INFORM January 2024

inform January 2024, Vol. 35 (1) • 9

INFORM: Do you have any recommendations or advice for people early in their careers or students who are inter ested in Health and Nutrition? Nolasco: I would recommend engaging and participating in any opportunity AOCS or any other association has to offer. By engaging we network, build our community, exchange ideas that we would otherwise not consider, and develop soft skills which are very valuable in any environment where we perform. INFORM: What is your ideal next step after you graduate? Nolasco: I would like to take the skills I have learned in the Food BioPep Lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and apply them in the industry. In the last five years, there have been companies that are applying concepts such as precision fermentation and molecular biology to produce food that is more sustainable and nutritious. I will take my experience and insights from the Health and Nutrition Division and help make food even healthier to maximize the benefits for consumers.

is hard to believe but there was not a conference specifically for proteins since it is a wide topic. AOCS has fostered research scientists in this area in a great way and now even more with the Sustainable Protein Forum. I have made valuable connections with the judges from my poster presentations, my advisor’s previous lab members, and fellow graduate students. I’m sure we will help each other down the road. INFORM: What is the greatest benefit that you have derived from your involvement in AOCS and the Health and Nutrition Division? Nolasco: I have been able to gain skills in communicating my science in an understandable and accessible way to peers in different areas while participating in the poster competitions. I have also been able to meet excellent professionals such as Dr. Ignacio Vieitez and Dr. Rinat Ran-Ressler. We shared some thoughts during the Division dinner in 2022 and it was nice to hear about their professional path and how they got involved in AOCS.

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