Trans Fats Replacement Solutions

Dr. Dharma R. Kodali is a Research Professor in the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering at the University of Minnesota. He received a PhD in synthetic medicinal chemistry in 1980 from Kurukshetra University, India. After a year of post-doctoral training at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, he joined Boston University as a Staff Scientist and an Assistant Professor of Biophysics for 10 years, studying structurally defined lipid synthesis, molecular packing, physical properties, and their influence on metabolism. As a principal scientist and R&D manager for 13 years at Cargill, he championed new and value-added product development from fats/oils and agricultural materials for food and industrial applications. His research group developed and commercialized a number of innovative products. He worked for a year at General Mills as a Corporate Senior Principal Scientist developing trans fat alternatives, and then started a company, Global Agritech, to provide consultation to the industry. His current research interests include development of new and value-added bioproducts for industrial applications from fats/oils and lignocellulosic biomass. A new bioplasticizers technology from soybean oils developed by his group is being commercialized. Dr. Kodali has authored or co-authored 75 publications and book chapters and co-edited the AOCS book on Trans Fats Alternatives. He is an inventor or co-inventor of more than 25 patents.

Dr. Kodali is a well-recognized expert in lipids and has given numerous invited lectures in number of international conferences. He has been an active member of the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS) and the American Chemical Society (ACS) for more than 30 years. His accomplishments include Cargill’s Chairman’s Innovation Award in 2001, the ACS’s Industrial Innovation Award in 2002, and the AOCS T.L. Mounts award in 2003. He is an elected Fellow of AOCS and the American Institute of Chemists. He is a founding member and served as chair for the Industrial Oil Products division of AOCS, and a member of the AOCS Books and Special Publications Committee.