Professor Frank heads the Department of Food Biofunctionality at the Institute of Nutritional Sciences of the University of Hohenheim. He is the dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and the chairman of the governance board of the Research Center for Health Sciences at the University of Hohenheim. He is the founding president of the Society of Nutrition and Food Science e.V., Editor-in-chief of NFS Journal, Associate Editor of Nutrition, and editorial board member of the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, PharmaNutrition, BioFactors, and Plant Foods for Human Nutrition.

His research interests lie in factors that determine the absorption, metabolism, and elimination of the different vitamin E congeners and phytochemicals (such as curcuminoids and flavonoids) and in developing novel strategies to overcome the low intrinsic oral bioavailability of phytochemicals, as well as in understanding the biological activities of these potentially health-beneficial bioactives.

Congratulations Dr. Joana Abou-Rizk!

Joana investigated the nutritional status of mothers and infants among Syrian refugees in Lebanon and  defended her doctoral dissertation on October 26, 2023. She gave a clear and insightful presentation and impressed the examination board with her profound knowledge of her topic and the research area. So, congratulations are in order! 

Go nuts!

Dr. Frank was consulted as a nutrition expert by the makers of „Darwin gefällt das“, a German podcast telling stories about the „epic fails of human history“. In the episode „Coco Nuts“, Anna Bühler tells her co-host Christian Alt the story of August Engelhardt, a nudist and vegetarian who founded a coconut-cult on the Pacific island Kabakon in 1902. Engelhardt promoted the idea that eating only coconuts would lead to a divine state of immortality. If you want to find out if following a diet exclusively based on coconuts is a good idea, you can listen to the podcast here.