Elvira De Mejia
Assistant Professor
Professor
The Institute for Genomic Biology
United States of America
Biography
Dr. Elvira de Mejia has a B.S. degree in Biochemical Engineering from the National Polytechnic Institute (Mexico), M.S. degree in Food Science and Technology from the University of California, Davis and Ph.D. in Plant Biotechnology from the National Polytechnic Institute (Mexico). Dr. de Mejia joined the UIUC faculty in 2002. Dr. de Mejia has published over 110 peer-reviewed publications, over 100 scientific presentations on the areas of Food Science, Food Toxicology, and Chemoprevention at different national and international scientific meetings. She has served as: member of the National Committee for Food Regulations (Mexico); member of scientific evaluation committee of the National Council on Science and Technology (CONACYT, Mexico); President of the Association of Food Technologists (IFT Regional Mexican Chapter, Central Mexico); Advisor on Food Safety for the Mexican Department of Health; Mentor of students and promoter of science among the general public for the National Academy of Science (Mexico); Organizing Committee Member on Trilateral technical summits on "Food Safety in North America" (US-Mexico and Canada); Mentor of the International Intercampus Program (Mexico-Spain); Head and co-founder of several programs in Food Engineering and Food Science in different Universities in Latin America including the Doctoral program in Food Science in the central part of Mexico (PROPAC) where she implemented a vigorous educational and research program in Food Toxicology. She has served as major Professor of more than 30 graduate students at the Master and Doctoral levels, and 25 undergraduate students who have published their thesis in the area of Food Science, particularly Food Toxicology. She has received funding from industry and local and federal government sources, as well as UC-Mexus, Allen Foundation, OAS, AID, and USDA. She believes that "being a scientist and a teacher are one of the best vocations of the world and it is great to leave a legacy of motivated and educated people."
Research Interest
Food Science
Publications
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Johnson, J. L. Gonzalez de Mejia, E. (2013). Flavonoid apigenin modified gene expression associated with inflammation and cancer and induced apoptosis in BxPC-3 human pancreatic cancer cells through inhibition of GSK-3β/NF-κB signaling cascade. Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 57(12):2112-2127.
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Dia, V.P., Bringe, N., Gonzalez de Mejia, E. (2014). Peptides in pepsin-pancreatin hydrolysates in commercially available soy products that inhibit lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in macrophages. Food Chem. 152: 423–431.
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Montoya-Rodríguez, A., González de Mejía, E., Dia, V. P., Reyes-Moreno, C., Milán-Carrillo, J. (2014). Extrusion improved the anti-inflammatory effect of amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) hydrolysates in LPS-induced human THP-1 macrophage-like and mouse RAW 264.7 macrophages by preventing activation of NF-κB signaling. Mol. Nutr. Food Res. DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.201300764.
