iJOBS Virtual Site Visit: Nestle Health Sciences

By Janaina Cruz Pereira

On March 11, the Rutgers iJOBS program partnered with Nestlé to host an insightful virtual site visit to the Nestlé Health Science headquarters in Bridgewater, NJ. As a "Center of Excellence" for product and technology, this campus serves as a vital hub where over 12,000 global employees collaborate to fulfill the mission of "Empowering Healthy Lives through Nutrition". The event featured a distinguished panel of leaders Dr. Quann, Dr. Worcman Barninka, Dr. Savant, and Dr. Lerea-Antes, who shared their professional journeys across various sectors, including medical nutrition, consumer care, and active nutrition. By exploring the intersection of R&D, clinical science, and leadership, the panel offered a comprehensive look at how Nestlé translates emerging trends into nutritional solutions that currently reach 97% of U.S. households

Dr. Quann opened the panel with an introduction to the Nestlé portfolio, which includes a wide range of food, beverage, and pet health products distributed in 185 countries. Nestlé’s Health Science division was founded in 2011 with a focus on medical nutrition and has since expanded to include consumer care. Today, it consists of more than 12,000 employees worldwide who lead innovation in health and nutrition. The headquarters in New Jersey, known as the Center of Excellence, is called Nestlé Health Science Product and Technology. This campus focuses on developing nutritional solutions to improve the lives of patients and consumers globally.

At Nestlé’s state-of-the-art pilot plant in New Jersey, products are researched, developed, and fine-tuned in one space. Departments include Nutrition and Science Technology, Product Development, Sensory Insights, Packaging, Quality and Compliance, Project Management, and Finance. In the consumer care space, Nestlé Health Science Product and Technology focuses on vitamins, minerals, and supplements, as well as active and medical nutrition (Table 01).

Table 01: Nestlé Health Science research focus.

Science Leadership career paths at Nestlé

Dr. Worcman Barninka, began the panel by giving an overview of her career path, which includes a Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Science from Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho and a Master's followed by a PhD in Food Science from São Paulo University (USP). She began working for Nestlé Brazil as a Microbiology Manager and was later promoted to Senior Specialist Microbiologist, moving to Switzerland. In 2019, she made a career move to the intersection of R&D and operations as an Analytical Science Manager at Nestlé Health Sciences Product and Technology. Currently, she is the Director of Quality and Food Safety and leads an expansive portfolio: Quality oversight by Design team for end-to-end compliance; Quality management in the Pilot Plant, development support, clinical trials, and commercial products; and directing Analytical Services for both the Pilot Plant and factory operations. Remarkably, she also channels her energy into serving as a fitness trainer during her time away from R&D operations.

Dr. Worcman Barninka shared invaluable insights on career growth, emphasizing the power of initiative. She credited her international relocation and advancement to her willingness to engage in diverse projects, internships, and traineeships. Her core advice was clear: proactively communicate your career aspirations, leverage networking tools like LinkedIn, and never fear a lateral move. She specifically highlighted Nestlé’s "Missions" program, which is a strategic internal initiative designed to foster professional growth by encouraging employees to step outside their primary roles. It serves as a key tool for career development by allowing staff to gain hands-on experience in different geographic locations or entirely new departments.

Next, Dr. Savant discussed his professional journey. He started with a strong academic background, earning a PhD and completing a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Protein Nutrition at Oregon State University. He has been with Nestlé for over 20 years, starting as a Senior Technologist in infant nutrition. A big turning point in his career happened when he pitched an idea for a healthier infant product to his manager. This move shifted him into product development. Dr. Savant shared that having an analytical mind and being willing to start at the bottom and work his way up was key to his growth. Over the years, he moved through many leadership roles, including Project Manager, Senior Scientist, and Director of Product Development, eventually becoming the Global Head of Product Development. He also took advantage of Nestlé’s "Missions" program, spending six months in Switzerland to build a specialized dataset of expert knowledge for the food industry. He left us with two great pieces of advice: (1) Communicate constantly: Always discuss, debate, and align and (2) Know the details: Don't be afraid to "get your hands dirty." You need to understand the whole process, from the basic science to the final product.

Dr. Lerea-Antes then discussed her transition from biochemistry to nutrition. She has an impressive research and clinical background, holding a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Rochester, a PhD in Nutritional and Metabolic Biology from Columbia University, and a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) credential from Iowa State University. Dr. Lerea-Antes began her career at Nestlé as a postdoc and shared an interesting story about how she landed the role. She originally applied for a Scientist position, but because she did not have prior industry experience, she was initially rejected. However, the hiring manager saw her potential and encouraged her to apply for the postdoc position instead. Her main takeaway for the audience was to always apply for the job you want; she noted that the worst that can happen is you don't hear back, but the best is that you land a great opportunity.

