Prof. Mladen Boban was awarded his medical doctor and Ph.D. degree at the University of Zagreb, and did his postdoctoral fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin, USA. He has been a head of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Split School of Medicine since 1997, and served as a dean and a vice-dean. In the last 13 years focus of his scientific interest is mostly on the biological effects of wine and its derivatives. Currently, his funded project focuses on the influence of vinification technology, dealcoholisation and aging on different biological effects of wine, both in vivo and in vitro. Prof. Boban was the Croatian delegate to the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) and President of the Commission “Safety and Health” from 2009 -2012. Currently, prof. Boban is president of the Croatian Pharmacological Society.
Prof. Dr. Monika Christmann, (PhD, MSc,) is an oenologist and head of the Institute for Oenology at the Hochschule Geisenheim University since 1994. Before she worked in different positions in German and Californian Wineries.
For more than 30 years she is deeply involved in the work of the International Organization for Vine and Wine. (OIV), where she has held positions as president and vice-president of the Technology expert group, the Oenology Commission and the OIV. Since 2021 she is an “Honorary President of the OIV”. Her positions has afforded her opportunities to act as an expert and speaker for a variety of national and international conferences. She is on the scientific board for the German Ministry for Agriculture and the German Wine Academy .Also, she lectures for various lifelong learning programs on a national and international level. Her research work is focused in the areas of allergens and additives, as well as new oenological technologies. She has presented at numerous conferences, published peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed papers.
Wine Information Council (WIC) Scientific Coordinator
Ursula Fradera is a dietitian/nutritionist and scientific coordinator of the Wine Information Council, where she is dealing with scientific affairs, coordinating scientific meetings and seminars and maintaining a scientific database on lifestyle, diet, wine and health. Her goal is to provide the best scientific evidence in a balanced manner.
At the OIV (International Organisation of Vine Wine), she serves as expert for the Commission IV “Safety and Health”. She also attends international conferences and meetings as a speaker. For the last 25 years, she was science manager at the Deutsche Weinakademie (DWA), where she was responsible for all scientific aspects, media relations, organising seminars for health and wine professionals, maintaining a scientific database and implementing the Wine in Moderation programme at national level.
Previously, she was in charge of implementing public health nutrition programmes in Vancouver, Canada, and a lecturer in Human Nutrition at the University of B.C., Canada.
Professor Ramon Estruch is Senior Consultant at the Internal Medicine Department of the Hospital Clinic (Barcelona) since 2002. He is also Associate Professor at the Barcelona University since 1996, Member of the Board of Directors of the CIBER Obesity and Nutrition, Institute of Health “Carlos III”, Government of Spain.
The main research lines developed are the following: 1) Cardiovascular effects of Mediterranean diet 2) Effects of olive oil in cardiovascular risk factors, and oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers related to atherosclerosis; 3) Mechanisms of the effects of moderate wine and beer intake: Effects on the expression and function of cellular and endothelial adhesion molecules related to development of atherosclerosis; 4) Effects of chronic alcohol consumption on heart, liver and brain; and 5) Effects Mediterranean life style on health.
In the last years, his group has received grants from the European Commission, National Institute of Health (NIH and NIAAA) from USA, CICYT, Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agroalimentaria (INIA) del Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS) and Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII). In addition, Prof. Estruch is the leader of the Thematic Network “Mediterranean Diet and Cardiovascular Disease” from the ISCIII.
