Kylee (Chuqiao) Mai

• Investigating the impacts of red wine on human cognitive function and mental health.
• Conducting whole metagenomic sequencing analysis on human gut microbiome, including DNA extraction and statistical analysis of microbes abundance diversity, and functionality using Linux and R studio.
• Served as a liaison between faculty members and students for addressing concerns or issues related to coursework or academic policies.
• Facilitated student success by identifying areas of improvement and providing constructive feedback on assignments and exams.
• Administered coursework, graded assignments and provided constructive feedback.
• TA for the lab portion of undergraduate level Food Analysis Course

• Led Beverage, Sauces, and Syrups platform by providing formulation and technical support for scale-up production. Oversaw production procedures, parameters, and quality checkpoints. Successfully launched 19 SKUs of flavored syrups and LTO flavors for an E-Commerce site.
• Managed sugar reduction application development using rare sugars, high-intensity sweeteners, and sugar alcohols such as tagatose, allulose, stevia, and monk fruit extract. Showcased flavor and nutritional benefits in confectionary and beverages applications such as lemonade, smoothie, chocolate, breakfast cereal, and sauces.
• Performed competitive analysis in the 0-cal sweetener platform through benchmarking to identify opportunities for differentiation within the marketplace.
• Created 0-cal sweetener blend and optimized for baking & beverage with DOE. Led scale-up from benchtop to pilot plant trial and oversaw commercial production, maintaining product integrity throughout the process.
• Designed and executed consumer surveys for multiple products; analyzed sensory / consumer data to identify trends, providing valuable insights to executive team to drive business action.
• Conducted real-time and accelerated shelf-life studies for dry mix products, identifying product failure modes, and establishing success criteria.
• Created comprehensive technical reports detailing experimental results, recommendations, and next steps for project continuation or termination decisions.
• Conducted sensory evaluations in various product category to to provide valuable feedback on product performance, driving continuous improvement efforts.
• Initiated and maintained strong relationships with suppliers, ensuring access to high-quality materials for product development purposes.
• Managed raw material inventory levels for efficient utilization during product development activities.

Anthocyanin Lab

• Conducted research on sustainable extraction method (subcritical hot water) for anthocyanins from muscadine grape pomace; applied membrane technology to concentrate the aqueous anthocyanins.
• Experimented processes aimed to stabilize blackberry juice anthocyanins and conducted shelf-life study utilizing High Performance Liquid Chromatography.

Carbohydrate Lab

• Performed chemical analysis such as Kjeldahl protein analysis, amylose/amylase quantification, and DSC analysis on starch and rice samples for clients.
• Managed specimen sample handling, receiving, storage and inventory.

• Successfully developed multiple ready-to-cook and fully cooked innovation products for Target and Sam's Club.
• Assisted with project research, data collection, sample preparation, sensory evaluation, and focus group studies.
• Conducted troubleshooting of problematic products to determine issues with ingredients and processes. Implemented creative solutions to overcome challenges in the research process.