Team

Anwesha Sarkar (A.Sarkar@leeds.ac.uk) is Professor of Colloids and Surfaces at the University of Leeds, UK. She is the Director of Research and Innovation for the School of Food Science and Nutrition and also the Project Leader for the National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC) and Founder of a University of Leeds spinout MicroLub Ltd. Her international research trajectory spans from academic institutions to industries in India, New Zealand, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

Prof. Sarkar received her BTech (Dairy Engineering) and MS (Food Technology) from India. Then she did PhD in Food Technology from Massey University, New Zealand (2010) in colloidal aspects of lipid digestion and worked for 4 years in Nestle Research (Lausanne) and Nestle Global Headquarters (Vevey) in Switzerland before joining University of Leeds. Prof. Sarkar is the PI of the prestigious ERC (European Research Council) Starting Grant funded Project LUBSAT (2017-22) to discover oral lubrication mechanisms and its effects on oro-sensory satiety, PI of ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) Project AQUALUB (2020-23) to develop salivary substitutes with optimal oral lubrication properties and ERC PoC (UKRI Horizon Guarantee Fund) Project MICROLUB to develop microgel-based fat replacers and texturants. She is the PI of the Innovate Uk Project SusProFood to develop sustainble fibre-rich rducts enriched with alterantive protein without losing textural performance. Recently, she has been funded with a multimillion pound grant from Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Innovate UK to lead an Innovation and Knowledge Centre (IKC) and 150+ industrial and research partners on alternative protein. She has also been the Theme Lead in the EPSRC-CDT (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council-Centre for Doctoral Training) in 'Molecules to Product' (2019-27) and a key academic supervisor in EPSRC-CDT in 'Soft Matter for Formulation and Industrial Innovation' (2019-28). Prof. Sarkar was the Conference Chair of the 17th Food Colloids Conference (2018), the reputed biennial conference in the field of physical chemistry of complex foods at Leeds, UK and has served as Guest Editors for Advances in Colloid and Interface Science as well as Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects. She is the editorial board member of journals, Food Hydrocolloids, Food Hydrcolloids for Health, Tribology Letters, Food Structure, and Journal of Texture Studies.

Prof. Sarkar has been the recipient of the prestigious Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Reserach and Development Award 2024 and also the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) McBain Medal 2024. She was recognized by the Women of Achievement Award 2021 at the University of Leeds for her recent contributions to the field of colloid science and oral processing and also the winner of the prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Food Group Junior Medal 2019 as a result of her research in designing novel food structures with targeted oral lubrication performance. Previously she was awarded Elsevier Young Scientist Award (2009) and Nestle Discovery award (2011) for her scientific researches. To date, Prof. Sarkar has published +120 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and is the co-inventor of 7 patents and and she is regularly invited for giving keynote lectures at national and international conferences in food, oral therapies and allied soft matter areas.

Research Support Technician in Alternative Protein Analysis, School of Food Science and Nutrition m.afzalihajidela@leeds.ac.uk I am leading the alternative protein analysis in the School of Food Science and Nutrition, funded by the National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC). I focus on colloidal and biophysical properties of alternative protein including their in vitro oral processing performance. I am interested to contribute to building the National Knowledgebase on alternative protein performnace.

PhD Student, fs17da@leeds.ac.uk
I am a PhD student funded by the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Soft Matter for Formulation and Industrial Innovation (SOFI2) CDT and PepsiCo. I am researching the behaviour of biopolymeric microgels in emulsions both within the bulk continuous phase and at the interface; with the aim to gain fundamental understanding of how the nanomechanical properties and ordering of the microgels may influence their ability to act as Pickering stabilisers.

PhD Student, School of Chemical and Process Engineeringpmsamb@leeds.ac.uk
I am part of the CDT Molecules to Product funded by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). My research focuses on wax crystal-stabilised Pickering emulsions, where the wax is derived from a side-stream. My aim is to understand the organic crystal formation at the interface of a single droplet to decipher true stabilisation mechanism.

Research and Innovation Fellow, School of Food Science and Nutrition t.w.bailey@leeds.ac.uk I am a research and innovation fellow in Colloid Chemistry in the School of Food Science and Nutrition, funded by the National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC). My research is focusing on finding and manipulating alternative proteins to have an emulsification ability comparable to more traditional animal protein-based emulsifiers, using both lab-based and computational approaches to achieve this.

PhD student, mmbh@leeds.ac.uk I am a PhD student funded by the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Soft Matter for Formulation and Industrial Innovation (SOFI2) and Reckitt Benckiser. My research focuses on understanding the mucoadhesive behaviour of microgels and their drug-release performance, considering different biomimetic environments using a combination of experimental and modelling approaches.

PhD student, School of Chemical and Process Engineering fs19gshr@leeds.ac.uk am a part of the CDT Molecules to Product, which is funded by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). My PhD project foIcuses on understanding the physical phenomenon that regulates the demulsification of microgel-stabilized Pickering emulsions on demand to design next generation stimuli-responsive droplets for controlled release of active materials for food, pharmaceutical, personal care and allied soft matter applications.

PhD Student,lfsmho@leeds.ac.uk
I am a PhD student funded by the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Soft Matter for Formulation and Industrial Innovation (SOFI2) CDT and Nestle. My project is looking at the dispersion of protein particle fillers in non-aqueous media, specifically for chocolate applications. I am looking to gain an understanding of the interaction between the particles and also how this affects various materials properties.

