Rockville, Maryland, January 15, 2021—AOAC INTERNATIONAL today announced that Katerina Mastovska, Ph.D. is the recipient of the 2021 Harvey W. Wiley Award, the Association’s highest honor for lifetime scientific achievement.
An expert in the application of gas and liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry for identifying and measuring pesticide residues and other contaminants in food, Dr. Mastovska has contributed improvements to the widely used QuEChERS analytical methodology and applications, developed new methods for analyzing veterinary drug residues and contaminants in food, implemented state-of-the-art technology for routine analytical use, and authored pioneering methodology for measuring cannabinoids in cannabis.
She is currently a Chief Scientific Officer at Eurofins US Food Division and also a Technical & Industrial Director for Pesticides within the Operational Best Practices Program at Eurofins Scientific.
“Dr. Mastovska’s contribution to food safety goes beyond the many analytical methods and techniques she has developed, some of which are the gold standard in their area,” said Erin Crowley, President of AOAC INTERNATIONAL. “Throughout her career, her analytical science expertise and leadership have informed policy and best practices both nationally and around the world. AOAC is quite fortunate to have her as a subject matter expert and respected scientist in our organization.”
A member of AOAC INTERNATIONAL since 2004, Dr. Mastovska has chaired or contributed to more than 20 AOAC expert review panels, working groups, and stakeholder panels. She has collaborated on or authored five AOAC Official Methods of AnalysisSM used by scientists worldwide. In addition to numerous governmental and academic awards, Dr. Mastovska has received eight achievement awards from AOAC including the coveted Fellow of AOAC INTERNATIONAL Award. She is currently a member of the AOAC Official Methods Board, which provides guidance and oversight to the organization’s process for developing validated standards and methods.
“Kate Mastovska does not shy away from providing leadership whenever there is a need,” said Joe Boison, Ph.D., chair of the AOAC Official Methods Board and a member of the Wiley Award judging panel. “She has expanded her scope to practically everything that AOAC is involved in, from dioxins to veterinary drug residues, bisphenols and, most recently, cannabinoids.”
Dr. Mastovska began her career more than 25 years ago at the Laboratory of Food Contaminants & Toxicants of the Institute of Chemical Technology (now the University of Chemistry and Technology) in Prague, Czech Republic, where she developed and ran methods for analysis of pesticide residues and other food and environmental contaminants, primarily based on gas chromatographic separations with mass spectrometric or element-selective detection.
While there, she participated in numerous international projects in the European Union and the United States, including a 2-month stay at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) in Pennsylvania. In 2002, Dr. Mastovska moved to the US to work as a research chemist at USDA-ARS.
Her work to advance methods for pesticide residue analysis and expertise in residue chemistry earned her a role as independent expert at the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization/World Health Organization’s Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues evaluating pesticide submissions and recommending worldwide pesticide maximum residue levels in foods and feeds to the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
“Really good scientists like Kate are able to bring their expertise out of the laboratory and into the global arena to bring change to society,” added Dr. Boison.
Joining Covance Laboratories in 2009, she rose from Senior Technical Manager to Lead Staff Scientist, Associate Scientific Director, Global R&D and Innovation Leader, and finally to her current positions at Eurofins Scientific, which acquired Covance Food Solutions in 2018. During this time her leadership grew within the greater analytical community, most notably AOAC INTERNATIONAL. She led the AOAC Analytical Community on Chemical Residues and Contaminants from 2011 to2016 and served as a Director for an AOAC collaborative study on a method for PAHs in seafood as an emergency response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. She received the AOAC Study Director of the Year award for this work, and the method became an AOAC Final Action Official Method in 2014.
“I am truly honored to receive the AOAC Wiley Award and grateful to many of my colleagues at Eurofins, AOAC and in the greater analytical community for their support and numerous collaborations over the years,” said Dr. Mastovska. “My special appreciation goes to Professor Jana Hajslova, who was at the beginning of my career and who nominated me for this award. Just being nominated by her meant the world to me.”
Dr. Mastovska is author or coauthor of more than 60 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters and monographs in the field of chemical residue and contaminant analysis. Her publications have been highly cited in the field.
