Speakers

Invited speakers for IVC 2025

Dr. Péter Szabolcs MD, PhD
dsm-firmenich, Wurmisweg 576, 4303 Kaiserugst, Switzerland

Dr. Péter is Senior Director Medical & Regional Science at dsm-firmenich´s Health, Nutrition and Care unit, based in the Basel area, Switzerland. He holds an MD and a PhD degree in general medicine and health sciences/nutrition, respectively - both from Semmelweis University, Budapest.

Following several scholarships in various countries and a postdoctoral fellowship on metabolic research in South Africa, he engaged in original CNS drug development at Gedeon Richter Plc. in Hungary. Within dsm-firmenich he is responsible for the clinical research and scientific engagement in different regions of the world.

Jette Jakobsen

National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark

Jette Jakobsen is a Senior Researcher in the Research Group for Bioactives – Analysis and Application at the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark. For over 35 years, she has been an active member of the international scientific community dedicated to the analysis of vitamins in foods.

Her research focuses on the natural variation of vitamins in foods, including the characterization of individual vitamin-active compounds, the development of biofortification strategies to enhance dietary intake, and the influence of bioavailability on vitamin status and disease risk.

While her work encompasses all vitamins relevant to food composition data, her primary focus has been on vitamin D and vitamin K.

Karin Amrein

Priv.-Doz. Dr. Karin Amrein, MSc, is a specialist in internal medicine and has been engaged for many years in the fields of osteoporosis, parathyroid disorders, thyroid diseases, vitamin D deficiency, diabetes, iron deficiency and overload, internal medicine consultations/assessments in the context of fertility, menopausal complaints, polycystic ovary syndrome, pituitary disorders, and other related topics. After several years of professional experience in Switzerland and at the Regional Hospital in Graz, she transitioned to private practice in 2018 but continues to be active in clinical research.

In 2012, she completed her habilitation in internal medicine at the Medical University of Graz. She regularly publishes her own research findings in international scientific journals and gives lectures at both international and national conferences. Dr. Amrein is a member of national, European, and American professional societies in her specialty, and serves on the board of the Austrian Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ÖGKM) as well as the Austrian Society for Endocrinology and Metabolism (ÖGES).

Prof. Dr. habil. Marc Birringer
Angewandte Biochemie für Ernährung und Umwelt, University of Applied Sciences Fulda
Gebäude 40, Raum 009 Leipziger Straße 123 36037 Fulda

Prof. Dr. Marc Birringer is Professor of Applied Biochemistry for Nutrition and Environment at the Department of Nutrition, Food and Consumer Sciences at Fulda University of Applied Sciences since 2011. He is currently researching the properties and analysis of micronutrients as well as phytochemicals and is interested in the scientific evaluation of food trends.

As a member of the Scientific Advisory Board, he supports the Max Rubner Institute's National Nutrition Monitoring Program (NEMO). Since 2020 he is Chief Editor of the journal “Applied Research” (Wiley).

Dr. Michiel Balvers works as a senior scientist Nutritional Biomarker Analysis at the Division of Human Nutrition and Health of Wageningen University. Michiel was originally trained as a Biomedical Scientist at the Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands, after which he completed his doctoral thesis at the research institute TNO and Wageningen University. After that, he worked as a scientist in the Clinical Chemistry and Haematology Laboratory of Gelderse Vallei Hospital, where he headed the clinical mass spectrometry laboratory and developed a dietary advice tool to improve micronutrient intake for use in healthcare settings.

His current work focuses on developing and applying new analytical methods to study nutrient absorption, metabolism and excretion, with particular interest in micronutrient status. This includes studying micronutrient status and malnutrition in patients that are at risk of deficiencies. Michiel teaches about nutritional biomarkers in the BSc, MSc and post-graduate education programs of Wageningen University, and coordinates a course in Pharmacology and Nutrition. He has published research papers, reviews and book chapters on nutritional biochemistry, biomarkers and vitamins, and is a member of the Dutch Association of Clinical Chemistry (NVKC).

Susanne Bügel. MSc, PhD

Professor, Deputy Head of Department

Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports. University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Susanne Bügel graduated from University of southern Denmark in 1990 and got her Phd from the same university in 1994. SB is today professor in Human Nutrition at the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports at University of Copenhagen. She works with nutrition in human health, primarily performing randomized controlled human interventions. The areas of expertise include micronutrients; vitamins and minerals for optimal health, primary food production and effects of processing. Currently SB focus on projects about health aspects of sustainable food systems and diets.

