Experts by Expertise: Food and Agriculture

For help reaching an expert on deadline, please contact UB's media relations team at 716-645-6969 or ub-news@buffalo.edu.

Note to members of the news media:

The correct name of the university is “University at Buffalo,” not “University of Buffalo.”

  • Diana Aga.
    3/6/23

    Diana Aga

    Director of the UB RENEW Institute

    Expertise: chemicals of emerging concern; industrial pollution; wastewater treatment; environmental impact of PFAS ("forever chemicals"), PCBs, PBDEs (flame retardants), pesticides, nanomaterials, antimicrobials, pharmaceuticals and personal care products; antibiotic resistance in the environment; target and non-target analysis; Great Lakes pollution

    Phone: 716-645-4220

    Email: dianaaga@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Victor Albert, University at Buffalo plant evolution expert.
    4/7/23

    Victor Albert

    Empire Innovation Professor of Biological Sciences

    Expertise: plant evolutionary biology; evolution of carnivorous plants; genomes of Amborella, avocado, birch, coffee and gardenia; comparative genomics; junk DNA

    Phone: 716-645-4983

    Email: vaalbert@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Katherine N. Balantekin.
    7/24/23

    Katherine N. Balantekin

    Assistant Professor of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences

    Expertise: obesity, disordered eating, parental influences on child eating behavior, childhood obesity, diet culture, anti-obesity drugs

    Phone: 716-829-5578

    Email: knbalant@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Derek Daniels, University at Buffalo thirst and ingestive behavior expert.
    1/4/22

    Derek Daniels

    Professor and Chair of Biological Sciences

    Expertise: science of thirst; science of food, water and salt intake; ingestive/eating behaviors

    Phone: 716-645-0264

    Email: danielsd@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Myles Faith, University at Buffalo expert on childhood obesity and children's eating behavior.
    12/19/18

    Myles S. Faith

    Professor of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology

    Expertise: childhood obesity, children’s eating habits, family health

    Phone: 716-645-1124

    Email: mfaith@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Shira Gabriel, University at Buffalo social psychology and social connection expert.
    4/7/23

    Shira Gabriel

    Professor of Psychology

    Expertise: social psychology, social connections, sense of self, the need to belong, comfort food

    Phone: 716-645-0227

    Email: sgabriel@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Jessica Kruger, University at Buffalo faculty expert on consumption and addictive behaviors.
    2/9/24

    Jessica Kruger

    Clinical Associate Professor of Community Health and Health Behavior

    Expertise: cannabis, binge-watching, consumption, addictive behaviors, substance use and abuse, health behavior decision-making

    Phone: 716-829-6748

    Email: jskruger@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Lucia A. Leone, University at Buffalo food access expert.
    1/25/22

    Lucia A. Leone

    Associate Professor of Community Health and Health Behavior

    Expertise: food access, mobile produce markets, WIC, obesity prevention, physical activity

    Phone: 716-829-6953

    Email: lucialeo@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Charles Lindsey.
    8/16/21

    Charles Lindsey

    Associate Professor of Marketing

    Expertise: consumer behavior, advertising, marketing strategy and research, brand loyalty, serving and package sizes

    Contact: Charles Lindsey can be reached most quickly through Jackie Ghosen in the School of Management Communications Office at 716-645-2833 or mgt-pr@buffalo.edu.

  • Portrait of Yan Liu, University at Buffalo Chinese history expert, with a focus on the history of Chinese medicine, food and spices and comparative medicine.
    4/13/23

    Yan Liu

    Associate Professor of History

    Expertise: history of Chinese medicine, food and spices; history of epidemics; history of the senses; comparative historical perspectives in medicine

    Phone: 716-645-8404

    Email: yliu253@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Danielle Meyer, University at Buffalo nutrition and diet expert, including on fad and celebrity diets and nutrition myths.
    3/27/24

    Danielle Meyer

    Nutrition Science Undergraduate Program Director, Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences

    Expertise: fad diets (keto, carb-free), debunking nutrition myths, cancer and nutrition, geriatric nutrition, supplements

    Phone: 716-829-5652

    Email: dsmeyer@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Samina Raja.
    12/26/18

    Samina Raja

    Professor of Urban and Regional Planning 

    Expertise: food access, food systems planning, food and urban planning, local government food policy

    Phone: 716-829-5881

    Email: sraja@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Sarah Robert, University at Buffalo faculty expert on teachers, teachers' unions and school food.
    1/17/23

    Sarah A. Robert

    Associate Professor of Learning and Instruction

    Expertise: teaching as an occupation; teachers’ unions; labor issues in education; global education reform; gender and equity in education; school food

    Phone: 716-645-4046

    Email: sarah@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Stefan Ruhl, University at Buffalo saliva and oral biology expert.
    11/10/23

    Stefan Ruhl

    Professor of Oral Biology

    Expertise: saliva, oral bacteria, glycobiology of bacterial adhesion, oral microbiome, oral health

    Phone: 716-829-6073

    Email: shruhl@buffalo.edu

  • Jennifer Temple.
    8/16/21

    Jennifer L. Temple

    Professor of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, and Community Health and Health Behavior

    Expertise: caffeine use among kids, energy drinks, obesity

    Phone: 716-829-5593

    Email: jltemple@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Ann-Marie Torregrossa, University at Buffalo taste science and food choice expert.
    2/9/22

    Ann-Marie Torregrossa

    Associate Professor of Psychology

    Expertise: taste science, feeding, food choice, bitterness

    Phone: 716-645-0354

    Email: amtorreg@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Marion Werner, University at Buffalo international trade expert.
    11/2/23

    Marion Werner

    Professor of Geography

    Expertise: global trade; agriculture, food, labor rights and trade; agri-business; development in Latin America and the Caribbean

    Phone: 716-645-0475

    Email: wernerm@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Kari J. Winter.
    8/16/21

    Kari J. Winter

    Professor of American Studies

    Expertise: gender, feminism, race, class, slavery, politics of food, literature

    Phone: 716-645-0827

    Email: kwinter2@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Sanjukta Das Smith.
    9/20/22

    Sunyee Yoon

    Assistant Professor of Marketing

    Expertise: social status and mobility; socially responsible consumption; products that promote animal welfare; consumer behavior

    Contact: Sunyee Yoon can be reached most quickly through Jackie Ghosen in the School of Management Communications Office at 716-645-2833 or mgt-pr@buffalo.edu.