Mary Ann Lila

Bio

Mary Ann Lila holds the David H. Murdock Distinguished Professorship and is a Professor in Food Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences at North Carolina State University. Through ground-breaking, transdisciplinary discovery and outreach, her laboratory team and collaborators at the Plants for Human Health Institute pioneer a dramatic shift in the way the American public views and uses food crops – not merely as a source of nutrients and flavorful calories, but as a powerful resource for components that protect and enhance human health. Integrated research in metabolomics, nutrigenomics, biochemistry, pharmacogenomics, molecular breeding, regenerative medicine, translational food science and nutrition and postharvest are aimed at development and promotion of mainstream fruit and vegetable produce with enhanced health benefits, and introduction of new or underappreciated crops and products from around the globe, allowing consumers to make proactive, responsible dietary choices that benefit their own, and their families’ health. Dr. Lila is a Fellow of Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), and a recent recipient of the Babcock-Hart Award for food technology/public health (through the IFT), a Fellow of the Society for In Vitro Biology, and recipient of the Copernico Bronze Medal for Food Science & Nutrition. As Vice President of the Global Institute for BioExploration, she has ongoing research projects in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and Africa, and was a Fulbright Senior Scholar to New Zealand.