Professional Staff

At NOW Foods, we have the best professional staff to ensure the highest quality products available. Our team of highly qualified scientists and technicians has many years’ of combined experience in the natural products industry, and in other relevant industries. We have many professional disciplines, including chemists, biochemists, nutritionists, food technologists, and product formulators.

Our team of scientists includes many with advanced degrees, including eight Ph.D.'s and two M.D.s. We also work with respected industry consultants. All of our lab chemists are degreed and many of our experienced product formulation and quality control staff have professional qualifications which set them apart from their industry colleagues. Some of our scientists and nutritionists have published NOW’s analytical methods, and other natural product science, in scientific and technical journals. Our scientists and nutritionists have given presentations on their work at scientific and technical conferences.

To further our commitment to our customers, we have a team of nutritionists available to answer your product use questions.

Dr. Michael Lelah, Technical Director
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Responsible for: Quality, R&D, Nutrition and Science, Regulatory and Advocacy at NOW Foods

Member: President, Natural Health Research Institute (NHRI). Member Natural Products Association (NPA) ComPli Committee, Member, Board of Trustees, American Herbal products Association (AHPA). Board Member, Natural Products Association – China.

Areas of Interest: Doing what I can to ensure the best possible quality natural supplements and products. Advocating for health choices through prevention and nutrition and supporting the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA)

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Here are some of our Professional and Technical Staff. We have chemists, food technologists, nutritionists, biochemists, microbiologists; some with Ph.D. degrees, an M.D., many M.S. degreed, and many B.S. educated and trained. Our staff comes with many years experience in developing and testing natural products, and with professional expertise in quality control, quality assurance, product formulation, product development, pharmaceutical testing and many other disciplines. It takes this whole range of training and skills to truly ensure the highest quality of our products.

Meet Our Nutritionists

Certified Nutritionists (C.N.™) and Certified Clinical Nutritionists (C.C.N.) complete extensive training in nutritional science. They must meet rigorous testing standards to earn these credentials. They are all experienced at being able to answer questions from the public, retailers, and practitioners about the features, benefits, and uses of our products. Our nutritionists are not licensed to provide individual nutritional counseling. They do not offer nutrition assessments or restorative care. They do not charge a fee for the information that they provide.

Neil Levin, Nutritional Education Manager
Certified Clinical Nutritionist with Diplomate in Advanced Nutritional Laboratory Assessment, International and American Associations of Clinical Nutritionists

Responsible for: External Affairs Department manager; providing product information for NOW Foods’ retailers, consumers, physicians, and sales staff; training of NOW and retail employees; public lectures and trade show presentations; review of label claims and promotional materials; new product formulation and development; product improvements/changes; Truth Advocate to address inaccurate science and media reports and protect consumer rights; interacting with industry organizations.

Memberships: International and American Associations of Clinical Nutritionists; Scientific Council of the Clinical Nutrition Certification Board; American Nutrition Association (director, past president); Public Relations Committee of the American Herbal Products Association; Technical Advisory Board of the Non-GMO Project; Natural Products Association-Midwest region (director).

Areas of Interest: Promoting natural products and their uses; supporting the natural products industry through memberships in organizations; defending natural products against false media and scientific reports; organic food and natural living; vegetarian diet; blogging (www.honestnutrition.com)

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Nick Rana, Certified Nutritionist
Graduate, National Institute of Nutritional Education
Certified Nutritionist, American Health Science University

Responsible for: Providing product information for NOW Foods’ retailers, consumers, physicians, and sales staff. Product development, research and formulation, including researching new raw materials.

Memberships:
National Association of Nutrition Professionals

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Allen Studzinski, Certified Nutritionist
Bachelor of Science, University of Illinois-Chicago
Certified Nutritionist, American Health Science University

Responsible for: Providing product information for NOW Foods’ retailers, consumers, physicians, and sales staff.

Areas of Interest: Being part of a science-based company dedicated to making available products founded on solid scientific principles. Having the opportunity on a daily basis to interact with so many customers, and to be part of NOW’s mission to provide value in products and services to help empower people to lead healthier lives.

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Priti Gandhi, Certified Nutritionist
Bachelor of Science in Nutrition, Benedictine University
Certified Nutritionist, American Health Science University

Responsible for: Providing product information for NOW Foods’ retailers, consumers, physicians, and sales staff.

Areas of Interest: Helping others make healthier food choices and find products that lead to their well-being.

Larry DeSantis, CH, CN
Certified Nutritionist, American Health Science University
Chartered Herbalist since 2000

Responsible for: Providing product information for NOW Foods’ retailers, consumers, physicians, and sales staff.

Areas of Interest: Studying Nutrition and Herbology since 1983; employed by the Fruitful Yield health food stores from 1995 to 1998; started working for Now 1998; I believe in natural health wholeheartedly.