Thirty years ago we started a research program on the toxic effect of alcohol on cardiovascular (N Engl J Med 1989, Ann Intern Med 1994; JAMA 1995, Arch Inter Med 1995) and central nervous systems (Arch NeUrol.1995; Ann Neurol.1997). At 1994, a new research program on effects of key foods (alcoholic beverages) on atherosclerosis started. First, we analyzed the effects of alcoholic beverages on adhesion molecules related with the development of atherosclerosis (Alcohol Clin Exp Res 1998 and 1999; Thromb Haemost 2002). Moderate consumption of red wine reduces serum inflammatory markers related to atherosclerosis (Atherosclerosis 2004), ex-vivo adhesion of human monocytes on an endothelial line (Am J Clin Nutr 2004) and oxidative stress parameters (Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2010). He also has analyzed the effects of beer intake in classical and novel cardiovascular risk factors (J Nutr 2013, Atherosclerosis 2014, Nutr Metan Cardiovasc Dis. 2014). In addition, in 2003, we have started an ambitious study (PREDIMEDThe PREDIMED study is one of the few randomized controlled trials about the Mediterranean Diet. More...) to evaluate the effects of a Mediterranean Diet and its main components on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in high-risk patients, which have enrolled near 7.500 patients. The study finished at the end of 2011 and their main results have been published in top journals, including New England Journal of Medicina (2013), JAMA (2014), Ann Intern Med (2006,2014,2017), Circulation (2015,2017), Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol (2016), JAMA Intern Med (2014,2015), JAMA Ophtalmol (2016,2017), Arch Intern Med (2007, 2008), Am J Clin Nutr (2009, 2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2917), J Nutr (2010,2011,2012,2013, 2014,2015,2016,2017), JACC (2017), Diabetes Care (2011,2012,2013,2014,2015) and PloS One (2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015). He has published more than 400 manuscripts in peer-review Journals. Actually, he is member of the Steering Committee of the PREDIMEDThe PREDIMED study is one of the few randomized controlled trials about the Mediterranean Diet. More... PLUS, a new intervention trial that aims to evaluate the effects of a hypocaloric Mediterranean diet, plus an active exercise program and behavioral strategy on body weight, adiposity parameters and cardiovascular events in near 7,000 patients diagnosed of metabolic syndrome.
All these studies are being performed in collaboration with foreign universities such as: Columbia University in New York, Loma Linda University in California, Harvard School of Public Health in Massachusetts, Human Nutrition Research Centre in Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA and Mario Negri Sud, Santa Maria d’Imbaro, Italy.
Dr Creina Stockley, (PhD, MSc, MBA,) is a clinical pharmacologist. For 28 years was Manager – Health and Regulatory Information at The Australian Wine Research Institute. She is currently Adjunct Senior Lecturer at The University of Adelaide and Principal – Stockley Health & Regulatory Solutions. In addition, she is an Australian government delegate to the Organisation de la Vigne et du Vin (OIV) where she has held positions of Vice-President and acting President of the Nutrition and Wine expert group, President of the Food Safety expert group, and President and Vice-president of Commission IV Safety and Health. Her current and previous positions have afforded her opportunities to act as an independent expert for a variety of national and international governmental health and safety forums in the areas of allergens and additives, as well as being actively involved in research related to the effects of moderate wine consumption on human health (cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer and dementia). She has presented at over 110 conferences, published over 65 peer-reviewed papers, 85 non-peer-reviewed papers, 11 book chapters and was guest editor of three journals, and has conducted over 75 media interviews.
Enologist from the Pharmacy Faculty of Montpellier in 1989 and Doctor of the University Montpellier 1, he was in 1993 and 1994 Doctor associate of the University of California, Davis – USA in the department of Enology and Viticulture. Pierre-Louis TEISSEDRE is Full Professor in the Institute of Vines and Wines Sciences (ISVV) of the University of Bordeaux and was Adjunct Director of the UMR 1219 Œnologie INRA (Mixed Research Unit) with the responsibility of the Oenopro Group; actually he is directing the applied Chemistry Laboratory of the USC 1366 Oenologie. Pierre-Louis TEISSEDRE is expert in the group of Technology and is the Scientific Secretary of the Commission «Safety and Health» of the International Wines and Vines Organization (OIV). He is the Director of Oenoviti international network (55 partners) and Head of the National Oenologist Diploma, Master Erasmus Mundus Wintour as well as Foreign Office in ISVV. He is Rector of the French National Oenologist Union and specialized in the research field of grapes and wines phenolic compounds: qualitative, sensorial and physiological, analytical chemistry of grape and wine, wine quality during winemaking and ageing, food safety (contaminants) and health in the science of oenology. He developed a lot of scientific collaborations at industrial and academic levels. He is author of more than 300 publications and communications in international journals with peer reviews and is co-inventor of 11 patents.
