Susan Lynn Hefle
Encyclopedia
Susan Lynn Hefle was an American
food scientist
who specialized in food allergens
, specifically their detection and safety.
, she earned all three of her degrees at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
(B.S. - Microbiology
, M.S. - Food safety
, and Ph.D. - Food toxicology
/immunology
/allergy
), then did her post-doctoral work in the allergy section at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Medical School before accepting a position as a Research Assistant Professor of Food Science and Technology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1995.
and extension
to the food
industry. Considered an expert on food allergies
and food allergens, she earned two patents for analytical methods on aflatoxin
detection and her research led to the development of commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA
) for detecting any residual allergen foods that could contaminate other foods and created ELISAs for detecting peanut
, egg
, almond
, walnut
, and milk
products. She authored or co-authored over 130 peer-reviewed publications and earned two patents as a result of her efforts.
Hefle was active in several professional organizations. She received the Institute of Food Technologists
(IFT) Samuel Cate Prescott Award
in 2000 and was named an IFT Fellow in 2004. In 1999, Hefle was given the University of Nebraska's Institute of Agricultural and Natural Resources Dinsdale Family Faculty Award and earned the Marie Kelso Speaker Award from the candy
and confectionery
industries. Hefle also was named fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology
in 2003.
As a member of IFT, Hefle was active in leadership role in the organization's Biotechnology, and Toxicology & Safety Evaluation divisions, was a Scientific Lecturer, a member of the Biotechnology
Issues Task Force, and a Council Representative
to the IFT Executive Committee.
rider and racer, competing since the early 1990s in road
and track cycling
events. Becoming a cycling judge in 1991, she advanced to the rank of national commissaire
in 2006. Hefle was one of only 19 women to ever attain this honor in the United States
and one of only 50 overall to do so. The United States has a total of 1500 cycling officials in this country as of 2006. In the mid-1990s, she founded American Bicycle Racing (ABR) in Tinley Park, Illinois
in order to bring out more grass roots cycling and support to junior and master-level riders that USA Cycling was neglecting. Hefle worked as its technical director until her death in 2006.
on September 14, 2006. IFT had an "In Memoriam" article on her in their October 2006 Food Technology magazine. An additional tribute was done to her in the October/ November 2006 issue of Food Safety magazine. The Toxicology & Safety Evaluation Division of IFT has their student division competition named in her honor, a tradition that started in 2007.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
food scientist
Food science
Food science is a study concerned with all technical aspects of foods, beginning with harvesting or slaughtering, and ending with its cooking and consumption, an ideology commonly referred to as "from field to fork"...
who specialized in food allergens
Food allergy
A food allergy is an adverse immune response to a food protein. They are distinct from other adverse responses to food, such as food intolerance, pharmacological reactions, and toxin-mediated reactions....
, specifically their detection and safety.
Early life
A native of Grafton, WisconsinGrafton, Wisconsin
Grafton is a village in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 10,312 at the 2000 census. The village is adjacent to the Town of Grafton and the City of Cedarburg.-History:...
, she earned all three of her degrees at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
(B.S. - Microbiology
Microbiology
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...
, M.S. - Food safety
Food safety
Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. This includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potentially severe health hazards....
, and Ph.D. - Food toxicology
Toxicology
Toxicology is a branch of biology, chemistry, and medicine concerned with the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms...
/immunology
Immunology
Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders ; the...
/allergy
Allergy
An Allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system. Allergic reactions occur when a person's immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in the environment. A substance that causes a reaction is called an allergen. These reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid...
), then did her post-doctoral work in the allergy section at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Medical School before accepting a position as a Research Assistant Professor of Food Science and Technology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1995.
