Rockville, Maryland, September 24, 2024—AOAC INTERNATIONAL honored analytical science leaders in an awards ceremony with over 700 analytical science colleagues at the AOAC INTERNATIONAL 2024 Annual Meeting & Exposition in Baltimore, Maryland, on Monday, August 26. Awards recognized scientific excellence across the spectrum of AOAC collaboration, including method development, expert review panels, editorial contributions to the Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL, and technical service.
The Harvey W. Wiley Award, presented each year for outstanding contribution to analytical method development in an area of interest to AOAC INTERNATIONAL, went to Michelle Colgrave, internationally recognized for her work on foodborne proteins that trigger allergy or intolerance or, conversely, those peptides and proteins that can provide health benefits when included in foods. She is a professor of Food and Agricultural Proteomics at Edith Cowan University and chief investigator at the Australian Research Council Center of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science.
The highest volunteer award bestowed by AOAC, the William Horwitz Award, recognizes extraordinary service to the Association. The seldom nominated William Horwitz Award was presented to Erik J.M. Konings, who has extensive experience in development of methods of analysis for vitamins in food and food products. A member since 1997, Konings is highly active in AOAC, joining the Board of Directors in 2011 and serving as president in 2014. He has also been a member and served as chair for multiple AOAC expert review panels and working groups.
The Fellow of AOAC INTERNATIONAL Award, which recognizes the dedication of volunteers who serve the Association, was awarded to four outstanding members: Holly E. Johnson, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA; Philip Haselberger, Columbus, Ohio, USA; Klaus Reif, Vestenbergsgreuth, Germany; and Danièle Sohier, Paris, France.
This year, two Special Recognition Awards citing the dedication and support of AOAC INTERNATIONAL were presented to Norma R. Hill, Retired, U.S. Treasury Department; and Hiroko Suzuki, Japan Food Research Laboratories (JFRL), Tokyo, Japan. Hill, a member for 29 years, has held almost every leadership position in the Association. An active member of AOAC INTERNATIONAL since 1994, Suzuki has served in numerous volunteer positions to advance best practices and uphold the scientific reputation of AOAC.
A recent and important addition to AOAC’s awards ceremony is the recognition of current students’ research endeavors. Student award winners may receive travel and registration to the Annual Meeting and the opportunity to present their research there, as well as a cash award.
The Harvey W. Wiley Scholarship Award was awarded to Tawfeek Khedr, Edith Cowan University, St. Lucia, Australia. He is currently pursuing a PhD, with a focus on on analyzing alkaloids in lupin species using LC-MS/MS. This scholarship recognizes a student who has made an outstanding contribution to analytical method development.
The AOAC/Eurofins Foundation “Testing for Life” Student Award was presented to five student innovators who submitted abstracts on basic or applied research in support of analytical or molecular testing for food safety, food security, food defense, food authenticity, or health and environmental protection. The winners were Blanca Nuria Castaneda Lazo, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA; Ryan Pusiak, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Naixin Qian, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA; Aishwarya Rao, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA; and Chunya Tang, Florida State University (FSU), Tallahassee, Florida, USA. In addition to a cash award, the five young scientists will submit an article for AOAC’s Inside Laboratory Management magazine.
The AOAC INTERNATIONAL/Herbalife Scholarship, supported by contributions from Herbalife and designed to encourage student researchers who are advancing analytical or molecular (DNA) testing in herbal or dietary supplements, was awarded to Ondrej Brabenec, University of Chemistry and Technology (UCT), Prague, Czech Republic; and Alisha Greene, University of British Columbia (UBC) Okanagan, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.
The Inés Cereijo Technical Division of Reference Materials (TDRM) Student Award was presented to Lydia Zamlynny, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The award is offered annually to both undergraduate and graduate students at any college or university to support students promoting awareness of the need for method performance evaluation early in a chemist’s career, using reference materials.
AOAC’s Official MethodsSM Board presented the Method of the Year to AOAC Official MethodSM 2016.16 “Curcuminoids in Turmeric Raw Materials and Dietary Supplements by Liquid Chromatography with UV-Vis Detection” and its method authors Elizabeth Mudge, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Paula Brown, British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT); Catherine Rimmer, U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); and Melissa Phillips, NIST.
