Sarkar Lab had a strong presence at the IoP Winter Fair 2026 at London

Sarkar Lab had a strong presence at the IoP Winter Fair 2026 at London.

Prof. Sarkar (PI Sarkar Lab) gave a keynote on "Oral tribology: from mouthfeel of alternative proteins to oral care applications".

Dr. Ben Kew (NAPIC R&I Fellow) presented a poster  and gave a flask talk on "Insights into mouthfeel with traditional and biomimetic tongue-like surfaces: A case study with plant proteins". He won the BEST poster prize and talk. Congratulations Ben!

Chenxi Wang (PhD Student, CSC China Scholarship) presented a poster and gave a flask talk on "Rheology and tribology of dextran/ polyethylene oxide-based water-in-water emulsions".

Subrahmanyam Kadavakollu (Visiting PhD Student, Commonwealth Scholarship) resented a poster and gave a flask talk on "Ball milling enhances the tribological performance of millet flour in aqueous systems".

Related references can be found here:

Kew B, Burke MR, Stieger M, Wang Y, Boesch C, Holmes M, Sarkar A. (2025). Astringency: Unveiling sensory, neural and cellular responses in plant proteins. Scientific Reports, 15, Article No. 39184 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-23836-9

Wang C, Murray BS, Bryant M, Lee S, Sarkar A. (2025). Rheology and tribology of dextran/ polyethylene oxide-based water-in-water emulsions. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules,  330, Article No. 148200 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.148200

Wang C, Murray BS, Bryant M, Sarkar A. (2025). Pickering water-in-water emulsions: A review on their rheological and tribological performance. Current Opinion in Colloid and Interface Science,  Volume 79, Article No. 101940 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101940

Sarkar A. (2024). Oral astringency in plant proteins: An underestimated issue in formulating next-generation plant-based foods. Annual Review of Food Science and Technology. 15 (1), https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-food-072023-034510

Lesme H, Kew B, Bonnet L, Sarkar A, Stellacii F. (2024).Difference in astringency of the main pea protein fractions. Food Hydrocolloids, 149, Art. No.109489 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodhyd.2023.109489

Pabois O, Dong Y, Kampf N, Lorenz C D, Doutch J, Avila-Sierra A, Ramaioli M, Mu M, Message Y, Liamas E., Tyler A I I, Klein J, Sarkar A. (2024). Self-assembly of sustainable plant protein protofilaments into a hydrogel for ultra-low friction across length scales. Communication Materials. 5, Article No. 158, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-024-00590-5

Kew B, Holmes, M, Liamas E, Ettelaie R, Connell S, Dini D, Sarkar A. (2023).Transforming sustainable plant proteins into high performance lubricating microgels. Nature Communications, 15, Art No. 4743 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40414-7