Food Safety Matters MilliporeSigma: Discussion with NIH about the Importance of Reference Materials for Dietary Supplements
Adam J. Kuszak, Ph.D., is a health scientist administrator in the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) and the director of the ODS Analytical Methods and Reference Materials (AMRM) Program. Through AMRM, he works with stakeholders involved in research, industry, and regulatory affairs to support scientific resource development and promote biomedical research on the mechanisms and health effects of dietary supplements and natural products. In addition, he provides scientific expertise and analyses to facilitate ODS initiative development, program management, strategic planning, and evaluation. Dr. Kuszak's primary research interests are elucidating the mechanisms of action and effects on cellular signaling networks of natural products and drugs and their chemical and biological characterization. He received his B.S. in pharmacology and toxicology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and his Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Michigan. He completed his postdoctoral training at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and joined the ODS as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellow in 2014.
Uma Sreenivasan is Director of Reference Materials and Workflows R&D at MilliporeSigma. MilliporeSigma is the life science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and operates as MilliporeSigma in the U.S. and Canada. Uma and her team are responsible for the development of reference materials and applications used in dietary supplement, pharmaceutical, clinical and forensic testing. Uma has a deep interest in phytochemicals and natural products chemistry with many years of experience in pharmaceutical, bio-organic, synthetic, and analytical chemistry. Since 2000, Uma has served in various research and management roles at Cerilliant Corporation, subsequently Sigma Aldrich and now MilliporeSigma. Uma obtained an undergraduate degree in Pharmacy from India followed by a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and postdoctoral training at the Mayo Clinic and the University of Texas, Austin.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters we spoke with Adam and Uma about:
- Size and growth of the dietary supplement and nutraceutical industry
- The role of the National Institute of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements in regulating dietary supplements
- MilliporeSigma's role in offering researchers and analytical labs for development
- The value of reference materials in the dietary supplement industry
- The most important considerations for designing and choosing reference materials
- Lessons learned through developing reference materials
- The desired goals for reference material development
References:
- Sigma Quality Grades
- NIH ODS website
- NIH ODS Analytical Methods and Reference Materials Program
- Efficient Analysis of Kava Extract
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