Kelsey M. Mangano, Ph.D., R.D., is Assistant Professor and Director of Nutritional Science in the Department of Biomedical and Nutritional Sciences at The University of Massachusetts, Lowell. She is a member of the Center for Population Health at UMass Lowell and Center for Microbiome Research at UMass Medical School. Professor Mangano also holds an Adjunct Faculty appointment at the Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Harvard Medical School affiliate. Professor Mangano’s research lab aims to elucidate mechanisms behind the impact of nutritional factors and food additives on musculoskeletal aging and the gut. Current mechanisms include alterations in the gut microbiome and metabolomic response to nutrition.

At General Mills Foodservice, Chef Sonja wears many hats in the General Mills Culinary Center, but one of her favorite roles is teaching and training others, giving them confidence in the kitchen. Beyond her contributions as a valued trainer, Chef Sonja’s expertise spans troubleshooting recipes and product performance, trend forecasting, catering, recipe development, recipe standardization and menu engineering. She is also passionate about mapping flavor combinations with a focus on global flavors and concepts. Chef Sonja’s analytical skills help her to troubleshoot product performance and reverse engineer products. She likes the process of running General Mills products through their paces so she can feel confident standing behind their durability and versatility. She says, “I really like the science aspect of the culinary experience.” With more than twenty-five years of foodservice industry experience prior to General Mills, Chef Sonja’s career incudes time spent working in restaurant and bakery, large scale independent college and university, hospital/healthcare and catering.