At DF26, scientific excellence and innovation took centre stage as we recognised outstanding contributions from our dietary fibre community. The Journal of Cereal Science (JCS), published by Elsevier, proudly sponsored two “Best Speaker” and “Best Poster” awards at DF26, shining a spotlight on excellence and innovation within our community. 

Best Speaker Awardees:

• Akshay Bisht, Quadram Institute, UK: "All Carbohydrates are NOT the Same: Differential Carbohydrate Fermentation by the Gut Microbiome in Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition"
• Gitte Devriese, KU Leuven, BE: "An integrated approach for quantification of oat non-starch carbohydrates"

Sincere thanks go to the award committee, chaired by Cristina Rosell, Editor-in-Chief of JCS, for reviewing the excellent poster contributions. The selected posters demonstrate how current research is driving dietary fibre research forward.​

Best Poster Awardees:

• Xin-Yi Chai, National Taiwan University, ROC: "Fabrication of alginate-coated porous corn starch via freeze-thaw-enzymatic synergy for targeted intestinal delivery of curcumin"
• Heng Tammy Chiang, La Trobe University, AU: "Cell wall-informed engineering of intact Vicia faba seed cellular ingredients"

Best Short Oral Presentation Award, sponsored by Wiley:

Wiley, with the support of Food Science & Nutrition and Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, has kindly agreed to sponsor the DF26 Best Short Oral Presentation Award.

The award recognises an outstanding short oral presentation delivered during the DF26. 

Awardee:

• Fatma Boukid, Clonbio Group Ltd, IE: "Corn Arabinoxylans: Digestion Behaviour and Gut Microbiota Fermentation"

Warm thanks to all presenters and participants whose contributions fostered lively discussion, new ideas and international collaboration in dietary fibre. The award-winning work sets new benchmarks for our field and underlines the importance of global partnerships in research and innovation.​

We warmly congratulate the winners, whose presentations inspired and energised the audience.​

Harald Perten Prize 2026:

The Harald Perten Prize was presented at DF26 to Prof. Dr. Senay Simsek (Purdue University, US) and Dr. Sean M. Finnie (Sif Grains, LLC, US). The Prize, presented every two years, recognizes outstanding achievements in science, research, teaching, or knowledge transfer that serve cereal science and technology, with particular focus on practical applications in starch, gluten, and enzyme systems. Read more here.

Congratulations to Prof. Dr. Senay Simsek and Dr. Sean M. Finnie on their well-deserved honor!