was at Bio-Rad where he worked on protein separations and analysis for genomics and the food science industry. Nick received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Nevada, Reno and an M.S. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Iowa.

Mostafa was a principal investigator at Stanford University from 2002 until 2008 and focused on the development of novel tools for molecular diagnostic applications. He earned his Ph.D. from the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. He holds more than 50 pending and issued patents and has written more than 70 peer-reviewed publications in journals and books.

most state-of-the-art Genomics approaches and platforms. Sasan received his B.Sc. in Biotechnology from the University of Tehran, where he entered as a gold medalist in the International Biology Olympiad. While in college, he served as the youngest Board member of the Iranian National Biology Olympiad Committee and authored a problem book on Mendelian Genetics which has been re-printed 10 times over the past decade. He holds multiple patents and publications in the field.

that staged successful exits via IPOs or acquisitions such as NetScaler and MobileIron. He also worked extensively with, and co-sponsored investments in, Aruba and RingCentral. Gaurav was a partner at Sequoia Capital from 2001 to 2010, and a Special Limited Partner at the firm from 2010 to 2012. Prior to joining Sequoia, he founded Redback Networks in 1996, and served as a board member and Senior Vice President of Product Management. Prior to Redback Networks, he held various engineering positions at SynOptics and Bay Networks. Gaurav holds a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering and a BS in Computer Science, all from Washington University in St. Louis.

Until June 1, 2016, Mr. Taylor was Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He led the comprehensive overhaul of FDA’s food safety program Congress mandated in the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 and oversaw all of FDA’s food-related activities, including its nutrition, labeling, food additive, dietary supplement, and animal drug programs.

Mr. Taylor served previously at FDA as a staff attorney and as Deputy Commissioner for Policy (1991-94) and at USDA as Administrator of the Food Safety and Inspection Service and Acting Under Secretary for Food Safety (1994-96). Prior to joining FDA in July 2009, he spent nearly a decade in academia conducting food safety, food security and public health policy research, most recently at George Washington University’s School of Public Health. He also served during that time as a Senior Fellow at the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa, where he conducted research on U.S. policies affecting agricultural development and food security in Africa.

In the private sector, Mr. Taylor founded the food and drug practice and was a partner in the law firm of King & Spalding, was Vice President for Public Policy at Monsanto Company, and served on the boards of the Alliance to End Hunger and RESOLVE, Inc. He is currently co-chair of the board of STOP Foodborne Illness and a member of the board of Clear Labs, Inc. Mr. Taylor is a graduate of Davidson College and the University of Virginia School of Law.

served as an Editor for the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology since 2005. Dr. Schaffner was the president of the International Association for Food Protection in 2013-2014. In his spare time he co-hosts a food safety podcast at foodsafetytalk.com.

of the Editorial Committee for the 5th Edition of the Compendium of Methods for the Microbiological Examination of Foods and was a member of the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Food from 1992 to 1997. He currently serves as a member of the Food and Drug Administration’s Food Advisory Committee. Acuff has published more than 80 articles in technical journals and has authored several chapters on food microbiology in various references and textbooks.

food service and private label businesses. Kent spent the first 19 years of his career with Kellogg’s, where he served as associate director of operations quality, overseeing corporate internal auditing, laboratory analytical method standardization, manufacturing plant food safety & environmental management. Kent holds Bachelors & Masters degrees in Food Science from the University of Wisconsin.

and VP of Corporate Retail Operations of Safeway, Inc. He received his MBA from Regis University.

Platform (FRAREP) hosted by the Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods (INAF) of Université Laval.

Dr. Godefroy currently serves as a senior food science and regulatory expert on a number of advisory bodies and committees domestically and internationally, including expert advice to food safety projects led by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and serving on the International Advisory Committee of the China Centre for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA). Samuel authored over 70 scientific publications and book chapters and serves on a number of international editorial boards of scientific journals related to food safety and nutrition. Dr. Godefroy received his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI). He holds degrees in Chemistry, Biochemistry and Chemical Engineering from the same University and from the École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris, France,

Tyson's Director of Corporate Quality Assurance, Vice President of Food Safety and Quality Assurance before becoming Senior Vice President of Food Safety and Quality Assurance in 2004. He was responsible for the company's efforts in food safety, quality assurance, regulatory compliance, laboratory services, statistics, animal well-being, and consumer relations. Over his career, the policies and procedures developed and executed by Rick and his team of approximately 2600 impacted over 100 production and distribution facilities, 11 fresh meat laboratories, 6 corporate laboratories, and 54 plant-based testing laboratories in the United States, China, India, Mexico, and Brazil. Rick officially retired from Tyson in the Fall of 2017.

Dr. Roop holds a bachelor's degree in biology and a Ph.D. in food science from Purdue University. He has been active in several industry organizations. He has served as President of the Ozark Food Processors Association, Chairman of the Technical and Regulatory Committee for the National Chicken Council, committees or advisory boards for U.S. Poultry and Egg Association, In-flight Food Service Association, Arkansas Biosciences Institute, and served on the Board the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).