The rigor behind verified nutrition data doesn't happen by accident. It's the result of deliberate system-building — of people who think not just about what the data says today, but about what it needs to say reliably, defensibly, and at scale. In this edition of Behind the Bench, we meet Juliana Haber, Ph.D., Head of Food and Nutrition Data Science, one of the architects of that foundation.
Juliana describes her Edacious superpower as the rare ability to integrate nutrition biochemistry, epidemiology, and data science into a single, coherent system. For her, understanding food quality requires seeing across all three at once — and building frameworks that hold up under scientific scrutiny.
When asked to explain what Edacious does in five words or less, Juliana says: "We measure how healthy food is." But she's quick to add that the work goes further than measurement alone. Edacious is adding transparency and accountability to the food system — giving producers the tools to showcase their products based on nutrition, and communicating what that means in the context of real diet and health.
One of the most common misconceptions about Juliana's role is that it's primarily about running analyses. In reality, her focus is on building the scientific standards and validation frameworks that ensure every analysis Edacious produces is rigorous, defensible, and designed to scale. The question isn't just what does the data tell us today, it's how do we protect scientific integrity as the work grows.
Outside of work, Juliana's world is largely outdoors. She's an avid rock climber, backcountry splitboarder, and surfer who rarely misses a window of good weather. Her relationship with food extends well beyond the lab — a friend once described her as "creating an edible forest wherever she goes." She grows heirloom varieties you won't find at any grocery store and experiments with new ways to cook and preserve what she harvests. When she's not outside, she's usually making something: soap, candles, or taking on a woodworking project.
That same hands-on curiosity and commitment to getting things right shows up in everything Juliana brings to Edacious. She's not just answering scientific questions, she's building the systems that make every answer trustworthy.
You can learn more about Juliana and connect with her on LinkedIn:
Juliana Haber, Ph.D. | LinkedIn
Behind the Bench is a series spotlighting the Edacious team members whose work underpins how food quality is measured, interpreted, and communicated. It highlights the care, collaboration, and rigor behind the data long before insights reach the outside world.
At Edacious, “the bench” represents more than a physical space. It’s where science, data, and people come together. This series focuses on the individuals behind that work—those whose expertise and care shape how food quality is understood, trusted, and acted upon.
