Kelsey Harmon

Kelsey Harmon has a wide range of experience in the food and research industry. In 2017, they worked as a R&D Project Manager and Research and Development Scientist at Jeneil Biotech, Inc., where they conducted hands-on evaluation and development in the R&D lab, recognized problems, gathered and interpreted data to find creative solutions, and created a broad range of flavors. Kelsey also worked as a Food Scientist II at Dairy Farmers of America and as a Technical Judge at the American Cheese Society 2017 Competition. In 2015, they were a Graduate Research Assistant at Iowa State University, where they evaluated probiotics and worked on their thesis, "Evaluating the effectiveness of select bacteria against Clostridium difficile". Kelsey also served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, Food Science Graduate Admissions & Recruitment Committee Graduate Representative, Trained Sensory Panelist, and Student Laboratory Assistant at Iowa State University. In 2014, they were a Community Worker, Snap-Ed at the University of Illinois Extension Nutrition Education Program. In 2010, they were a Customer Service Assistant at the University of Illinois Campus Recreation. Finally, in 2013, they were a Research Assistant-UNL Research Program at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, where they worked on characterizing a non-digestible carbohydrate, mannan oligosaccharide, as a prebiotic.

Kelsey Harmon obtained a Master's Degree in Food Science and Technology from Iowa State University between 2015 and 2017. Prior to that, they obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Food Science with a Chemistry Minor from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign between 2010 and 2014. Additionally, they obtained a Bio-hazard Level 2 Lab Training certification from Iowa State University Enviroment Health and Safety in January 2016, and an Illinois Nutrition Education Certification for INEP from the University of Illinois Extension in September 2014.