Peste-Ras (Marcu) Iuliana | Agricultural and Biological Sciences | Best Researcher Award

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Prof. Peste-Ras (Marcu) Iuliana| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | Best Researcher Award 

Doctoral School of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest | Romania

Peste-Ras (Marcu) Iuliana is an accomplished Chemistry and Physics educator and an emerging researcher dedicated to advancing sustainable practices and innovative methodologies in chemical and environmental sciences. She currently serves as a Chemistry Teacher at High School Toma Socolescu, within the Department of Chemistry in Ploiesti, Romania, where she has been contributing to the academic and personal development of students since 2001. Her teaching career reflects a deep commitment to scientific literacy, hands-on learning, and the promotion of green chemistry principles among young learners. Between 2013 and 2015, she also served as a University Lecturer at the University of Oil and Gas, Ploiesti, Romania, where she taught chemistry-related subjects and guided undergraduate students in research projects. Dr. (PhD candidate) Iuliana Peste-Ras’s academic journey demonstrates a solid foundation in both the natural and applied sciences. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Physics from the University of Petroleum and Gas, Faculty of Letters and Science, Ploiesti in 2001. Pursuing her passion for environmental sustainability, she completed a Master’s degree in Life Sciences and Ecology from the National University of Science and Technology Politehnica, Bucharest in 2019. She is currently a PhD student at the Doctoral School of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica, Bucharest, where her research focuses on the valorization of natural products, food chemistry, and eco-friendly analytical methods for assessing the quality and antioxidant potential of horticultural produce. Her scientific contributions include notable research on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruits, focusing on their physical and chemical properties, antioxidant capacity, and preservation techniques. Her publications highlight her growing influence in the field of food chemistry and sustainable processing. In 2022, she co-authored “The Effect of Peel and Seed Removal on the Physical and Chemical Properties of Tomato Fruits” published in U.P.B. Scientific Bulletin, Series B (84(3), 78–88). Her 2024 study, “The Effect of Freezing on the Physico-Chemical Properties of Tomato Fruits” (U.P.B. Sci. Bull., 86(1), 166–172), examined the influence of storage conditions on nutritional quality. Her 2025 publication in Horticulturae (Q1, IF: 3) titled “Analysis of the Antioxidant Capacity of Whole-Fruit Tomato Powder Using the FRAP Assay — An Eco-Friendly Approach for the Valorization of Horticultural Products” underscores her commitment to sustainable science and innovation in agricultural product research. Through her teaching excellence, research dedication, and academic leadership, Iuliana Peste-Ras continues to make a meaningful contribution to science education, food chemistry, and ecological sustainability in Romania and beyond.

Profile: Orcid

Featured Publications

Pește-Ras (Marcu), I., Radu, G. L., & Dăncilă, A. M. (2025). Analysis of the antioxidant capacity of whole-fruit tomato powder using the Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay—An eco-friendly approach for the valorization of horticultural products. Horticulturae, 11(9), 1145. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11091145

Cuirong Ren | Food Science | Best Researcher Award | 13475

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Ms. Cuirong Ren | Food Science | Best Researcher Award

Ms. Cuirong Ren, Sestre milosrdnice UHC, Croatia

Dr. Cuirong Ren is an accomplished food scientist and assistant professor at Shandong Agricultural University, specializing in structural lipids, functional milk fats, and food safety. With a Ph.D. from Jiangnan University and international research experience at Wageningen University, she has led significant projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Dr. Ren’s work bridges advanced lipidomics, milk fat substitution, and gastrointestinal modeling, contributing to innovations in nutrition and dairy science. Her technical expertise spans chromatography, spectroscopy, rheology, and advanced data modeling, positioning her as a leading researcher in food science and technology.

Author Profile

Scopus

🎓 Early Academic Pursuits

Dr. Cuirong Ren began her academic journey with a strong foundation in Food Quality and Safety, earning her Bachelor’s degree from Qingdao Agricultural University in 2015. Her passion for food science and safety drove her to pursue a Master’s degree in Food Science and Technology at the same institution, where she began delving deeper into the biochemical and functional aspects of food systems. Her curiosity and diligence led her to one of China’s top institutions for food research—Jiangnan University, where she earned her Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology in 2023.

