Laboratory Personnel

Dr. Yu Wang | Associate Professor

Dr. Yu Wang got her Ph.D. at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and had her postdoc. training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology focusing on "Omics" techniques for early diagnosing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Dr. Wang received the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship to work at the Technical University of Munich focusing on taste modulation. Before joining the University of Florida, Dr. Wang was a Flavor Chemistry Manager at Mars Chocolate Inc, working in global R&D directing flavor applications, developing novel flavor profiles and providing technical guidance, etc. She is a huge fan of the X-files and loves kayaking.

Research Topics

Now she focuses more on how to apply machine learning on flavor research and plant metabolomics.

Jinpyo An | Postdoctoral Associate

As a postdoctoral associate, my work focuses on the chemical profiling of food and its application to metabolomics using machine learning. My research also explores how phytochemicals are metabolized and distributed in tissues after consumption, as well as the changes in certain biomarkers. I earned my bachelor's degree from Seoul National University in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and completed my doctorate in the Department of Pharmacy (Natural Products).

Research Topics:

• Determining the chemical properties of natural products, including food.

• Identifying biomarkers and biomarker patterns using metabolomics techniques to monitor plant diseases and assess fruit quality.

• Studying the distribution and metabolism of phytochemicals in the body following food consumption.

• Conducting lipid profiling in food and biological tissues post-food administration.

• Discovering taste modulators in food through sensory-guided column chromatography and NMR analysis.

Kuikui Chen | Postdoctoral Associate

I come from Guangxi, China. I received my Ph.D. degree in Analysis of Chinese Materia Medica from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. I joined Dr. Yu Wang's Lab and have been working as a postdoctoral researcher since August 2023. Currently, my projects mainly focus on explaining changes in different physiological states of citrus by targeted, non-targeted metabolomics and multi-omics.

Research Topics

• Effects of different photosynthetic efficiency on citrus physiology
• Citrus evolution

Ling Liu | Lab Assistant

I like gardening, fishing, playing badminton, and traveling around the world.

Xin Liu | Chemist III

I am from China, and my major is natural product chemistry. I joined in Dr. Wang's lab in 2020. I am interested in discovering potential flavor compounds from fruits, herbs and other agricultural commodities

Research Topics

• Targeted and untargeted metabolomics on orange juices from different rootstocks
• Potential flavor compounds from herbs
• Isolation and bioactivity evaluation of Polymethoxyflavones from citrus peel
• Multi-omics analysis reveals biosynthesis of key flavor compounds in Mango

Awards, Scholarships, and Fellowships

• Outstanding reviewer for RSC Advances (2021)

Robert Madden | Ph.D. Candidate

As an undergraduate, I was performing vaccine research on dengue and yellow fever. It was not until my master’s degree that I became interested in food science and the chemistry of the produce we consume. Seeing how aroma and flavor compounds interact with each other really piqued my interest. My hope is to combine machine learning and chemistry to help the ongoing fight against citrus greening disease and its impacts on juice flavor.

Research Topics

• Using machine learning and hyperspectral imaging to evaluate mango sensory and chemical qualities.
• Use machine learning to predict aroma interactions to help improve overall flavor.

Awards, Scholarships, and Fellowships

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Dean’s Award (2020)

Fun Facts

I can make minute rice in 59 seconds

Miguel Vasconez | Ph.D. Candidate

My name is Miguel Vasconez, I am from Ecuador, and I am a first-year Ph.D. student in Food Science. I will be working over at Lake Alfred starting in summer of 2022 on my research on flavor chemistry. I have a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador, and an M.Sc. in Food Science and Human Nutrition from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  I have worked in the Food Industry for over 13 years in different roles related to Food Product Development and Manufacturing. I have a wife and two kids, I enjoy music and sports, traveling to new places, and spending time with my family.

Awards, Scholarships, and Fellowships

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Dean’s Award (2021)

Dongjoo Kim | Ph.D. Student

I received a B.S. degree in Chemistry and Food & Nutrition from Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea, and an M.S. degree in Food Science from the University of Florida. My master's work focused on the chemical compounds (aroma and taste compounds) changes and the sensory aspects, and the correlation between sensory data and the chemical composition of a kombucha product using 'LB8-9' Sugar Belle®, a mandarin hybrid, which is known to be the most Huanglongbing-tolerant cultivar among commercially available varieties. After my master’s work, I started to broaden my research scope to machine learning. Machine learning techniques can be applied to predicting the specific characteristics of foods and food products, which could not be done by conventional methods due to the complexity of the food environment and the size of the data from analytical instruments such as High-resolution UHPLC-Orbitrap-MS/MS.

Research Topics

• Flavor analysis of vanilla beans using GC-MS/MS, High-resolution UHPLC-Orbitrap-MS/MS, and Quantitative LC-MS/MS with sensory analysis
• Vanilla plant metabolomics of flavor compounds
• Isolation of tasting-modulating compounds from edible plants
• Implementing machine learning techniques to analyze and understand larger datasets

Awards, Scholarships, and Fellowships

• The Richard F Mathew Memorial Graduate Scholarship, The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Florida (2024)
• The William F. Jaggard Memorial Scholarship, The Society of Flavor Chemists (2023)
• The Ron H Schmidt Memorial Graduate Scholarship, The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Florida (2023)
• The Graduate School Grinter Fellowship, University of Florida (2022)
• Dean’s Match Scholarship, University of Florida (2022)
• NAFFS 2021 Scholarship, National Association of Flavors and Food-Ingredient Systems (2021)
• Travel Grant, The 134th Annual Meeting of the Florida State Horticultural Society (2021)
• The William & Agnes Brown Scholarship, 2020-2021 Food Science and Human Nutrition Graduate Awards, University of Florida. (2021)

Awards, Scholarships, and Fellowships

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Dean’s Award (2021)

Hyun Jeong Jung | Ph.D. Student

During my undergraduate studies, I participated in a research project focusing on the development of a novel GC-MS/MS method for quantifying inorganic arsenic in rice. During my master's program, I delved into the analysis of toxic compounds in various foods, with a focus on meat, seafood, and beverages, using HS-SPME-GC-MS. After graduate studies, during my work experience at Bertis Inc., a proteomics-based molecular diagnostics service company, I contributed to biomarker development for early disease diagnosis. My role in the Mass Spectrometry team involved LC-MS/MS peptide analyses for potential biomarkers. In my free time, I enjoy playing badminton and spending time with my family.