Q&A with the new AOCS President, Doug Bibus, PhD

Doug Bibus, the new incoming AOCS President on what he hopes to accomplish as president, why he joined AOCS and how volunteering with AOCS has shaped his career.

Doug BibusDr. Bibus served as a research scientist at The University of Minnesota for more than 20 years in the field of fatty acid nutrition and their role in human and animal nutrition. Dr. Bibus currently operates Lipid Technologies, LLC. (LipidLab.com), an analytical and consulting group that focuses on fatty acid and lipid analysis as well as the integration of lipids in medicine, biotech and food applications. Dr. Bibus holds degrees in chemistry, nutrition and biochemistry from Minnesota State University and the University of Minnesota.

What do you hope to accomplish in your role as President of the Governing Board?

AOCS has a strong and wonderful history in the fats and oils industry over the past 100+ years. Our society has endured numerous challenges during its history but has always found a way through. The COVID-19 pandemic is perhaps one of our biggest challenges in our society’s history. For the upcoming year, my largest role within AOCS will be to define the impacts of COVID-19 on our society and work to minimize its impact. To date, I am happy to say that AOCS leadership and staff have worked diligently to define and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on our society. I am happy to report that AOCS will financially weather the current impact of COVID-19. We have maintained staff levels at 100% during the pandemic and maintained all services to our members. The lack of revenue from our two main meetings presents a significant challenge but the performance of our journals and technical services continues to perform well.

My additional goals for the upcoming year are to expand membership in our society’s divisions, increase overall membership (please recruit new members!) and to increase societal collaborative efforts with other societies. One silver lining of the current pandemic has been the development of our online virtual meeting platform. Following the cancellation of our in-person annual meeting, staff surveyed scheduled meeting presenters and participants if they would like to still present at a virtual event. After a strong member response supporting a virtual annual meeting, the AOCS staff has worked hard to deliver our current annual meeting in a virtual format that will premiere at the end of June. The concept of adding a virtual aspect to our annual meeting has been discussed for some time now and the advent on the pandemic has pushed this along. Our new virtual platform will not replace next year’s annual meeting in Portland, OR, but will add an additional level of participation for people who cannot attend our annual meeting due to scheduling, financial or travel obstacles. I am very excited about the implications of our virtual platform and its ability to involve many more people in our great society.

Lastly, I am honored to serve as your society’s president. If you have any comments or concerns or would like to connect please feel free to reach out to me at doug@LipidLab.com.

Describe your work and explain what big challenge or problem your work is trying to solve. How do you hope or how has AOCS helped in solving this challenge?

I have worked as a basic scientist at the University of Minnesota and now run a fatty acid analysis lab and consulting business, LipidLab.com. My research has focused on omega-3 fatty acids in health and disease states. Populational studies conducted throughout the world helped define significant differences in dietary omega 3 intakes and blood-based omega 3 status. We also conducted research to increase omega 3 content of common foods like eggs, chicken and pork, many of which are available commercially today. AOCS has always been an extremely valuable part of my academic and business life by playing a critical role in scientific knowledge and professional networking.

Why did you join AOCS?

As a young student/scientist in Dr. Ralph T. Holman’s lab at the University of Minnesota, I had little knowledge of AOCS. Dr. Holman called me into his office and strongly encouraged me to become a student member of AOCS and to submit a paper to AOCS’s annual meeting. My first time attending an annual meeting for AOCS was in 1994 in Atlanta. I was also thrilled to have received the honored student award that year. I presented a lecture on fatty acid analysis and data from a clinical population from the Mayo Clinic.

After my presentation, I was critically questioned by Dr. Gary Nelson. I was a bit taken back, but Dr. Nelson’s comments inspired me to learn more. I later bought one of his fatty acid analysis books from AOCS Press. His book answered a number of questions that had been plaguing me regarding fatty acid analysis at that time. Gary’s book has served as one of the cornerstones of my lipid and fatty acid analysis throughout my career and Gary and I became lifelong friends. His well-used book still sits on the laboratories shelf.

At the Atlanta meeting, I also met Dr. Maria Makrides and Dr. Claus Becker, who were both honored students. Maria and Claus have been lifelong friends ever since! So with some prodding from Dr. Holman, a presentation and an investment of four days at the AOCS annual meeting, I came away with a number of lifelong friends, answers to burning fatty acid analysis questions and a link to a great organization that has fueled a number of professional and personal achievements over the past twenty five years.

How has volunteering with AOCS shaped your career? How has AOCS impacted your career?

Volunteering with AOCS has been an absolute pleasure over the past ~20 years. I have had the luxury of interacting with many wonderful and talented people, many of whom I now consider valued friends. I have been privy to multiple leadership teams with AOCS and gained a lot of functional knowledge on how organizations like AOCS operate. Involvement with AOCS and attending its annual meeting on a regular basis has provided me with countless friends, knowledge and business/scientific opportunities.


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