Ferruzzi chosen for Purdue Agricultural Research Award
May 7, 2013
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The
glass on an exhaust hood serves as a convenient place for Mario Ferruzzi to
record scientific data in the lab. (Purdue Agricultural Communication photo/Tom
Campbell)
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Professor of food and nutrition sciences Mario Ferruzzi will receive Purdue University's 2013 Agricultural Research Award for his work in helping to improve food quality and human health and to reduce chronic disease.
The award is given each year to a faculty member in the College of Agriculture with less than 18 years of experience beyond a doctoral degree. It is for scientists who have demonstrated a high level of excellence in research and made significant contributions to agriculture, natural resources and quality of life for Indiana citizens.
Ferruzzi has dual appointments in the College of Agriculture's Department of Food Science and the College of Health and Human Sciences' Department of Nutrition Science.
"Mario has made exceptional contributions to understanding how food matrix and processing factors affect nutrient absorption from our food, and his work can lead to the further development of functional foods to improve human health," said Jay Akridge, Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture. "He is most deserving of our college's top research award."
Ferruzzi will receive the award Monday (May 13) at 10:30 a.m. EDT in the Deans Auditorium at Pfendler Hall on the West Lafayette campus.
Ferruzzi's work will help the food industry develop products of improved nutritional and functional quality, said Karen Plaut, associate dean and director of Agricultural Research at Purdue.
"Dr. Ferruzzi's research has an impact on fundamental and applied aspects of both food science and nutrition as he works to identify food science strategies that will contribute to improving human health and reducing chronic disease risk," she said.
Ferruzzi's expertise has helped him develop and apply analytical methods for quantifying bioactive food components and phytochemicals in food, and assessing their bioavailability and distribution to body tissues. His findings have improved the understanding of the role that phytochemicals can have on human health, including diabetes, heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's disease.
Ferruzzi said the award is an acknowledgement of the many team efforts that have involved his work.
"This is an individual award that is not individual in any way," he said. "We don't write grants in isolation, we don't do research in isolation, and we don't even get ideas in isolation anymore.
"Collectively, we can do a lot of really good things together. I'm a prime example of that. I've made good decisions about the areas I've worked on, about how we've worked on them and how we've pursued the funding, and this award says good things about the collaborations I've been lucky enough to be a part of. "
After earning his master's degree in 1998 and Ph.D. in 2001 in food science and nutrition at Ohio State University, Ferruzzi spent nearly three years in product research and development with Nestlé in the U.S. and Switzerland before joining the Purdue faculty in 2004.
Writer: Tom Campbell, 765-494-48084, tsc@prudue.edu
Sources: Jay Akridge, 765-494-8391, akridge@purdue.edu
Karen Plaut, 765-494-8362, kplaut@purdue.edu
Mario Ferruzzi, 765-494-0625, mferruzz@purdue.eduAg Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Keith Robinson, robins89@purdue.edu
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