Marina Heinonen

Marina Heinonen has a chair as Professor of Food Safety (Chemical Food Safety). Previously she has held a position as  Professor of Functional Foods for a 5-year term (2002-2007). Since 1990, she has held a teaching position in food chemistry. She earned her doctoral degree in Food Science (Food Chemistry) at the University of Helsinki in 1990 after having completed the degrees of M.S. (Food Science & Nutrition) in 1988 at the University of Rhode Island, USA and M.Sc. (Food Chemistry) in 1986 at the University of Helsinki. In 2007-2012 she has been a member of the Research Council for Biosciences and Environment at the Academy of Finland. She is serving as an evaluator for research grants at the European Research Council since 2017 and earlier also in 2010-2015. Her ongoing international activites include scientific expert membership since 2004 at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) NDA Panel and its working groups on health claims (untill 2018) and novel foods (ongoing). She was a board member of the Nordic LipidForum 1993-2013. She is the current head of the Department of Food and Nutrition (2018-) with prior experience as the vice head of the Department of Food and Environmental Sciences. Apart from carrying out scientific research she takes an active interest in expressing opinions in the public media concerning chemical food safety and health beneficial effects  of foods.

Her research interest include:

• chemical food safety: reactions in foods
• protein oxidation and protein-lipid interactions
• functional properties of  plant phenolics
• action of natural antioxidants such as phenolic compounds and carotenoids
• food composition: flavonoids, phenolic acids, carotenoids, tocopherols, tocotrienols, fat and fatty acids