Research

The Department of Grain and Food Science values research and continuous education. Our faculty focus on four main ideas while conducting research; Human Health and Wellbeing, Innovative Manufacturing Technologies, Sustainable Food Systems and Animal Health and Food Biosecurity.

 

Human Health and Wellbeing

• Build leadership in innovations that impact overall health, longevity, and quality of life.
  • Molecular food science: Adapt fundamental scientific principles to transform plant-based commodities and components into products that effectively target chronic disease prevention, and improve longevity and quality of life.
  • Food microbiome and gut health: Develop integrated cross-disciplinary research in food chemistry and molecular microbiology, molecular nutrition, and biochemistry to advance human health through integrated microbiome research.
  • Food as medicine: Lead discoveries that produce high visibility impacts in the food for health, precision nutrition, and food as medicine paradigms.
  • Pet health: Innovations that target emerging challenges in health and longevity of companion animals.

Innovative Manufacturing Technologies

• Leadership in advanced technologies and timely solutions that create value for stakeholders and consumers, and advance economic development.
  • Biomanufacturing: Develop leading-edge technologies in manufacturing, precision fermentation, and biotechnology to produce high-value products, solve problems relevant to stakeholders, and improve safety and efficiencies in the postharvest food systems.
  • Analytics and smart data integration: Smart innovations in the food space that exploit advanced analytical tools, big data, fine-scale nutrient mapping, AI tools, and advanced information technology to improve food quality, safety, and nutrition.

Sustainable Food Systems

• Responsive and integrated innovations that improve resiliency and efficiencies in the food value chain.
  • Bioconversion: Lead innovations that capture unique value from grain and food manufacturing biproducts and waste streams, develop new ingredients and product solutions from plant commodities, and seek novel applications for underexploited resilient food crops.
  • Integrated systems: Develop highly integrated cross-discipline food value chain system that maximize resiliency and efficiency in the food production, manufacture, and marketing and distribution.
  • Cell based technologies: Innovate using biotechnology to produce novel food ingredients and nutrients.

Animal Health and Food Biosecurity

• Build leadership in feed innovations that transform animal health and performance.

  o   Feed processing biosecurity. Foster cross-disciplinary research to secure the nation's food supply through system innovations that ensure feed biosecurity, biodefense, and safety.

  o   Feed manufacturing technologies:Lead the development of technologies that ensure feed and petfood products promote the health and performance of companion and farmed animals. Advance environmental sustainability of livestock production systems through feed efficiency.