Virginia Holsinger

Virginia H. Holsinger (March 13, 1937 – September 4, 2009) was a food scientist whose research was significant in the dairy industry. Her research on enzymes as dietary supplements and food treatments was critical to the development of Lactaid and Beano.

Early life and education

Holsinger was born in Washington, D.C., on March 13, 1937. In 1958, she graduated from the College of William & Mary with a bachelor's degree in chemistry. Afterwards, she joined the Agricultural Research Service within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), initially working as an analytical chemist at the Agricultural Research Service Dairy Products Laboratory in Washington, D.C. She later attended the Ohio State University where she completed her doctorate in food science and nutrition in 1980 under the direction of Professor Paul M. T. Hansen. Her dissertation was entitled "A Study of the Rehydration Properties of a Milk Analogue Containing Soy Products and Cheese Whey".

Scientific career

Holsinger specialized in dairy products for the duration of her scientific career. She transferred to USDA's Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, in 1974, at which time she led research programs on the basic science and technology of dairy foods for the duration of her career until her retirement in 1999.

A year after Holsinger's 1999 retirement as the leader of the Dairy Products Research Unit, she was inducted into the Agricultural Research Service's Hall of Fame for lifetime career achievements.

In 1986, Holsinger received the Distinguished Service Award of the American Chemical Society's Division of Agricultural & Food Chemistry. Holsinger was an emeritus member of the American Chemical Society, having been a member of the organization since 1959.

Holsinger and the rest of the team that developed Lactaid received the Food Technology Industrial Achievement Award by the Institute of Food Technologists in 1987 and in 2025 she was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Representative publications Holsinger published more than 100 scientific papers in scholarly journals.