Lab Members

Jiannan Feng

Research Associate & Lab Manager
Jiannan gained her master’s degree from the Department of Food Science & Technology at the University of Georgia in August of 2018. She earned her bachelor's degree in Bioengineering at China Agricultural University, and worked as the Food Safety Manager and Quality Assurance Manager at Grupo Bimbo China. She likes yoga, baking and planting succulents in her spare time. 

Jiayue (Jenny) Guo

Graduate Research Assistant (PhD)
Jenny is a PhD student majoring in Human Nutrition. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Food Science and Technology at United International School in China in June of 2018. Her research interest is the structure and functional properties of carbohydrates. She enjoys traveling, painting, and watching movies in her spare time. 

Yanqi Zhang

Graduate Research Assistant (PhD)
​Yanqi is a PhD student (Main advisor Dr. Libo Tan) majoring in Human Nutrition. She earned her master’s degree in Health Studies from UA in 2019, and her bachelor’s degree in Nutrition at the University of Missouri in May of 2017. She is from China. She likes cooking, travelling, and spending time with her cat.

Jingyi Zhou

Graduate Research Assistant (PhD)
Jingyi is a PhD student majoring in Human Nutrition. She earned her bachelor’s (May of 2017) and master’s degree (May of 2019) in Food Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She likes travelling, photographing, and calligraphy.

Emily Ager

Undergraduate Research Assistant
​Emily is a sophomore at the University of Alabama from San Diego, California. She is majoring in Food & Nutrition. After completing her undergraduate degree, she hopes to attend graduate school to gain a masters/PhD. In her free time, she loves to hang out with friends, travel, and try new things. 

Nikki Angel

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Nikki is majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Biology. After completing her undergraduate work here at UA, she plans to attend graduate school and earn a masters in biomedical engineering. 

Isabelle (Izzy) Berry

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Izzy is from Grand Rapids, Michigan pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering with minors in Blount Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Environmental Science. Her hobbies include painting, hiking, and running. After graduating in December 2020, she plans to pursue a masters/PhD in chemical engineering or an energy related field.

Grace Borawski

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Grace is from LaGrange, IL (suburb of Chicago), and  majoring in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics. Grace enjoys cooking and running in her free time. After graduating, she will attend graduate school at Alabama to pursue Master's in Business Administration.

Aly Gutierrez

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Aly is a sophomore from Charlotte, North Carolina majoring in Microbiology with minors in Chemistry and Food & Nutrition. Her hobbies include poetry, photography, and traveling. After finishing undergraduate studies, Aly hopes to attend medical school. 

Morgan Abercrombie

Undergraduate Research Assistant
​Morgan is a sophomore from Somerville, Alabama majoring in Food and Nutrition with minors in Chemistry and Biology. During her free time, she likes to cook, paint, and ride horses. She hopes to attend medical school after completing her undergraduate studies.

Kelvin Dam

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Kelvin is a Coordinated Program student completing supervised practice to become a Registered Dietitian. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Food Science and Industry at Kansas State University in May of 2017. Kelvin previously worked as a professional brewer and received his training from the Masters Brewers program at UC Davis. He is also a Certified Cicerone, or beer guide. In his free time, he enjoys Latin dance and participates in civic engagement.  ​

Tyler Lubbat

Undergraduate Research Assistant
​Tyler Lubbat is from Wheeling, IL, a northwest suburb of Chicago. He is a member of the Randall Research Scholars Program majoring in Biology and Economics with a Mathematics minor. In his free time, Tyler enjoys competitively bass fishing and attending concerts and music festivals. Tyler plans on getting his Masters in Biology and attending Med School upon graduating from UA.

Lilla Gladden

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Lilla is a sophomore from Charlotte, North Carolina. She is a member of the Randall Research Scholars Program and is majoring in Mechanical Engineering with minors in German and Mathematics. In her free time, she enjoys baking and cooking. After completing her undergraduate degree, she plans on going to graduate school for Biomedical Engineering.

Alegna Contreras Reyes

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Alegna is a junior from Alabama majoring in Management with a concentration in Healthcare Analytics with a minor in Biology. During her free time she likes to work out, cook, and volunteer at a local high school tutoring ESL students. After completing her undergraduate studies she hopes to attend medical school.​

Chenhai (Steven) Li

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Steven is a freshman from Beijing, China and finished his junior and senior years of high school in Oklahoma City. He is majoring in Food & Nutrition. His hobbies include working out, badminton, basketball, cooking and reading. After completing his undergraduate studies he wants to apply for graduate school in Food Science.

Songnan Li

Visiting PhD Student
Songnan earned his bachelor’s (June in 2013) and master’s (June in 2016) degree in Food Science from Anhui Agricultural University. He is a PhD student majoring in Starch Science and Engineering, from the School of Food Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology. Fortunately, he gained the 2019 CSC Scholarship to the Penn State University and the University of Alabama as a visiting Research Scholar. His research focused on the functional carbohydrate polymers (mainly starch) and their application in the Pickering emulsions. He enjoys traveling, jogging and playing various ball games in his free time.

Lab Alumni

Katie Webb, Research Assistant-Master
Gabrielle Van Hoet, Undergraduate Research Assistant​
​Shu Hang Kwan, ​Undergraduate Research Assistant​
Brittany Humphreys, ​Undergraduate Research Assistant