Clare Hasler-Lewis Executive Director, Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at the University of California, Davis. Clare Hasler-Lewis was named the founding executive director of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at the University of California, Davis in February 2004. Hasler is an international authority on "functional foods" — foods that provide specific health benefits that may reduce risk of chronic disease, such as lowering the risk of heart disease or cancer, in addition to meeting basic nutritional needs. From 1992-2000, she served as the founding director of the Functional Foods for Health Program at the University of Illinois. She is the lead author on the American Dietetic Association 2009 Position Paper on Functional Foods.

 

As executive director of the Robert Mondavi Institute, Hasler leads programming and vision-development efforts. She also serves as the university's primary liaison to the wine and food industries. Hasler holds a dual doctoral degree in environmental toxicology and human nutrition from Michigan State University and a master's degree in nutrition from the Pennsylvania State University. She also earned a master's degree in business administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Hasler was also a postdoctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. Prior to joining UC Davis, Hasler was an assistant professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as an adjunct assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

 

She has published over 50 research papers, invited reviews or book chapters and is the editor of the 2005 book, The Regulation of Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals: A Global Perspective from Blackwell Publishers. Hasler is a member of a number of societies, including American Association for Cancer Research, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society of Nutrition, Institute of Food Technologists and Sigma Xi. In 1998 she was recognized by Self magazine as one of the "Top 25 Food Influentials" and is a Distinguished Lecturer for the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT)—the Society for Food Science and Technology. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Chiquita Brands International, Inc. and chairs the Food Safety, Innovation and Technology Committee.