Her career at Nestlé progressed quickly from her postdoc in Nutrition Translation & Concept Generation to Scientist, Senior Scientist, and eventually Principal Scientist. She then used the Nestlé "Missions" program to make a lateral move into Management and Oncology, becoming an R&D Manager for Oncology. Later, she returned to the Nutrition Science field as a Senior Manager, leading a team of scientists focused on Vendor Management Systems and Consumer Care. Eventually, she had the opportunity to create and manage her own team in Front-End Innovation. Today, her team identifies emerging trends and works to translate them into new products.

Dr. Quann wrapped up the panel sharing her career path at Nestlé. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Dietetics at the same time she did a coordinate program for RDN both from the School of Allied Health, M.A. in Nutrition and Exercise Science and PhD in Nutrition and Science both from the University of Connecticut. Throughout her academic career she worked in diverse industries as a dietitian contractor before starting her career in the Medical Affairs field. She started her career at Nestlé as a Global Medical Affairs Lead and rapidly progress to Global Nutrition Science & External Partnerships Lead. She leads a team of Nutritionists who provide nutrition guidance to all Medical Nutrition and Consumer Care categories, which includes work cross-functionally to improve the company pipeline, design and improve nutrition profiles for new and renovated recipes, and translate nutrition science related to ingredients and health benefits. Additionally, she co-leads external alliances with ingredients suppliers and universities to advance mutual innovations goals. In parallel, Dr. Quann serves as a Professor for the University of Connecticut.

 Dr. Quann, shared insightful advices: (1) Own Your Career, ask strategic questions during the interview process such as “What a typical workday looks like?” to rule out job positions that you will not be interested, (2) Surround yourself with inspirational leaders, (3) Build your peer network, she suggest to meet 5 new people in conference/events and follow-up, (4) Prepare your elevator speech, explain what you do in one minute, (5) Take leadership roles, (6) Complement your expertise, (7) Balance Technical Depth with Generalizability, add context to your work, (8) Changes brings opportunity, ask yourself how can I expend my experience, (9) Don’t be afraid to ask, (10) Make time for career development and reflection, consider asking to yourself what is the next step and what you can do to get there.

Questions for and Answers from Nestlé

The third part of the panel was focused on Q&A session, where the participants had a chance to ask the panelists career advice and overall questions:

Q1. “What are you looking for in a candidate if you were currently hiring?”

A1. Dr. Savant would ask you about your hobbies. People who do extracurricular activities are usually multivalent.

Q2. “For someone with a background in Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology, what are the available roles at Nestlé for them?”

A1. Dr. Worcman Barninka shared that you could start in the lab, build, and work towards involvement in other initiatives.

A2. Dr. Lerea-Antes mentioned that Nestlé's research in Switzerland has a state-of-the-art facility for food research and is moving toward a more academic style. In case you are considering food research, that would be a good place to start.

Q3. “This question was directed to Dr. Lerea-Antes. Do you think an RDN is needed? What skill sets do you gain with your RDN? Do you still use those skills?”

A1. I am still using it because my PhD was more basic biology. It was the neuronal control of appetite and body weight baselines and deviations, and working with rodent models of obesity. So, I didn’t have the clinical perspective that RDN bought me because I was able to go to the clinic, speak with patients, and understand their nutritional gaps well. When I joined Nestlé, my whole team were PhD RDS, and at that time these skills were paired together.

A2. Dr. Quann added that having clinical experience was vital to her role in Medical Affairs because it gives her the chance to speak peer-to-peer with other clinicians.

Q4. “Is there anything you would do differently or change along your career path, looking backward?”

A1. Dr. Savant shared that he would love to have the internship experience during his PhD.

A2. Dr. Worcman Barninka shared that although she considered food engineering in the beginning of her career, it is what she ended up doing. She explained that her microbiology background is very important in her current position. Therefore, she would not change anything.

Q5. “Do publications matter when you are looking to hire a candidate?”

A1. Dr. Quann shared that it is good to have publications depending on the position you are applying for. Showing that you are a scientist and have built a reputation in the scientific community.

Final thoughts

The site visit concluded with a wealth of practical advice for PhD students and early-career scientists looking to bridge the gap between academia and industry. The speakers collectively emphasized that a successful career is rarely a straight line, often requiring a blend of technical expertise and a willingness to embrace lateral moves. Whether through proactive networking, seeking out diverse internships, or leveraging internal programs like Nestlé’s "Missions" to gain international experience, the path to leadership is built on initiative and constant communication. Ultimately, the panel reinforced that while high-level science is the foundation, it is the ability to adapt, ask strategic questions, and understand the "end-to-end" process that transforms a scientist into a global leader.

This article was edited by Junior Editors Anna Tassou and Joshua Stuckey, and Senior Editor Joycelyn Radeny.