, or from non-traditional backgrounds. Learn more.

Our two new fellows, Duleeka Kuruwita and Matthew Selby, will have a unique opportunity to work with scientists in government, industry and academia as paid apprentices to learn more about how multi-sector science collaborations have impact.  Students are asked to meet the challenges of the food and beverage ecosystem by leading a specific project, some examples of which appear below:

• Matthew Selby, a graduate student at Rutgers University, will be assisting in clarifying the types and food sources of various dietary lipids as well as addressing confusion about their associations with human health for healthcare professionals. Deliverables from the Fellowship may include a White Paper with an accompanying Infographic or brief Video for healthcare practitioners. 

• Duleeka Kuruwita, a graduate student at Clemson University, will be refining the framework for assessing suitability of recycled resins for use in food contact material. Deliverables from this Fellowship may include a White Paper with an accompanying Infographic or a brief Video. 

The fellowships are being organized by the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences, a 501(c)(3) science-focused nonprofit uniquely positioned to mobilize industry, government and academia to drive, fund and lead actionable research. IAFNS elevates food safety and nutrition sciences to advance public health. The organization was founded on the belief that collaboration and the inclusion of diverse perspectives is crucial to credible science that benefits the entire food and beverage ecosystem. IAFNS has over forty scientific projects and programs all focused on delivering science that matters. Learn more at iafns.org.

IAFNS provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.