Ernest K. Kwegyir-Afful, PhD

Dr. Kwegyir-Afful is the Branch Chief of the Hazard Assessment and Analytics Branch within the FDA's Human Foods Program, where he has spent over a decade pioneering the use of artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to modernize food safety regulation in the federal government.

Ernest is the principal architect of WILEE (Warp Intelligent Learning Engine), the Human Foods Program's first comprehensive AI-powered surveillance system for food chemicals. WILEE integrates large and diverse data sources to perform signal detection, knowledge discovery, and horizon scanning across food additives, food contact substances, color additives, dietary supplements, and chemical contaminants, delivering faster, data-driven insights that strengthen the agency's ability to protect public health across both post-market surveillance and premarket analysis functions.

Ernest has been a central figure in shaping FDA's broader AI strategy. He has led CFSAN's AI interest group, served on the Executive Committee of FDA's agency-wide AI/ML Workgroup, and contributed to the New Era of Smarter Food Safety initiative as lead of the Predictive Analytics subgroup for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. His earlier work designing CFSAN's "Emerging Chemical Hazard Intelligence Platform" was featured in KM World and the Harvard Business Review.

Ernest has also advised senior government officials from the Netherlands and Sweden on deploying AI within regulatory frameworks and was an invited panelist for the Harvard Business Review Executive Dinner Series on implementing AI in government and industry.

Ernest holds a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, a Certificate in Data Science from Georgetown University, and a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry and Psychology from the University of Ghana.

Dr. Yu Wang

Dr. Wang is a Health Informaticist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where he develops bioinformatic and AI tools to study foodborne pathogens and support regulatory science. His current research includes applying transformer-based models to encode pathogen genomes and characterize their virulence, as well as developing LLM-powered AI agents to streamline the processing of consumer complaints on food and dietary supplements. He holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Marquette University and completed postdoctoral training in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).

Dr. Craig Schlenoff

Dr. Schlenoff currently serves as the Chief of the AI Research, Measurement, and Standards Division and the Senior Advisor for AI in the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In this role, he advises the ITL Director and other NIST senior management on trends in AI and how NIST can best position itself to enable U.S. industry to lead in AI innovation. Prior to this, Dr. Schlenoff served as the NIST Acting Deputy Associate Director of Laboratory Programs (ADLP), where he advised the ADLP, provided operational guidance for NIST’s scientific and technical laboratory programs across six laboratories, led program and budget development, and coordinated interagency and outreach activities, accelerating U.S. innovation.

Prior to this, Dr. Schlenoff served as the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s (OSTP) Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) National Coordination Office. In this role, he coordinated $11B of Federal Government IT R&D to identify, develop, and transition into use the secure IT, high-performance computing, networking, and software capabilities needed by the Nation, and fostered public-private partnerships that provide world-leading IT capabilities. He also served as the co-chair of the NITRD AI R&D Interagency Working Group, where he led the development of the 2023 AI R&D Strategic Plan Update.

Dr. Schlenoff received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland College Park, his master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and his PhD in computer science from the University of Burgundy in Dijon, France.

Dr. Seneca Fitch

Dr. Fitch is a Managing Scientist and Director of ToxStrategies’ Health Sciences Practice, specializing in systematic evaluations of substances linked to consumer products, food additives, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals. As an expert information specialist and evidence analyst, she supports the entire systematic review process, from problem formulation and protocol development to data extraction, critical appraisal, and evidence synthesis. Her current research focuses on automating systematic reviews in environmental and health-related risk assessments, integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning to optimize literature prioritization, evidence mapping, and systematic reviews. As a practitioner, Ms. Fitch has extensive hands-on experience with leveraging informatics platforms and custom AI-facilitated approaches to answer specific research questions. She is an active participant in the Evidence- Based Toxicology Collaboration, serving on its scientific advisory council and as Chair of the Research Methods Working Group. Ms. Fitch has co-authored 20 peer-reviewed publications and 2 book chapters, contributing to advancements in evidence-based toxicology and modern approaches to evidence synthesis.

Dr. Amarda Shehu

Dr. Shehu is a Professor of Computer Science, Associate Dean for Research, and Vice President and Chief AI Officer at George Mason University. In these roles, she leads Mason’s institution- wide AI strategy spanning research, education, workforce development, and external partnerships. She previously directed the Institute for Digital Innovation and has launched multiple transdisciplinary centers to accelerate cross-campus collaboration and translation. Shehu is also the primary architect of Mason’s AI education and literacy pipeline, including the university’s new M.S. in Artificial Intelligence degree and the general-education “AI for All” course. She chairs the university’s AI-in-Government Council, convening academia, industry, and public agencies to advance responsible, mission-driven AI adoption. Her national service includes prior work as an NSF Program Director in the CISE Directorate (2019–2022), and she continues to help shape AI, biosecurity, and innovation agendas across academia, government, and industry. An active AI researcher, Shehu has published over 200 papers with students and collaborators, sustaining a long-running research program at the intersection of AI and molecular biology that pioneers probabilistic, machine learning, and generative methods for protein science, genomics, and molecular design. Her contributions have been recognized through multiple awards for research, education, mentorship, and service, and by professional honors including election as a 2022 Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, IEEE Senior Member status, and membership in the Virginia Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Steven M. Musser, PhD

Dr. Musser is currently the Associate Commissioner for Human Foods Research. In this role, he oversees an extensive research portfolio supporting priority human food programs including dietary supplements, microbiological food safety, and the safety assessments for food chemicals and contaminants. He’s published more than 100 articles in the peer reviewed scientific literature and regularly speaks on research topics at national and international scientific meetings.

