Prof. Liyan Zhao obtained her bachelor's and master's degrees from the School of Food Science and Technology, Hebei Agricultural University, from 1996 to 2003; a doctoral degree from the School of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, from 2003 to 2006; was visiting scholar at Cornell University in the United States from August 2013 to January 2014; was visiting scholar at Rutgers University in the United States from January 2015 to July 2015. She is currently the head, professor, and doctoral supervisor of the Department of Food Quality and Safety at the School of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University. She is a member of the edible fungi processing team in the national edible fungi modern industry technology system. Research direction: edible mushroom processing; efficient preparation, processing characteristics, and functional activity evaluation of food functional ingredients; mechanism of flavor formation in food processing; processing of miscellaneous grains and beans; and development of healthy food.