Research Topics: Grapes and wine winemaking and quality, Processing aids and additives in Oenology, Nutrition and Analytical Chemistry in Oenology, Sensorial aspects of tannins, Food Safety, Physiological effects on Human Health of phenolics and minerals compounds from wines, grapes and fruits.
Teaching topics: Wine quality, Tasting, Composition and winemaking (Grapes-Wines) – Special Winemaking, Derivates and sub-products of grapes and wines, Analytical chemistry of musts and wines, Food Safety, Wine and Health, PolyphenolsPolyphenols are mainly phytochemicals found abundantly in natural plant food sources. The most impor..., Wine ageing.
Nicolai Worm studied “Nutritional Sciences” at the University of Munich. He then joined the Institute of Social Medicine, Prevention and Rehabilitation in Tutzing (Germany) as research fellow and managed an EU-project. In 1993, he received his PhD in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Giessen. He is currently professor at the DHfPG.
For more than 25 years, Dr. Worm has been working as a scientific consultant for various institutions. Since 1995 he is affiliated with the German Wine Institute and a member of the scientific board of the Deutsche Weinakademie. For several years, he also served as a German delegate in the expert group “Nutrition and Wine” at the OIV.
Dr. Worm is well known for his public appearances on German TV, Radio and Print and as an author of various bestselling books. In 1997, he won the OIV award for the best book worldwide on “Wine and Health” entitled Daily wine.
Prof. Rosa M Lamuela-Raventós has a Ph.D. in Pharmacy.
She is the Director of the Institute for Research on Nutrition and Food Safety (INSA-UB) since December 2015 and Professor at the Department of Nutrition, Food Sciences and Gastronomy of the School of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Barcelona.
She is among the most influential scientists in the world according the Highly Cited Researchers list published by Clarivate Analytics in 2017 and 2018. She has published 294 articles and her h-index is 73.
Prof. Lamuela-Raventós is the principal investigator of the research group “Natural Antioxidants: PolyphenolsPolyphenols are mainly phytochemicals found abundantly in natural plant food sources. The most impor...” and leads one of CIBEROBN’s investigation groups.
She is involved in important national and international projects related to the nutritional interest of bioactive compounds in foods.
Prof. Mladen Boban was awarded his medical doctor and Ph.D. degree at the University of Zagreb, and did his postdoctoral fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin, USA. He has been a head of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Split School of Medicine since 1997, and served as a dean and a vice-dean. In the last 13 years focus of his scientific interest is mostly on the biological effects of wine and its derivatives. Currently, his funded project focuses on the influence of vinification technology, dealcoholisation and aging on different biological effects of wine, both in vivo and in vitro. Prof. Boban was the Croatian delegate to the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) and President of the Commission “Safety and Health” from 2009 -2012. Currently, prof. Boban is president of the Croatian Pharmacological Society.
Selection of experts
To have a multi-disciplinary group, the WIC experts are selected according to their professional background and expertise. Besides holding an advanced university degree(s) in nutrition, biological sciences, medicine, toxicology, pharmacology, biochemistry, epidemiology, statistics, oenology, etc., members of the WIC network have the following knowledge:
Scientific excellence evidenced by publications in respective peer-reviewed journals.
Practical experience in reviewing, analysing, evaluating, and extrapolating scientific research.
The members of the WIC expert’s groups are appointed for a period of 3 years and can be renewed.
Scientific experts attend the WIC meetings as independent internationally recognised experts, who act in their personal capacities and not as representatives of their employers, governments, or other institutions.
