Dr. Deshanie Rai, Ph.D., vice president, global science, regulatory and advocacy at OmniActive Health Technologies and adjunct professor at Tufts University, has made consumer self-care a focus of her career contributions through the development, translation and dissemination of rigorous science in compliance with regulatory guidelines. She has leveraged her technical skillsets across multiple therapeutic areas and her strengths as a cross-functional partner to bring several meaningful product and messaging innovations to global markets. These included gastrointestinal health and the microbiome, eye health and vision performance, women’s health, and pediatric allergy management. Dr. Rai is adept at connecting the dots and troubleshooting and has successfully identified and implemented strategies to accelerate regulatory pathways while still prioritizing product integrity and consumer safety. While the products she has worked on have reached consumers in North America, Europe, Oceania and Asia, she has also made an impact in Africa through her volunteer efforts in promoting food security.
Dr. Rai was recently honored as the winner of the 2025 Annette Dickinson Trailblazer Award, presented by the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) and Radicle Science.
Can you share an example of a bold risk you took in your career that paid off (or taught you a valuable lesson)?
They say a trailblazer is one who has the courage to take risks and go outside their comfort zone. I started off my career as a clinical dietitian and within a year of practicing, I had this feeling of stagnation and incomplete career satisfaction. Around the same time, I had the opportunity to attend an international clinical nutrition conference, and I was convinced that conducting, translating and disseminating nutritional science research for health and wellness benefits is what I was meant to do. But the opportunities to pursue this dream were limited in South Africa, and I did not have the financial means to go abroad. I took a chance, applied for a scholarship, and after being accepted at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign for the graduate program in Nutritional Sciences, made the bold decision to leave behind my family and country to come to the USA and essentially started my life and career from scratch. I am so grateful for the courage I took to embark on this journey – it emboldened me to continue to go outside my comfort zone – engage in science with world-renowned researchers, and work with incredible colleagues in this industry who saw my potential and helped me realize the possibilities to give back to our consumers and pay it forward through mentoring and volunteering.
What’s the most compelling success story you’ve seen that proves the impact of our industry?
The nutraceutical industry has had many successes. By far the two that come to mind, and that I was/am personally involved with from a product formulation, messaging, and advocacy perspective, are demonstrating the relevance of DHA and lutein for brain and eye health benefits across the lifespan. The industry has been instrumental in conducting and driving research on both nutrients including building robust health care professional and consumer education programs. Today, DHA is included in several prenatal supplements and infant formulas around the world, based on the wealth of studies showing benefits for brain (and immune health) during pregnancy, infancy and early childhood. With lutein, landmark studies including from the National Eye Institute (NIH) have convincingly demonstrated its essentiality for macular health and the role of lutein in delaying the progression of age-related macular degeneration. Lutein is now commonly used in eye health supplements around the world.
What’s a lesson from a completely different industry that has helped in your work?
I believe the rigor of the pharmaceutical industry especially in the context of evidence generation has been a crucial lesson for nutraceuticals, which often face academic and HCP skepticism regarding effectiveness. Investing in robust, evidence-based research and clinical studies are essential to support safety, mechanism of action, validate benefits, and implement education strategies with HCPs and consumers. Additionally, it lends credibility to advocacy efforts, can help guide policy, and give us a voice at the table with regulatory authorities.