Diliara Iassonova, MD, PhD, is Senior Director of Technology Development at Schwan’s Company. She leads technology innovation, intellectual asset management, and nutritional strategies across its U.S. brands, spanning pizza, desserts, and Asian foods in frozen and shelf-stable categories. Her work includes clean label solutions, high-protein foods, sodium reduction, gluten-free products, and formulations for K–12 school meals and consumers using GLP-1 medications. She connects science with commercial decisions, helping teams choose ingredients and product claims that matter to consumers while maintaining taste and quality. Previously, she spent 15 years at Cargill in technical and innovation leadership roles serving global customers. She holds a medical degree in Pediatrics and earned her MS and PhD in Food Science and Technology at Iowa State University.