Advances in Food & Beverage Testing 2026

Michael Appell received a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the College of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois. He then did postdoctoral research in molecular pharmacology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Dr. Appell has two decades of experience solving food quality and security problems using analytical sciences, nanotechnology, AI, and quantum-based cheminformatics. Dr. Appell is an American Chemical Society Fellow and a Fellow of the ACS Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Hans-Joachim Hübschmann graduated as a Certified Food Chemist from the Technical University in Berlin, Germany, working on residue analysis of anabolic agents and pesticides in foods. Hans started his career in diagnostics, medical analytical instrumentation and in food safety and environmental application development, working for a number of German companies in liquid and gas chromatography, mass spectrometry and biotechnology. In 2002 he joined Thermo Fisher Scientific in Bremen, Germany, and held several international positions in the US and Asia covering product development and marketing in inorganic and isotope ratio mass spectrometry, high resolution GC-MS and GC-MS/MS, specializing in food safety, forensic, environmental and dioxin analysis. In 2015 Hans established the independent agency HANS Analytical Solutions active as a consultant for companies in Europe and Asia for the development of automated analytical sample preparation workflows. In his current international capacity, Hans is located in Europe and Osaka, Japan. Hans is the author of the popular Wiley “Handbook of GC-MS”, available already in its 3rd edition in 2015.

Dr. Jess Sparks is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Jess’s research uses mixed social science methods to center the voices of oppressed workers in illuminating, conceptualizing, and quantifying the effects of climate and environmental change on working conditions in seafood supply chains and to provide an evidence-base to end exploitative labor practices in supply chains. Her research has informed the practice of government agencies (e.g., coast guard inspection practices), front line port welfare agencies, and unions and worker representatives. Her 2022 research on the working conditions of migrant fishers in the UK was featured in The Guardian, and directly led to UK policy action. She has been a scientific advisor to the Vatican, the International Labour Organization (UN), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and various seafood companies, retailers, and trade associations.

Holly completed her PhD with Prof. Scott Mabury at the University of Toronto, studying the biological and environmental processes governing the fate of novel PFAS during consumer disposal. Upon graduation, Holly worked for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks as a senior analytical technologist, where she was responsible for method development for environmental organic contaminants. After moving to SCIEX, she worked in R&D for hardware and software products before transitioning to her current role in global technical marketing for food LC-MS/MS applications.

Noel Hollingsworth is the CEO and Co-Founder at Uncountable. In his role, he works closely with Uncountable's customers to implement its end-to-end platform for product development. He has collaborated with customers across a wide range of industries. Uncountable's customers include leaders like Beiersdorf, Ripple Foods, Mondelez and Ingredion. Prior to his work at Uncountable, Noel led data teams at startups and was awarded Forbes 30 under 30 for his work with machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Richard works closely with food manufacturers, suppliers and industry teams to help communicate how connected quality, compliance and supply chain technology can support safer, more resilient food operations. With over 10 years of experience working with food manufacturers of all sizes across the globe, Richard understands the challenges businesses face across food safety, supplier compliance, traceability and recall readiness. His work focuses on translating those challenges into practical solutions that improve visibility, reduce risk and strengthen customer confidence. Richard is passionate about helping food businesses build more transparent, accountable and trusted supply chains.

Shihyu Chuang is a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Food Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (PI: Lynne McLandsborough). His research in food safety has a focus on the microbiology and environmental sanitation of low-moisture foods, such as those found in chocolate and peanut butter processing environments. Dr. Chuang has developed a non-water-based antimicrobial delivery system effective against Salmonella spp. desiccated on surfaces. The patent-pending technology presents a potential of shifting the sanitation paradigm across dry food facilities by allowing the establishment of scientifically defensible clean breaks.