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MaryAnne Drake, PhD, is an internationally recognized expert in dairy flavor. She has been at North Carolina State University since 2001 where she is currently a William Neal Reynolds Professor, and Director of the Sensory Service Center, and Director of the Southeast Dairy Foods Research Center (SDFRC).

Research in her program is focused on sensory analysis and flavor chemistry of dairy products and ingredients, how flavor varies with processing and storage and how these parameters relate to consumer perception. Qualitative market research, descriptive analysis, consumer testing, and preference mapping are all used. Instrumental analysis techniques including gas chromatography/olfactometry, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and liquid chromatography and are used to relate sensory properties to the chemical components of foods.  Fundamental research on methods development is conducted as well as the application of these techniques to solve industrially relevant problems.

MaryAnne has a BS in Biology from Central Washington and earned a MSMass spectrometry and PhD in Food Science from Washington State University.