Biography of Dr. Mir Nazrul Islam

Mir Nazrul Islam, Ph.D.

Dr. Mir Nazrul Islam was born in Barisal, Bangladesh and he received his M.Sc. degree in Biochemistry and Nutrition from Dhaka University. Under the sponsorship of Ford Foundation in 1969, he enrolled in the Department of Food Science at Louisiana State University from which he received his M.S. in 1971 and Ph.D. in 1972 respectively. In recognition of his academic excellence at LSU, he was awarded the honorary citizenship and the key of the city of Baton Rouge in 1972 by the Mayor President. After teaching at Southern University for about two years, in September 1974 he joined University of Delaware as Assistant Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition.

Initially at Delaware, Dr. Islam´s research focus was primarily food chemistry with an emphasis on food preservation. After his promotion to Associate Professor in 1979, he developed a strong interest in food technology education, research and extension activities in Latin America. Under the sponsorship of organizations such as USAID, NSF, Fulbright, and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) he has carried out professional assignments in Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, India, Ireland, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Puerto Rico. He was promoted to full Professor in 1988 and since then maintained a strong research interest in nutraceuticals from tropical fruits, herbs and spices.

Dr. Islam took an early retirement from the University of Delaware and as of February, 2011 he has been teaching nutrition as an Adjunct Professor of Florida State University- Panama campus. In addition, beginning July, 2012 Dr. Islam assumed the position of Director of Research at the Universidad Interamericana de Panama which is affiliated with the Laureate International Universities (www.laureate.net). He has 80 professional publications/presentations and 1 U.S. Patent. Dr. Islam is on the Advisory Board of Integrative Food, Nutrition and Metabolism and the Electronic Journal of Environmental, Agricultural and Food Chemistry. His leadership roles include serving as Chairman of the Asian American & Pacific Islander Caucus at the University of Delaware, President of the Delaware - Panama Partners of the Americas. , and the Home Owners Association of the Villas of Palm Beach. FL. He was appointed as a member of the Florida Dietetics and Nutrition Practice Council, for a 4-year term beginning September, 2010. He is fluent in English, Spanish and Bengali, with a reasonable command over Portuguese, Hindi, Urdu and Arabic.

Dr. Islam, a widower, has two sons; Jimmy and Mansoor Islam. Both graduated from the University of Delaware and are employed in the banking sector in Delaware.