NOAA - USDA Alternative Feeds Initiative Stakeholder Meeting: Speaker Bios
Moderator
Paul Sandifer
Speakers
Diane Bellis
Jane Lubchenco
Charles Santerre
Paul Sandifer, Ph.D., is the Senior Scientist for Coastal Ecology for NOAA's National Ocean Service at the Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina. As the Senior Scientist, Dr. Sandifer is the principal researcher and scientific advisor on coastal issues. Before coming to NOAA, Dr. Sandifer was the director of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) from July 1997 until April 2003. Following his start at SCDNR in 1972, Dr. Sandifer held various posts, including assistant, associate and senior marine scientist, and assistant director of the Marine Resources Research Institute. In 1984, he was named Director of the Marine Resources Division. While at the Marine Resources Division, he was responsible for developing the agency’s aquaculture research and development program, and establishing the James M. Waddell, Jr. Mariculture Research and Development Center. Dr. Sandifer is a past president and honorary life member of the World Aquaculture Society, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and recipient of the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest civilian honor. He has authored and co-authored more than 120 scientific and technical publications in the fields of marine biology, aquaculture and coastal ecology. And from 2001-2004, Dr. Sandifer served as a member of the Congressionally-mandated U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and chairman of the commission’s Stewardship Working Group.
Diane Bellis, Ph.D., is the Director of the Federal Agricultural Commodity Research Program, for AgSource, Inc., in Washington, D.C. In this position Bellis is responsible for identifying emerging technologies and opportunities that will increase the production, quality and/or demand for U.S. soybeans. For the more than 600,000 U.S. soybean farmers, she works to coordinate and align research resources of the federal government with the research funded by the farmers themselves. She received her Ph.D. in chemistry from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and was awarded an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Diplomacy Fellowship to the U.S. Department of State where she negotiated and implemented bilateral agreements for cooperation in science and technology between the U.S. and Latin America and Africa. Dr. Bellis also held positions at NASA and the USDA Forest Service as the project geochemist for an international team assessing the biogeochemical impacts of agricultural fire on the atmosphere and biodiversity in the savannas of central Brazil. Following that, she served as the Agricultural Research Administrator in the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, where she developed and managed international collaborative research programs to carry out USDA’s mandate to strengthen agricultural systems, advance U.S. competitiveness, and promote the sustainable use of resources. She has represented USDA and the U.S. Government in multi-lateral negotiations including the Middle East Peace Process, in the Asia-Pacific Economic Council (APEC), G7 Pilot Programme and on State Department lead science and technology delegations.
Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., is the Wayne and Gladys Valley Professor of Marine Biology and Distinguished Professor of Zoology at Oregon State University. Dr. Lubchenco is an environmental scientist and marine ecologist who is actively engaged in teaching, research, synthesis and communication of scientific knowledge. Her expertise includes interactions between humans and the environment, biodiversity, climate change, sustainability science, ecosystem services, marine reserves, coastal marine ecosystems, the state of the oceans and the planet. She leads an interdisciplinary team of scientists who study the marine ecosystems off the west coast of the U.S. This PISCO team is learning how the ecosystem works, how it is changing and how humans can modify their actions to ensure continued benefit from ocean ecosystems. She is former President of the International Council for Science and a former President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Ecological Society of America. She was a Presidential appointee to two terms on the National Science Board which advises the President and Congress and overseas the National Science Foundation. She often testifies before Congress, addresses the United Nations, or provides scientific advice to the White House, federal and international agencies, non-governmental organizations, religious leaders and leaders of business and industry. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1996, as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the Royal Society, the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, and the Chilean National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Lubchenco has received numerous awards including a MacArthur Fellowship, a Pew Fellowship and the 2005 American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology. She graduated from Colorado College, received her Ph.D. from Harvard University in marine ecology, taught at Harvard for two years, and has been on the faculty at Oregon State University since 1978.
Charles Santerre, Ph.D., is a Professor of Food Toxicology in the Department of Foods and Nutrition at Purdue University. Prior to this, he served as an Operations Manager of Chemistry at Silliker Laboratories, Inc., an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Environmental Sciences Program at Ohio State University and as an Assistant Professor in the Environmental Health Science Program and the Institute of Ecology at the University of Georgia. His research involves food toxicology and nutrition. He has conducted studies to examine the effects of cooking on xenobiotics and has developed rapid methods for measuring chemical contaminants. He was the National Spokesperson for the Institute of Food Technologists and has served as Chairperson for the Toxicology and Safety Evaluation Division, and as the Director of the Food Toxicology Center of the National Alliance for Food Safety. He is currently a Scientific Advisor for the American Council on Science and Health, a Scientific Expert for the International Food Information Council, and a full member of the Society of Toxicology. He received a B.S. degree in Human Nutrition and a Ph.D. degree in Environmental Toxicology and Food Science, both from Michigan State University.