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As a researcher in dairy science, I have endeavored to bring together the chemistry, processing, technologies and engineering aspects together.

My areas of expertise are:

1. Product structure and rheology.
2. Novel food processing technologies – High-pressure processing, nanobubble technology, supercritical fluid processing.
3. Functional products and ingredients.
4. Dairy process engineering and value addition.
5. Biomolecular interactions, delivery systems, release kinetics and biological activity.

I am currently focused on optimizing processing technologies for functional benefits and value addition of dairy products and ingredients. I collaborate with research institutions and industry to understand the areas requiring research and provide solutions for dairy processing and product development. My goal is to enable commercialization of optimized novel technologies and sustainable processes that can enhance the value of dairy products, ingredients and waste streams.

Teaching:

1. Independent Study (DS 791)
2. Dairy Products Processing I and Lab (DS 460/L-560/L)
3. Dairy Products Judging (DS 201)
4. Advanced Dairy Products Judging (DS 401)
5. Laboratory Techniques in Dairy Science (DS 731)

Leadership – Professional Organizations:

1. Editorial board member, Journal of Dairy Science
2. Review editor, Frontiers in Nutrition journal in the Chemistry section
3. Guest editor, MDPI Food journal special edition on "Modifications and Interactions of Milk Proteins in Different Processes and Products" (2022-2023)
4. Secretary, Great Plain subsection of Minnesota section of Institute of Food Technologists
5. Organizer, International Association for Cereal Science and Technology Cereal and Bread Congress 2021, Vienna, Austria
6. Lincoln University representative at the Canterbury Chapter of New Zealand Institute of Chemistry (2020-2021)
7. Lincoln University, Elected Health and Safety representative for Agriculture and Life Sciences (2020-2021)
8. Food technology expert for the Review of Achievement Standards, National Certificate of Educational Achievement (2019-2021)
9. Secretary, Pennsylvania State University Postdoctoral Society (2014-2015)
10. American Dairy Science Association Graduate Student Division Advisory Council – Dairy Foods Director (2014-2015)
11. Super user and reviewer executive committee Institute of Food Technologists Dairy Food Division (2013-2014)
12. Graduate Student Division, Dairy Foods Director of the American Dairy Science Association (2013-2014)

Service roles – South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University:

1. Coach of the SDSU Dairy Products Judging Team training for regional and national competitions (2023 onward)
2. Adviser (July 2023 onward) and co-adviser (2022-2023), SDSU Indian Students Association
3. Adviser (August 2023 onward) and co-adviser (2022-2023), SDSU Dairy and Food Science Lab Safety Committee

Service – Academic Institutions:

1. Conducted workshops on overseas opportunities in dairy research and dairy research experience journey at institutions in India in summer 2023: National Dairy Research Institute Karnal (June 5-6), National Institute of Interdisciplinary Sciences Thiruvananthapuram (June 12), National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management Thanjavur (July 4), Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University Pookode (July 13).
2. Delivered up to 10 lectures and seminars and one two-day workshop at different colleges under Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, India, as a part of the Brain Gain scheme (July to September 2022)
3. Lead in establishing Memorandum of Agreement for Lincoln University with: (1) 2020 - Amity University, India for a 3+1 Bachelor of Science Program, where students will conduct their last year of study at Lincoln University; (2) Memorandum of Agreement for Lincoln University with Amity University, India for a 3+1 Bachelor of Science Program, where students will conduct their last year of study at Lincoln University (2020).
4. Reviewer for Committee on University Academic Programmes Round One 2019 proposal by Massey University, May 2019.
5. Organizer for International Dairy Federation International Symposium on Cheese Science and Technology and Symposium on Concentration and Drying Technologies of Dairy Products, April 2016, Dublin, Ireland.
6. Resource person, Cheese short course (December 2014), specifically in cheese-making labs for cheddar, feta and ricotta cheeses, Penn State University.
7. Guest organizer and lecturer, U.S. Department of Agriculture Higher Education Challenge grant: Applied food safety lab course III, (one credit special topic – NFS 492/592, four-day summer workshop – July 2011), South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University.
8. Organizer: (1) SAFE 600 – practical sessions on rapid detection techniques used in the food safety analysis, summer workshop (2009), North à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University, USA ; (2) USDA Higher Education Challenge grant: Introductory food safety lab course I (August 2009) and Applied food safety lab course II (one-credit special topic – NFS 492/592 - June 2010) four-day summer workshops, SDSU.