The Technical Service of the Year Award went to Tetsuhisa Goto, Central Scientific Commerce, Inc., Ibaraki, Japan; and Derrell Johnson, MilliporeSigma, Round Rock, Texas, USA; for their significant contributions to AOAC. Goto was recognized for his service and contributions as a longstanding (13 years) volunteer expert for mycotoxin methods in the AOAC Performance Tested MethodSM (PTM) Program administered by the AOAC Research Institute. Johnson was acknowledged and recognized for his leadership and contributions as past chair of the AOAC Technical Division on Reference Materials (TDRM) Executive Committee.
The award for Achievement in Technical and Scientific Excellence went to the AOAC Stakeholder Program on Agent Detection Assays (SPADA) Working Group on NGS Biothreat Detection Methods-Amplicon Sequencing Subgroup for “Amplicon Sequencing Minimal Information (ASqMI): Quality and Reporting Guidelines for Actionable Calls in Biodefense Applications.” Presented by the AOAC Official Methods Board, the award recognized outstanding volunteer commitment and leadership.
The Expert Review Panel for Dietary Starch and Fiber Methods won the Expert Review Panel of the Year award for its dedication in reviewing and approving methods in support of changing and current Codex definitions for fiber, one of which is now referenced by Codex Standard 234. The panel was chaired by Lars Reimann, Eurofins Scientific, and included members Sean Austin, Société des Produits Nestlé; Sneh Bhandari, SDB Associates; Kommer Brunt, Rotating Disc bv; George Joseph, AsureQuality New Zealand; Kai Liu, Eurofins; Barry McCleary, FiberCarb Consultants; Tom Phillips, Maryland Department of Agriculture; John Szpylka, Retired; and Paul Wehling, ChemStats Consulting.
The Best Manuscript Award, recognizing the most outstanding and creative article in the peer-reviewed Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL, went to “Rapid Screening of Vaping Liquids by DART-MS”by Travis Falconer, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; and Flavia Morales-Garcia, FDA, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The Section of the Year Award was presented to the AOAC Southeast Asia Section. The Section was recognized for facilitation of multiple initiatives throughout the year, communication across various platforms, recruitment, and service to the Association. Sections provide opportunities for participants to share information, build professional contacts, expand leadership skills, and gain practical management experience. There are 15 AOAC Sections that connect analytical communities in the U.S. and worldwide, representing four continents and more than 120 countries.
Five poster authors won the First-Time Poster Contest: Amanda Brookhouser-Sisney, Midwest Laboratories; Blanca Nuria Castaneda, University of Florida; Sanket Chiplunkar, Shimadzu Analytical India; Janvi Patel. University of Massachusetts; and Patricia Quinn, Eurofins Microbiology Laboratories, Inc., in the poster categories of Chemical Contaminants & Residues, Food Nutrition, Microbiology & Molecular Biology Methods, and Quality Assurance & Reference Materials.
In addition, 166 AOAC INTERNATIONAL members were recognized for their years of service, including one individual who has contributed their expertise to the organization for an impressive 45 years, two 40-year members, two 35-year members, seven 30-year members, 16 25-year members, 39 10-year members, and 99 five-year members.
To view the full list of leaders profiled in these awards, visit the 138th AOAC Annual Meeting and Exposition Awards page.
###
About AOAC INTERNATIONAL
Founded in 1884 with our beginnings in the USDA and US FDA, AOAC INTERNATIONAL is an independent, non-profit membership association of analytical science professionals in government, industry, and academia worldwide. Our mission is to advance food safety and product integrity through standards, validated test methods, and laboratory quality programs. We publish outcomes, including Official Methods of AnalysisSM, in the Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL and provide laboratory proficiency testing programs. AOAC also facilitates collaboration and training of scientists and other stakeholders to address challenges with sustainable analytical solutions. For more information, please visit AOAC.org.
Contact: Margaret Bell, Communications Manager
Phone: (240) 801-8646
Email: [email protected]
Pictured: Michelle Colgrave, Harvey W. Wiley Award winner, speaking at the AOAC Annual Meeting.
