Eric
Decker
Professor and Fergus Clydesdale Endowed Chair Department of Food Science
University of Massachusetts
Eric Decker received his B.S. degree in Biology from Penn State University
in 1982, his M.S. from the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition,
Washington State University in 1985 and his Ph.D from the Department of
Food Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1988 where
he was a USDA National Needs Fellow. Dr. Decker was an Assistant Professor
in the Food Science Section of the Department of Animal Sciences at the
University of Kentucky from 1988 to 1993 after which he joined the Department
of Food Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst as an Associate
Professor in Food Chemistry. He was named the Fergus Clydesdale Endowed
Chair in 2002.
Dr. Decker has been actively conducting research to characterize mechanistic
by which lipids oxidize in heterogeneous food systems including emulsions
and muscle foods. He has also been active in research in the development
of technologies to maximize the concentrations and stability of bioactive
lipids in processed. In addition, Dr. Decker has actively collaborated
with other scientists to investigate the role of antioxidants, lipids
and lipid oxidation products in the molecular basis of disease.
Dr. Decker has published over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles, reviews,
and book chapters and he has co-edited 3 books. His research has been
recognized by the Agriculture and Food Chemistry Division of the American
Chemical Society's Young Scientist Award, the International Life Science
Institute's Future Leader Award, the American Meat Science Association's
Achievement Award and Institute of Food Technologist's Samuel Cate Prescott
Award.