§ 01 / Bio
I'm an R&D leader and food scientist with more than a decade of experience spanning higher education, global ingredient companies, and branded food manufacturing. I currently direct research and development at Stone Gate Foods. I previously served as R&D manager at CTE Global Inc. through 2024, advancing technical strategy where ingredient performance, process design, and food safety meet commercial timelines.
My graduate work at the University of Minnesota (Ph.D., Food Science and Nutrition) focused on valorizing under-used streams—barley malt rootlets, spent coffee grounds—and on how processing technologies shape quality in plant-based beverages and related systems. That thread continues in industry: from PURIS and Schwan's to Cargill and General Mills, my roles have spanned product development, food safety coordination, and senior science leadership in alternative proteins and everyday consumer foods.
I'm active as a peer reviewer for leading food journals, have received ASABE, AACCI, and IFT recognition for research and presentations, and care deeply about translating rigorous science into decisions teams can ship. A fuller timeline appears in the curriculum section; for day-to-day context, see my LinkedIn profile.
§ 02 / Curriculum
Education
- Ph.D., Food Science and Nutrition — University of Minnesota–Twin Cities (St. Paul, MN), 2015–2018. My graduate research focused on antioxidant phenolics from barley malt rootlets, spent coffee grounds, and related processing and extraction topics, plus collaborative work on non-dairy plant-based beverages.
- M.Tech, Food Process Engineering — National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM), India, 2009–2011.
- B.Tech, Food Technology — Osmania University, India, 2005–2009.
Selected positions
I list these in reverse chronological order; titles reflect my public LinkedIn history (St. Paul / Twin Cities and remote roles where listed).
- Director, Research & Development — Stone Gate Foods (food production). Oct 2024–present.
- R&D Manager — CTE Global Inc. (biotechnology research). Apr 2023–2024.
- Senior Research Scientist — Schwan's Company. Jan 2022–Aug 2023.
- Senior Scientist — PURIS (Minneapolis, MN). Jul 2020–Dec 2021.
- R&D Food Safety Coordinator — Cargill (Plymouth, MN). Jul 2019–Jul 2020.
- Product Development Scientist — General Mills (Golden Valley, MN). Apr 2019–Jun 2019.
- Graduate Assistant — Department of Food Science & Nutrition, University of Minnesota. Jan 2017–Dec 2018.
- R&D Intern — Andeavor (refining / Northern Tier Energy, St. Paul Park, MN). May 2018–Aug 2018.
- Graduate & Teaching Assistant — Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA). Aug 2015–Dec 2016.
- Research Executive (R&D) — AB Mauri India Pvt Ltd (Bangalore). Nov 2011–Oct 2013.
- Research Scholar — University of Manitoba, Canada. Oct 2010–May 2011.
Earlier internships and research roles (e.g., National Institute of Nutrition–ICMR, Mother Dairy, research ambassador program in Germany) supported my foundational training in food systems and communication.
Awards & recognition
- Women in Engineering Award — ASABE AABFEIO (2021)
- IFT division travel grant (2019); IFT Food Packaging division travel grant (2018)
- Best Student Paper Award — AACCI Engineering & Processing Division, annual meeting (2018)
- Outstanding Paper Award — ASABE Processing Systems Division (2018)
- AACCI Student Travel Award (2018)
- First Place, Graduate Student Poster — University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (2018); poster on extraction and characterization of antioxidant phenolics from barley malt rootlets
- MN-IFT Graduate Scholarship and MN-IFT travel awards (2018)
- Graduate travel awards — UMN Food Science and Nutrition (2017–2018)
- Pratt Fellowship — Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech (2015)
- GTP project winner — AB Mauri India Pvt Ltd graduate trainee program (2012)
- Gold medal / academic honors — undergraduate and secondary studies (India)
Memberships & service
- My professional and student involvement with IFT (e.g., Food Packaging, Food Chemistry, Food Engineering divisions)
- ASABE student member; AACCI / AACC student member and student officer, Engineering & Processing Division
- Committee and cooperative-board service during graduate school (e.g., WASET scientific committee; housing cooperative board)
Peer review
I serve as a regular reviewer for journals including Journal of Cereal Science, Industrial Crops and Products, Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, and Food Research International (ongoing / since 2018 on my public profile).
§ 03 / Interests
Themes that connect my doctoral research, published work, and current R&D leadership—useful when we scope collaborations or mentorship conversations.