During her Ph.D., she further broadened her scientific horizons with an international stint as a visiting Ph.D. researcher at Wageningen University in the Netherlands from 2021 to 2022. There, she gained specialized knowledge in Dairy Science and Technology, which significantly influenced her future research direction in lipids, milk structure, and gastrointestinal modeling.

🧪 Professional Endeavors

Dr. Ren currently serves as an Assistant Professor at the College of Food Science and Technology, Shandong Agricultural University, a position she began in November 2023. In this role, she combines rigorous academic research with hands-on mentorship of graduate students, emphasizing translational science that can benefit both academia and industry.

Her laboratory focuses on advanced lipid analysis, the structure-function relationship in milk fats, and the development of functional food components tailored for specific populations, such as infants or individuals with medical needs.

🔬 Contributions and Research Focus

Dr. Ren’s research revolves around the molecular structure and digestive behavior of milk fats and their substitutes. She has led and participated in several key national research projects, including two funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China:

  • “Digestion-driven self-assembly structure in human milk” (2025–2027): As project leader, Dr. Ren explores how milk fats reorganize under digestive conditions, paving the way for better infant formula design.

  • “StOSt-rich Fat to Improve Chocolate Stability” (2021–2023): This project explored how structured fats can enhance heat resistance and reduce bloom in chocolates, offering potential for broader applications in food storage and processing.

Another significant milestone was her doctoral research (2018–2023) on sow milk fat composition and the development of a milk fat substitute, which has already been commercialized in piglet formula products—a rare achievement for a young researcher.

Her expertise encompasses:

  • Lipidomics via LC-MS, GC-MS, and NMR

  • Dynamic gastrointestinal models

  • Milk and protein structural analysis

  • Development of nutritional foods for special medical purposes

Her studies contribute deeply to understanding fat behavior, nutritional absorption, and gastrointestinal interactions in both animals and humans.

🏅 Accolades and Recognition

Though early in her academic career, Dr. Ren has already earned national recognition through competitive research grants and has demonstrated industry impact with commercial product applications. Her projects have been praised for both scientific rigor and real-world utility, which is often a challenge in food science research.

She is frequently invited to present at food science symposia and has collaborated with international scholars during her time in Europe, which broadened her cross-cultural research competence and brought global perspectives into her work.

🌍 Impact and Influence

Dr. Ren’s research is helping redefine milk fat modeling and substitution—a field critical for infant nutrition, functional food development, and animal health. Her innovative use of tools such as MATLAB-based fat similarity evaluation, dynamic digestion simulations, and microstructure characterization via advanced spectroscopy has set new standards in how food lipids are studied and optimized.

Moreover, her work in plasma technology for the degradation of aflatoxins—toxic compounds found in contaminated food—has implications for global food safety, especially in developing countries where food contamination is still prevalent.

🌟 Legacy and Future Contributions

Looking ahead, Dr. Cuirong Ren is well-positioned to become a thought leader in food structure-function analysis and nutrition-oriented food engineering. Her ambition includes:

  • Establishing a center of excellence for lipid-based functional foods

  • Leading cross-border collaborations to combat malnutrition through tailored fat formulations

  • Publishing high-impact papers that bridge food chemistry, nutrition, and public health

Her dedication to training the next generation of researchers, especially women in science, promises a lasting legacy in academic mentorship and scientific innovation.

📝 Publication Top Notes

📘Characteristics of sow milks at different lactation stages and their frozen storage stabilities

Author: Cuirong Ren, Qingzhe Jin, Jun Jin, Yanbing Zhang, Xingguo Wang

Journal: Food Science and Technology

Year: 2021

📘 Phospholipid profiling, cholesterol, and tocopherols: Comparison of sow milk fats from two lactation stages and five breeds

Author: Cuirong Ren, Jun Jin, Shiwei Zhao, Yanbing Zhang, Qingzhe Jin, Xingguo Wang.

Journal: Food Bioscience

Year: 2022

📘 Evaluation of fatty acid profile of colostrum and milk fat of different sow breeds.

Author: Cuirong Ren, Jun Jin, Xingguo Wang, Yanbing Zhang, Qingzhe Jin

Journal: International Dairy

Year: 2022