Isis Trujillo-Gonzalez, PhD

Assistant Professor

Dr. Isis Trujillo-Gonzalez is a Research Assistant Professor at the Nutrition Research Institute, UNC-Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on the critical role of choline, employing cutting-edge molecular and neuroscience methodologies to explore its impact on brain development, particularly during the prenatal period.

Her lab investigates how maternal choline intake influences typical and atypical brain development, with implications for neurodevelopmental disorders. Additionally, she is interested in choline’s broader effects on metabolic health and its potential links to neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Trujillo-Gonzalez holds a PhD in Biomedical Science from the National University of Mexico.

Jens Lykkesfeldt

Dr. Lykkesfeldt holds a MSc degree in organic chemistry (1989), a PhD degree in biochemistry (1992) and a DSc degree in medicine in 2005 for his dissertation on the effect of smoking on vitamin C status. He spent two 3-yr postdocs at University of Copenhagen and UC Berkeley, respectively, the latter with Professor Bruce N. Ames. In 1998, he became PI and in 2008, he was appointed professor and chair in pharmacology and toxicology at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, which is his current position. Dr. Lykkesfeldt’s research interests include the roles of oxidative stress and antioxidants in early development, chronic diseases and aging, in particular that of vitamin C, and has resulted in >100 articles on vitamin C alone.

In 2008, he received the Catherine Pasquiere award from the Society for Free Radical Research, Europe, and was newly appointed inaugural Excellence in Nutrition Fellow of the American Society of Nutrition for his work on vitamin C. Dr. Lykkesfeldt has been lead author on several influential papers on vitamin C pharmacokinetics and its role in health and disease and engaged in advising authorities on vitamin C recommendations for optimal health.

Gregory J Brewer, UC Irvine, California

Brewer is Professor of Neuroengineering at University of California Irvine since 2013. Before that, he was Professor of Cell Biology and Neurology at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine for 33 years. He trained at Caltech, UC San Diego and MIT.

He has advanced the field of aging neurobiology with primary neuron cell culture in serum-free defined medium that enables extraction, regeneration and maturation of neurons from any age rodent or human. This technology has enabled age-related comparisons across the age-span and between different mouse genotypes in constant culture conditions. His research has led him to detect age-related bioenergetic deficits and excess ROS, which he plans to treat with nicotinamide.

Prof. em. Dr. Manfred Eggersdorfer

Manfred Eggersdorfer is Professor em. for Healthy Aging at the University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands. He has worked in various positions in industry, for example as Head of Research and Development at DSM Nutritional Products and was responsible for Nutrition Science and Advocacy.

His scientific work focuses on the role of essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids for health, vitality and well-being, in particular on the effects of inadequate micronutrient intake over the life cycle with a focus on long-term health and healthy ageing.

He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and is currently Chairman of the Society for Applied Vitamin Research e.V. (GVF).

He is involved in several professional societies and advisory boards dealing with nutrition, vitamins, antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids and is a reviewer for a number of scientific journals. He has published numerous scientific papers, reviews and several books on vitamins, carotenoids, omega fatty acids and nutraceuticals for healthy living and healthy ageing.

Prof. Dr. Michael Rychlik

Heading the Chair of Analytical Food Chemistry at the Technical University of Munich, Germany (TUM).

He graduated in food chemistry at the University of Kaiserslautern in 1988. His PhD studies on the flavour of bread were completed in 1996 and he was appointed full professor at the TUM in 2010. In 2015 he served as a Visiting Professor at the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia and in 2016 he was appointed an Honorary Professor at the latter University. In the last years he was also active as a Visiting Professor in 2016 at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and been teaching also in 2018 at the University of Hong Kong. In 2023 he was appointed a Visiting Professor at the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague.

His group has been working for 25 years in the field of developing analytical methods for bioactive food components, in particular for vitamins, mycotoxins, odorants and lipids. Since 2014 he serves as the Head of the “Committee on Contaminants in the Food Chain” at the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Berlin, Germany.

Prof. Dr. Rima Obeid

Saarland University Hospital, Department of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Kirrberg Street, Building 57, D-66420 Homburg/Saar, Germany.

Prof. Dr. Obeid studied pharmacy and public health. She earned her Doctorate in Theoretical Medicine at the Saarland University and is currently an associate professor at the Department of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine at Saarland University Hospital, Germany.

She has been working on micronutrients and nutritional biomarkers for many years. Her work aims primary to establish evidence-based nutritional recommendations, especially in vulnerable groups such as pregnant and lactating women, infants and elderly people.