Dr. Leili Afsah-Hejri is an experienced food scientist with nearly three decades of experience in academia, research, agriculture, and the food industry. She earned her Ph.D. in Food Safety from University Putra Malaysia, where her research focused on mycotoxins, including improved detection methods and strategies to prevent and control their occurrence throughout the food chain. During her postdoctoral work, she expanded her research to other foodborne pathogens and methods to reduce their transmission during food handling and processing.
In 2016, Dr. Afsah-Hejri joined the University of California, Merced, where her work focused on novel postharvest technologies and their applications in food safety. Her research covered three main areas: non-destructive detection methods (including terahertz imaging), non-invasive identification and quantification methods (such as electronic nose [E-nose] technology), and environmentally friendly decontamination approaches (including ozonation). She is also an expert in thermal process validation and laboratory method validation.
Throughout her career, Dr. Afsah-Hejri has served as a PI/Co-PI on more than a dozen government and industry-funded research and educational projects and has published numerous peer-reviewed scientific papers and book chapters.
Dr. Afsah-Hejri joined Lakeland University in 2023 and serves as Program Director of the Food Safety and Quality program. In addition to teaching chemistry and food safety and quality courses, she works closely with local food industry partners and conducts applied food safety research that provides opportunities for students while addressing the needs of the food industry in the region. She also currently serves as President of the Wisconsin Association for Food Protection (WAFP).
