The Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS) has announced Byron Chaves, Ph.D., M.S. as the 2025 winner of its Emerging Leaders Award for Food Safety.

Dr. Chaves is an Associate Professor and Food Safety Extension Specialist at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln. He has authored more than 42 scientific publications relevant to food safety, covering topics like ingredients microbiology, Salmonella in meats, ozonated water treatment, and various techniques and models for pathogen inactivation. Dr. Chaves received a Ph.D. in Food Safety and Microbiology from Texas Tech University, as well as an M.S. in Food Safety and Experimental Statistics from Clemson University.

The annual IAFNS Emerging Leaders Awards promote excellence in the food safety and nutritional sciences. Awardees are researchers in academia, industry, or government, and are selected based on their research, communication, leadership, and collaboration skills and accomplishments.

Dr. Chaves will be awarded and present his research at the IAFNS Annual Summer Science Symposium, taking place in Washington D.C. on June 10–11, 2025.