Debra K.W. Topham, MS, CNS
As director, Ms. Topham’s role is to build successful bridges between those that speak “technology” and those that don’t. Her clear communication style comes from her well-seasoned university lecturing and speaking events. She contributes to the documentation of product usage and efficacy; label claims and promotional platforms; sensory evaluation; and bench-marking of competitive products. She reviews scientific and medical literature on functional foods, excipients, botanicals, and health-related issues to provide clients an enhanced foundation for substantiated consumer-friendly communications.
Currently, Ms. Topham serves as project manager for human clinical research studies, scientific symposia, and nutrition conferences-especially on botanicals, plant concentrates, and human nutrition. She participates in more than 20 human clinical trials at multiple sites in 5 countries of the world including: The Botanical Education Workshops, the Photochemical Conference: Today’s Knowledge Tomorrow’s Products, and the Nagano (Japan) Scientific Symposium on Sports Science all of which she coordinates.
Ms. Topham has presented to the White House Subcommittee’s Commission on Dietary Supplement Labeling and to the Food and Nutrition Board’s Panel on Dietary Antioxidants. Among her many publications, she has edited two internationally known books, Phytochemicals:
A New Health Paradigm and Phytochemicals
as Bioactive Agents by Technomic
Publishing Inc. (now CRC
Press).
Ms. Topham, is a classically trained food and nutrition professional with the solid experience of a corporate research scientist and home economist. She was granted the Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS) title for her advanced degrees and significant contributions to the fields of food and nutrition and is a professional member of the Institute of Food Technologists and Phi Upsilon Omicron.
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Mary Jacob, PhD, RD
Senior Research Scientist, Dr. Mary M. Jacob, R.D., contributes
40 years of research wisdom and experience to knowledge bank. Her work
on the effects of race and climate on basal metabolism, mineral metabolism,
and body composition changes in health and disease spans several continents.
Her professional development and education crosses India, England, Australia
and the United States.
Dr. Jacob has focused technical investigations into protein/amino acid
metabolism and nutritional status assessment in pregnancy and malnourished
children. Intensive research and education allows knowledge bank's Dr.
Jacob to translate and adapt medical jargon for successful audience comprehension.
She interprets the benefits and limitations of dietary supplements and
their components into rational explanations for industry customers and
consumer groups.
As a frequent presenter at the International Congress of Nutrition, the
American Pediatric Society and the Annual Experimental Biology meetings,
Dr. Jacob discusses her research findings on body composition changes
in aging and disease as well as the implications of trace mineral alterations
in animal tissues for human nutrition. These are published as peer reviewed
articles in professional journals. She is a professional member of American
Society of Nutritional Science, American College of Nutrition, American
Dietetic Association, Gerontological Society of America, American Association
for the Advancement of Science, and The New York Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Jacob is a mentor to health researchers and dietitians alike and contributes
to the local American Heart Association chapter as a professional advisor.
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