Foods Webinar | Functional Foods for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
19 March 2026
Welcome from the Chair
Good evening everyone,
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to today’s MDPI webinar entitled "Functional Foods for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention".
Functional foods have gained significant attention in recent years, not only within the scientific community but also in industry, policy, and public health practice. As the global burden of non-communicable diseases continues to rise, there is increasing interest in understanding how food-based strategies can contribute to prevention, health optimisation, and healthy ageing. Today’s webinar offers an important opportunity to explore the scientific foundations, emerging evidence, and translational implications of functional foods in promoting population health.
Webinars such as this provide a valuable platform for interdisciplinary dialogue, bringing together researchers, clinicians, industry professionals, and policy stakeholders. They allow us to critically examine current evidence, identify research gaps, and consider how innovation in food science can be responsibly translated into real-world health impact.
We are delighted to have our speakers with us today, who will share insights into this timely and rapidly evolving field. The presentation will last approximately 90 minutes, followed by a Q&A session. I encourage you to submit your questions via the chat function throughout the presentation.
Without further ado, it is my pleasure to introduce our speakers.
Date: 19 March 2026
Time: 12:30 (CET) | 19:30 (CST Asia) | 07:30 (EDT)
Webinar ID: 815 5014 6953
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Registration
This is a FREE webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar.
Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.
Certificates of attendance will be delivered to those who attend the live webinar.
Can't attend? Register anyway and we'll let you know when the recording is available to watch.
Event Chair
Centre for Public Health and Wellbeing, School of Health and Social Wellbeing, College of Health, Science and Society, University of the West of England, Bristol.
Dr Zheng Feei Ma is a Senior Lecturer in Public Health at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), UK. His research focuses on nutrition, functional foods, and public health, with particular interests in micronutrients (iodine), gut health, cognitive ageing, and the role of diet in non-communicable disease prevention. Dr Ma has an extensive international academic profile and collaborates widely across the UK, Europe, and Asia. He is actively involved in research, knowledge exchange, and interdisciplinary initiatives that bridge nutrition science and public health practice.
Keynote Speakers
Bioactive Potential of the Natural Pigments: Betalains
Associate Professor Wee Sim Choo is currently working at the School of Science, Monash University Malaysia. She has been awarded three PVC Awards for Excellence in Teaching (2010-2011) and one PVC Commendation for Excellence in Education - Innovations in Teaching (2020). She also received the PVC Commendation for Excellence in Research – Postgraduate Supervision in 2024, Most Popular Supervisor in Monash University Malaysia and Supervisor of the Year of the School of Science awards in 2022 from the Monash University Postgraduate Association (MUPA). She was an Outstanding Nominee for the Best Supervisor of the Year Award in 2018. Her current research interests focus on functional foods, which are foods that potentially offer health benefits beyond basic nutrition. Her work focuses on the extraction and application of bioactive compounds from food sources, phytochemicals, probiotics, and prebiotics. She is investigating and pioneering work on the various bioactivities of natural-colored pigments, such as betalains and anthocyanins. She serves as an Associate Editor for Sustainable Food Processing (a specialty section of Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems), an editorial board member of the International Journal of Food Science and Technology, and an editorial advisory board member of ACS Food Science and Technology. She is a member of the 2025-2030 Food Ingredients Expert Committee at the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and has been on Stanford University's list of the World's Top 2% Scientists for 2024 and 2025.
Centre for Public Health and Wellbeing, School of Health and Social Wellbeing, College of Health, Science and Society, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
Probiotics and Functional Foods in Promoting Cognitive Health During Ageing
Dr Zheng Feei Ma is a Senior Lecturer in Public Health at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), UK. His research focuses on nutrition, functional foods, and public health, with particular interests in micronutrients (iodine), gut health, cognitive ageing, and the role of diet in non-communicable disease prevention. Dr Ma has an extensive international academic profile and collaborates widely across the UK, Europe, and Asia. He is actively involved in research, knowledge exchange, and interdisciplinary initiatives that bridge nutrition science and public health practice.
Programme
|
Speaker/Presentation |
Time in CST Asia |
Time in CET |
|
Foods Journal Introduction |
7:30–7:40pm |
12:30–12:40pm |
|
Dr. Zheng Feei Ma Webinar Opening + Relevant Special Issue Introduction |
7:40–7:50 pm |
12:40–12:50 pm |
|
Dr. Wee Sim Choo Bioactive Potential of the Natural Pigments: Betalains |
7:50–8.10 pm |
12:50–1:10 pm |
|
Dr. Zheng Feei Ma Probiotics and Functional Foods in Promoting Cognitive Health During Ageing |
8:10–8:30 pm |
1:10–1:30 pm |
|
Q&A |
8:30–8:45 pm |
1:30–1:45 pm |
|
Dr. Zheng Feei Ma Closing of Webinar |
8:45–8:50 pm |
1:45–1:50 pm |
Relevant Special Issue
"Functional Foods for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention"
Edited by Dr. Zheng Feei Ma, Dr. Iain A. Brownlee and Prof. Dr. Caili Fu
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 April 2026
Sponsors and Partners
Organizers
