The 2025 IFANCA–Food Science Student Research Poster Competition held on October 30th, 2025 in Room 124 in Cater-Mattil celebrated the innovative research of students in the Department of Food Science & Technology. With over 150 attendees, the event brought together students, faculty, and staff to highlight emerging work across food chemistry, microbiology, product development, fermentation, food safety, and sustainable food systems.
This year’s competition featured 16 graduate students and 5 undergraduate students, each presenting original research and contributing to an engaging and impactful scholarly exchange.
👩🔬 Judges for the 2025 Poster Competition
- Dr. Wes Osburn – Associate Professor, Department of Animal Science
- Dr. Rebecca Creasy Buckley – Instructional Associate Professor, Food Science & Technology
- Dr. Matt Taylor – Professor, Department of Animal Science
- Dr. Steve Talcott – Professor, Food Science & Technology
🏆 Award Winners
Graduate Students
🥇 First Prize ($1000) – Armaghan Amanipour
Title: Fermentation of Opuntia ficus-indica Cladode
🥈 Second Prize ($750 each) – Ana Nava Ochoa and Muhammad Bilal Haider
Titles:
• Differential Antioxidant Response to Anthocyanin-Rich Extract in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells With and Without Chemotherapy-Induced Oxidative Stress – Ana Nava
• Upcycling Waste Whey as a Novel Food Ingredient in Meat Alternatives – Muhammad Bilal Haider
🥉 Third Prize ($500 each) – Sehyeon Song and Elizabeth Culpepper
Titles:
• Mapping the Future of Kimchi Using Texas-Grown Ingredients – Sehyeon Song
• Screening of Lactobacillus plantarum 299v Probiotic Supplement for Tannase and Gallate Decarboxylase Activity – Elizabeth Culpepper
Undergraduate Students
🥇 First Prize ($500) – Justy Chung
Title: Comparing Dynamics of Fermentation and Probiotic Properties with American Kimchi
🥈 Second Prize ($300) – Rebeka Saldivar
Title: Antioxidant and Functional Properties of Fermented Grasshopper Proteins via Solubilization–Precipitation Method
🥉 Third Prize ($200) – Sinead Izediuno
Title: Relevance of Pathogenic Viruses in Food
2025 Poster Presenters
🎓 Graduate Students
| 1 | Lakshmi Devi Chittepu | Monascus Pigments as a Safer Natural Alternative to Sodium Nitrite in Pork Sausages Compared with Lac and Cochineal Dyes |
| 2 | Sergio Serna-Hernandez | Modulation of Intestinal Microbiota and Polyphenol Metabolism in Adolescents Following Daily Supplementation of Tannase-Treated Mango (Mangifera indica L.) and Probiotics |
| 3 | Ana Nava Ochoa | Differential Antioxidant Response to Anthocyanin-rich Extract in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells With and Without Chemotherapy-Induced Oxidative Stress |
| 4 | Anishka Talari | Harnessing Aspergillus leuchenius for Potential Biopolymer Production and Characterization of Its Emulsifying Properties in Food |
| 5 | Ikenna Okehie | Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Insect Proteins for Functional Peptide Production and Bioactivity |
| 6 | Widalys Romero-Rosario | Development and Characterization of Black Soldier Fly Larvae–Based Protein Balls |
| 7 | Arian Amirvaresi | Advancing Cultivated Meat: Multi-Omics Cell Line Characterization and Serum-Free Media Engineering |
| 8 | Min Ji Jang | Value-Added Use of Lactic Acid Bacteria Fermentation Waste Broth for Enhancing Food Safety in Vegetables |
| 9 | Champ Jones | Designing Wet-Spun Cultivated Meat Muscle Fibers: The Impact of Faba Protein Isolate Hydrolysis and Concentration in a Calcium-Alginate System |
| 10 | Isabella McGrath | Ionizing Radiation Energy and Dose Rate Influence Inactivation Kinetics of Listeria monocytogenes |
| 11 | Elizabeth Culpepper | Screening of Lactobacillus plantarum 299v Probiotic Supplement for Tannase and Gallate Decarboxylase Activity |
| 12 | Sehyeon Song | Mapping the Future of Kimchi Using Texas-Grown Ingredients |
| 13 | Juengeun Im | Sustainable AI Approaches for Probiotics Development and Resource-Efficient Food Systems |
| 14 | Armaghan Amanipour | Fermentation of Opuntia ficus-indica Cladode |
| 15 | Muhammad Bilal Haider | Upcycling Waste Whey as a Novel Food Ingredient in Meat Alternatives |
| 16 | Sofia Lara-Ramos | Harnessing the Power of 10 MeV Electron Beam Technology to Reduce Ara h 1 and Ara h 2 Allergen Levels in Peanuts |
🎓 Undergraduate Students
| 1 | Rebeka Saldivar | Antioxidant and Functional Properties of Fermented Grasshopper Proteins via Solubilization–Precipitation Method |
| 2 | Andrea Amaya | Algae as an Alternative Protein Source and Consumer Acceptance |
| 3 | Justy Chung | Comparing Dynamics of Fermentation and Probiotic Properties with American Kimchi |
| 4 | Corey Le | Not Just Sugar: Exploring How Humans Perceive Sweetness |
| 5 | Sinead Izediuno | Relevance of Pathogenic Viruses in Food |
Congratulations once again to all our winners! And to every participant—graduate and undergraduate—thank you for your enthusiasm, hard work, and commitment to advancing food science innovation through the IFANCA–Food Science Student Research Poster Competition.
We look forward to seeing your continued success and future contributions to the field!