Meeting Speaker for July 30, 2012 - Clare Hasler

Clare M. Hasler received her B.S. in Human Nutrition from Michigan State University, and an M.S. in Nutrition Science from The Pennsylvania State University.  In 1990, she was awarded a dual Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology and Human Nutrition from Michigan State University.  From 1990-1992, Dr. Hasler was a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Cellular Carcinogenesis and Tumor Promotion at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. She received her MBA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2003.

From 1992 to 2000, Dr. Hasler served as the founding director of the Functional Foods for Health (FFH) Program --- a joint effort between the Chicago (UIC) and Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) campuses of the University of Illinois.  Dr. Hasler is an internationally recognized expert on the topic of functional foods and nutraceuticals.

In February 2004, Dr. Hasler was appointed Founding Executive Director of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science (RMI) at the University of California, Davis.  In this capacity, Dr. Hasler leads programming and vision-development efforts for the Institute. She also serves as the University’s primary liaison to the wine and food industries.  The RMI is poised to become the global innovator in university-based wine and food programs and will house the world’s largest and most prestigious wine and food science academic program.

Dr. Hasler is a member of a number of professional societies, including the American Association for Cancer Research, Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), American Society for Nutrition, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Sigma Xi.  Dr. Hasler currently serves on the editorial/advisory boards of the Journal of the American Nutraceutical Association; Journal of Medicinal Food; Health Ingredients & Nutrition, Current Concepts in Nutraceutical Research, and Nutrition & the M.D.  In 1998, Dr. Hasler was recognized as one of the “Top 25 Food Influentials” by Self Magazine.  In addition, she received a Meritorious Service Award from the United Soybean Board in 1999 for her work on the soy protein health claim; in 2000, she was awarded the Recognition of Service Award from the American Dietetic Association.  She authored the Scientific Status Summary on Functional Foods in 1998 for the IFT, and the Position Paper on Functional Foods for the American Council on Science and Health in 2002.  She is also the lead author on the 2009 American Dietetic Association Position Statement on Functional Foods and editor of the 2005 book, Regulation of Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals—A Global Perspective by IFT Press and Blackwell Publishing.  Dr. Hasler has been a Distinguished Lecturer for IFT since 2005.  In October, 2005, she was appointed to the Board of Directors of Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (CQB) and serves as Chair of the Food Innovation, Safety and Technology Committee.