Dr. Yael Vodovotz received her Ph.D. degree from the University of Massachusetts in food science followed by a postdoctoral position at NASA as part of a joint effort between University of Houston and NASA-Johnson Space Center where she worked on various aspects of the Advanced Life Support food system as well as teaching at the University of Houston. Her NASA work continued as an Assistant Professor at Baylor Medical School, part of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute. She joined The Ohio State Department of Food Science and Technology as an Assistant Professor in 2000, and is currently a Professor. She became Center Director for the Center for Advanced Functional Foods, Research and Entrepreneurship in 2016.  Dr. Vodovotz and has been working on physico-chemical and molecular properties of foods and bioplastics and has over 80 publications. She has been working with an interdisciplinary team of researchers from Horticulture and Plant Science and Chemical and Biomplecular Engineering to advance the field of bioplastics for packaging applications. Additionally, as part The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences we collaborate with the College of Medicine, and the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center to discover methods to use foods and food components to prevent cancer or to serve as an adjuvant to traditional cancer therapies. “Crops to the Clinic” is a theme that describes our research approach and represents a unique asset of the university.