Research and teaching career
At Nebraska, she founded the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program (FARRP) in 1995 and served as its codirector until her 2006 death. During that time, Hefle performed researchResearch
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
and extension
Continuing education
Continuing education is an all-encompassing term within a broad spectrum of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada...
to the food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
industry. Considered an expert on food allergies
Food allergy
A food allergy is an adverse immune response to a food protein. They are distinct from other adverse responses to food, such as food intolerance, pharmacological reactions, and toxin-mediated reactions....
and food allergens, she earned two patents for analytical methods on aflatoxin
Aflatoxin
Aflatoxins are naturally occurring mycotoxins that are produced by many species of Aspergillus, a fungus, the most notable ones being Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. Aflatoxins are toxic and among the most carcinogenic substances known...
detection and her research led to the development of commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA
ELISA
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay , is a popular format of a "wet-lab" type analytic biochemistry assay that uses one sub-type of heterogeneous, solid-phase enzyme immunoassay to detect the presence of a substance in a liquid sample."Wet lab" analytic biochemistry assays involves detection of an...
) for detecting any residual allergen foods that could contaminate other foods and created ELISAs for detecting peanut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
, egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
, almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
, walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
, and milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
products. She authored or co-authored over 130 peer-reviewed publications and earned two patents as a result of her efforts.
Hefle was active in several professional organizations. She received the Institute of Food Technologists
Institute of Food Technologists
The Institute of Food Technologists or IFT is an international, non-profit professional organization for the advancement of food science and technology. It is the largest of food science organizations in the world, encompassing 22,000 members worldwide as of 2006. It is referred to as "THE Society...
(IFT) Samuel Cate Prescott Award
Samuel Cate Prescott Award
The Samuel Cate Prescott Award has been awarded since 1964 by the Institute of Food Technologists in Chicago, Illinois. It is awarded to food science or technology researchers who are under 36 years of age or who earned their highest degree within ten years before July 1 of the year the award is...
in 2000 and was named an IFT Fellow in 2004. In 1999, Hefle was given the University of Nebraska's Institute of Agricultural and Natural Resources Dinsdale Family Faculty Award and earned the Marie Kelso Speaker Award from the candy
Candy
Candy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added...
and confectionery
Confectionery
Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...
industries. Hefle also was named fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology
The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Founded in 1943, the AAAAI is a professional medical membership organization of nearly 6,500 allergist/immunologists and related professionals around the world with advanced training and experience in allergy, asthma and other immunologic diseases...
in 2003.
As a member of IFT, Hefle was active in leadership role in the organization's Biotechnology, and Toxicology & Safety Evaluation divisions, was a Scientific Lecturer, a member of the Biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
Issues Task Force, and a Council Representative
Representation (politics)
In politics, representation describes how some individuals stand in for others or a group of others, for a certain time period. Representation usually refers to representative democracies, where elected officials nominally speak for their constituents in the legislature...
to the IFT Executive Committee.
Personal life
Hefle was an avid cyclingCycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
rider and racer, competing since the early 1990s in road
Road bicycle racing
Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...
and track cycling
Track cycling
Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using track bicycles....
events. Becoming a cycling judge in 1991, she advanced to the rank of national commissaire
Commissaire (cycling)
A commissaire is an official in competitive cycling, usually seen with a copy of the racing rules, a stopwatch and a clipboard. Commissaires are similar to judges or referees in other sports — a commissaire is the person in charge of the race and the Chief Commissaire has the power to shut...
in 2006. Hefle was one of only 19 women to ever attain this honor in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and one of only 50 overall to do so. The United States has a total of 1500 cycling officials in this country as of 2006. In the mid-1990s, she founded American Bicycle Racing (ABR) in Tinley Park, Illinois
Tinley Park, Illinois
Tinley Park is a village located primarily in Cook County, Illinois, United States with a small portion in Will County. The population was 48,401 at the 2000 census, and 58,322 in the 2007 census. It is one of the fastest growing suburbs south of Chicago...
in order to bring out more grass roots cycling and support to junior and master-level riders that USA Cycling was neglecting. Hefle worked as its technical director until her death in 2006.
Death
Hefle died of cancer on August 30, 2006. A memorial was held in her honor in Lincoln, NebraskaLincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
on September 14, 2006. IFT had an "In Memoriam" article on her in their October 2006 Food Technology magazine. An additional tribute was done to her in the October/ November 2006 issue of Food Safety magazine. The Toxicology & Safety Evaluation Division of IFT has their student division competition named in her honor, a tradition that started in 2007.