Current Graduate Advisees:

1. Ezgi Kocer (2024-present), Production of low-cost galactooligosaccharides from whey permeate streams.
2. Muhammad Shijas Vallikkadan (2023-present), Extraction and delivery of bioactive compounds from fruit waste pomace using milk proteins.
3. Ifra Tun Nur (2023-present), Effect of GOS produced from whey permeate using enzyme and yeast on gut microbiota.
4. Shafeeqa Irfan (2023-present), Impact of nanobubble carbonation on milk protein Ingredients in the manufacture of Greek-style yogurt.
5. Ting Mao (2022-present), Interaction of milk proteins with polyphenols from fruit extracts.
6. Subha Sasidharan (2020-present), Green tea polyphenols, interaction with milk proteins: Quantification and applications. (Lincoln University, New Zealand)

Member of graduate advisory committee – three completed (one Ph.D. and two master's), one ongoing (Ph.D.)

Past Graduate Advisee:

1. Zhiguang Huang (2017-2020), Milk lipid complexation and interaction with food ingredients – Digestibility and absorption. (Ph.D., role: Associate supervisor, Lincoln University)
2. Akshit (2022-2024), Nanobubble technology in dairy processing wastewater. (M.S., role: Major advisor)
3. Iresha Matiwalage (2021-2025), Improving the bioavailability of polyphenols in red grape using milk proteins. (Ph.D., role: Co-supervisor, Lincoln University, New Zealand)

Visiting scholars/International Research Interns:

1. Ankit Dahiya (September to November 2023). Effect of milk protein interactions on the hydration and gelation properties of pea starch. National Agricultural Higher Education Project Program. B.Tech. student. National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India.
2. Aakash Deep (September to November 2023). Effect of milk protein interactions on the hydration and gelation properties of pea starch. National Agricultural Higher Education Project Program. B.Tech student. National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India.
3. Sanjay Bharti (August to October 2023). Increase in flux rate with nanobubbles for ultrafiltration of whey. Assistant professsor, UP Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Pashu Chikitsa Vigyan Vishwavidyalaya Evam Go Anusandhan Sansthan, Mathura, UP, India
4. Sonali Yadav (2020), Image analysis of confocal scanning laser microscopy images for yogurt with different gelling agents, B.Tech. student. National Institute of Technology Rourkela
5. V. Vartika (2019), Effect of whey protein addition on pasting, textural and thermal properties of pea starch. B.Tech. student. National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India.
6. Vijay Kumar (2019), Study of interactions of milk protein (calcium caseinates) with pea starch. B.Tech. student. National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India.

Examiner for thesis/dissertation:

1. Ph.D. RMIT Australia. (2024)
2. M.S. University College Cork Ireland (2024)
3. Ph.D. Victoria University Australia (2024)
4. Ph.D. University College Cork, Ireland (2023)
5. Ph.D. Victoria University, Australia (2023)
6. Ph.D. Auckland University of Technology, NZ (2022)
7. M.S. University of Otago, NZ (2020)
8. Ph.D. Massey University, NZ (2019)
9. M.S. Lincoln University, NZ (2019)

Undergraduate research advising: Two advisees (SDSU), 11 advisees (Lincoln University, New Zealand)

Graduate student independent study project advising: Seven advisees (SDSU), 12 advisees (Lincoln University, New Zealand) 

Graduate research interns advising and honors projects : 20  advisees (Lincoln University, New Zealand)

Professional Memberships:

• American Dairy Science Association – Professional member until 2017, 2023 onward
• Institute of Food Technologists – Professional member until 2017, 2023 onward
• American Oil Chemists Society – Professional member until 2017, 2023 onward
• New Zealand Institute of Chemistry – Lincoln University representative in Canterbury Chapter
• New Zealand Controlled Release Society – Professional member
• New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology – Professional member (2020-2024)
• Reviewer for ScienceDirect Food Bioscience journal, SAGE Food Science and Technology journal, Journal of Dairy Science, Food Bioscience and Food Science and Technology International, International Journal of Dairy Technology, Journal of Food Processing and Preservation

1. 2022-present – Endowed Alfred Chair Associate Professor in Dairy Manufacturing, South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University, Brookings.
2. 2022-present – Adjunct faculty, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, New Zealand
3. 2018-2022 – Assistant professor, Lincoln University, New Zealand
4. 2017-2018 – Research and development scientist, Glanbia Consumer Foods, Kilkenny, Ireland
5. 2016-2017 – Postdoctoral researcher, Teagasc – Irish Food and Agricultural Institute, Cork, Ireland
6. 2014-2015 – Postdoctoral researcher, Pennsylvania State University
7. 2011-2014 – Graduate research assistant, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
8. 2009-2011 – Graduate research assistant, South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University, Brookings
9. 2007-2008 – Technical superintendent, Products Dairy, Milma, Ernakulam Regional Cooperative Milk Producers' Union, Kerala, India