Postdoctoral Fellow, ll14bk@leeds.ac.uk
I recently graduated from University of Leeds, UK with a PhD in Food Colloids Science, where I developed new knowledge on oral tribology and astringency of alternative proteins. I had re-joined Sarkar's Lab but as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow as part of the SusProFood project funded by the Innovate UK. Now, As part of the project in collaboration with partnering industries, I and developing novel processing technologies on how alternative proteins can be incorporated in large proportions in low pH and neutral pH-based fibre-rich food matrices to improve their nutritional efficacy without compromising their sensorial performance.

PhD Student,
mmjam@leeds.ac.uk I am a PhD student funded by the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training for Formulation and Industrial Innovation (SOFI2 CDT). My PhD project in Leeds is in collaboration with Oatly to design sustainable plant-based microgels. This involves using a combination of experimental techniques and coarse grain modelling to determine structure-property relationships.

PhD student, School of Chemical and Process Engineering pmsna@leeds.ac.uk I am part of the Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Molecules to Product, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and based at the School of Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Leeds. My PhD is about understanding and improving the functional and sensorial performance of single-cell proteins from microbial biomass as sustainable protein alternatives for use in vegan and functional foods.

Research and Innovation Fellow, School of Food Science and Nutrition t.niaz@leeds.ac.uk I am a research and innovation fellow in the School of Food Science and Nutrition, funded by the National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC). I focus on the optimisation of in-vitro digestion models according to unique physicochemical and enzymatic properties of alternative protein. I am interested to understand the presence of anti-nutritional factors and effects of processing (e.g, enzymatic hydrolysis, extrusion, fermentation, and heat), structural modification and molecular properties on the digestibility of alternative proteins. I will also focus on unravelling the Interaction of alternative proteins with intestinal mucus and their subsequent absorption as well as on the co-digestion dynamics of alternative proteins in the presence of dietary fibre/ polymers.

PhD Student,
ml20n2n@leeds.ac.uk
My PhD research focuses on emulsion stabilisation by Pickering particles. The aim of this project is to investigate the characteristics and properties of Pickering emulsion stabilized by biodegradable particles for controlled delivery of bioactive compounds.

PhD Student,
fssn@leeds.ac.uk
As part of my PhD, I aim to understand the impact of the different aspects of oral processing on the nutrient intake in older adults and address their nutritional needs through foods that conform with their oral processing capability.

Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Food Science and Nutrition M.C.Okeudo-Cogan@leeds.ac.uk I am a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Food Science and Nutrition, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Doctoral Prize. My research aims to characterize the three-dimensional protein distribution and protein identification on cell wall of Fusarium venenatum. I am focusing on understanding the protein localisation using a highly interdiciplinary approach combining superresolution microscopy, modelling and crystalographic approaches.

Research Support Technician in Alternative Protein Analysis, School of Food Science and Nutrition a.j.plummer@leeds.ac.uk I have joined the National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC) as a Research Support Technician in Alternative Protein Processing. I will support a variety of laboratory activities including extrusion and protein extraction, measurements and analysis. I have technical experience across the life sciences and analytical sciences, and I am looking forward to contributing to projects on alternative proteins.

Visiting PhD student, x.qi2@leeds.ac.uk> I am a visiting PhD student funded by the Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC), focusing on the regulation of plant protein structure and function, particularly through fibrillation, as well as the development of plant protein-starch-based gels for their exploitation as dysphagia foods.

PhD Student,
rglm7369@leeds.ac.uk
My PhD research funded by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Collaborative Training Partnership (BBSRC-CTP) and Mondelez focuses on how the material properties of both insoluble and partially soluble particles affect the oral processing behavior of fat-based products, particularly chocolate. Using a wide range of cutting-edge analytical approaches, I investigate the behavior of particles and their interactions at the interface where the oil phase meets saliva, contributing to a multiphase complex fluid. I also explore how these behaviors translate into sensory perception in the context of oral processing time.

Postdoctoral Fellow, l.sridharan@leeds.ac.uk
I am a Marie Curie/ EPSRC Postdoctoral Fellow at the Sarkar Lab. I obtained my PhD from Wageningen University in the Netherlands followed by working at Planted Foods in Switzerland as a protein specialist. In my postdoctoral project, I will investigate how conventional and novel protein extraction methods influence protein properties and their sensory perception using a suite of analytical and in vitro methods. I will also develop a Machine learning model to capture the links between processing, material properties and sensory performance.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow,
fsetg@leeds.ac.uk
My postdoctoral research project funded by EPSRC Impact Acceleration Award (IAA) focusses on designing novel structures to deliver nutrients without any frictional issues that often arises when delivering nutrients such as proteins and minerals. I am focusing on using a lot of material characterisation techniques including the cutting-edge biomimetic tongue set-up at Sarkar Lab.

PhD Student,
fscw@leeds.ac.uk
I am a PhD student funded by Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC). My research focuses on designing novel Pickering water-in-water emulsions using biocompatible microgels with an aim to emulate the outstanding lubrication performance of nature-engineered lubricants to address mucosal dryness. I want to pinpoint the underlying mechanisms of the lubrication performance.

PhD Student,
fs21mw@leeds.ac.uk
My PhD project will focus on understanding the techno-functional performance of plant-based proteins post enzymatic modification, specifically interfacial and lubrication properties of plant protein hydrolysates. This project will create new findings to address techno-functional challenges and plant protein astringency perceived in the mouth.

PhD Student,
fsyzhe@leeds.ac.uk
My PhD research focuses on using novel techniques to improve the nutritional and techno-functional properties of plant proteins, specifically legume proteins. I am particularly interested in extraction processes of plant proteins that tend to influence structure and consequently performance of legume proteins.