Dr. Musser received his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Maryland in 1989. He then completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. Following his post-doctoral training he started his career at FDA in 1991 as a research chemist.

Martine Ferguson

Ms. Ferguson is a Mathematical Statistician at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration who has served in the agency since 2002, applying advanced statistical methods to regulatory research in food safety, nutrition, and toxicology. She earned her Master's degree in Statistics from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and her Bachelor's degree in Zoology from the University of Florida. With expertise in machine learning, Bayesian methods, and structural equation modeling, she has developed methodologies for microbiological sampling, nutritional surveillance, and toxicological assays supporting FDA regulatory policy on infant nutrition, food labeling, and foodborne pathogen persistence. Her LLM usage focuses on vibe coding, literature review, and summarization.

Mara McVay

Ms. McVay is Senior Director of Processing & Quality Systems at Conagra Brands, leading FSQRA Data & Systems, R&D Data & Systems, Technical Operations, and R&D Process Engineering. She brings experience across supply chain planning, enterprise technology transformations, data analytics, food safety, and operational excellence.

Mara is focused on building modern data and digital capabilities that enable smarter decisions, strengthen food safety and quality outcomes, and accelerate innovation. She leads strategies to leverage AI and advanced analytics to transform data into actionable insights, improve risk management, automate processes, and unlock new value across R&D and FSQRA.

Patrizia Baron, PhD

Dr. Patrizia Barone is the Regional Vice President Regulatory Science – North America, developing and executing regulatory science advocacy strategy and building regulatory science capability. Patrizia joined Unilever in 2009 and has held roles of increasing responsibility in regulatory affairs, covering North America, Global Foods & Refreshment, Global Beauty & Personal Care, and The Americas.

Prior to joining Unilever, Patrizia held various positions in Research & Development at Reckitt Benckiser, Bayer Household Products Division and Colgate-Palmolive.

Patrizia has a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Maryland College Park and a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

Isaac Wilks

Isaac Wilks is the co-founder of Human Chemical, which builds Agentic AI tools for safer chemistry. He leads product development, enterprise partnerships, and the company's work with global companies and federal agencies — including Human Chemical's research collaboration with the FDA Human Foods Program. He is a graduate of Yale University. At Human Chemical, Isaac has built the company's partnerships across sectors, including food, food packaging, and chemicals. He is also a presenter of Human Chemical's professional training on implementing agentic-AI workflows for safer products, delivered to toxicology and regulatory-science audiences (such as NURA, ACT, ACS, EUROTOX, ASCCT).

Britt Burton-Freeman, PhD

Britt Burton-Freeman, Ph.D., Professor of Food and Nutrition Science and Director of the Center for Nutrition Research (CNR), Institute for Food Safety and Health at the Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech). Dr. Burton-Freeman’s research investigates dietary strategies to address risk factors of cardio-metabolic diseases focusing on plant foods/ingredients and their unique nutritional/phytochemical attributes. Her research characterizes the polyphenol profile of various fruits and spices tracing their metabolic consequences after ingestion, including their dynamic relationship with the gut microbiome affecting local and systemic physiology and health status. Dr. Burton-Freeman also studies human variability in response to diet as part of NIH’s Nutrition for Precision Health powered by the All of Us program. Dr. Burton-Freeman is actively involved in multiple professional societies dedicated to health and disease abatement, publishes in top journals and serves on journal and advisory boards to advance nutrition and health knowledge. Dr. Burton-Freeman received her BS in Dietetics from the California State University, Chico, MS and PhD in Nutritional Biology from the University of California, Davis and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Internal Medicine at University of California, Davis. Dr. Burton-Freeman has held professional appointments in academia and the biotech industry leading research programs and teams to deliver on basic and clinical science objectives.

David Michaels

David Michaels is a Senior Account Manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS), where he serves as the dedicated account lead for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. With over 15 years of bioinformatics experience and involvement in food-borne pathogen detection solution implementations since 2010, David brings deep domain expertise to his work with FDA. He partners with FDA leadership and centers to accelerate modernization, AI/ML enablement, and workforce transformation initiatives, and works closely with FDA's HPF to deliver mission-driven outcomes on AWS.

Sujatha Dantuluri

Sujatha Dantuluri is a Senior Solutions Architect on the US Federal Civilian team at Amazon Web Services, bringing over two decades of experience delivering transformative cloud solutions for commercial enterprises and federal government agencies. She specializes in architecting mission-critical, highly available systems and partners closely with customers to accelerate their modernization journeys and achieve measurable outcomes. Her current work includes helping federal agencies harness generative AI and machine learning to drive innovation and operational efficiency.

A recognized thought leader and accomplished public speaker, Sujatha regularly shares her expertise at industry conferences and technology summits. She is an IEEE Senior Member, actively contributing to the advancement of industry standards and emerging technology practices.

More Speakers to Come