Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Food Rheology and Texture

Food and Markets

The Natural Resources Institute of the University of Greenwich is offering an exciting position for a Post-doctoral Research Associate (PDRA) in food rheology to work at the Medway Food Innovation Centre to unravel the texture challenge of alternative protein-based food.

The Natural Resources Institute (NRI) of the University of Greenwich is part of the £24M Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein (BCSP), funded by Bezos Earth Foundation and leading the plant/algae protein platform. As part of BCSF, there is a PDRA opportunity at Medway Food Innovation Centre for 2 years (with potential opportunity to extend) to develop key scientific insights on the rheological and texture properties of plant/algae protein-based products. By 2050, the world will need to produce twice as much protein to feed its population and therefore alternative to emission intensive animal protein is gaining consumer attention. Thus, BCSP brings together top academic researchers, industrial partners and policy makers across the UK, Europe, and USA to drive alternative protein-based food innovation. Inferior taste and texture including mouthfeel are some of the biggest challenges for plant-based meat and dairy alternatives which pose a critical quality gap compared to the conventional meat and dairy and consider to be the main reason for consumer dissatisfaction. It is therefore essential to understand how different alternative protein varieties and processing methods affect the texture and mouthfeel properties of plant-based meat and dairy alternatives to improve the palatability of these novel products. 

The Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich has set up the Medway Food Innovation Centre (MFIC) with state-of-the-art facility which aims to deliver step-changing research on alternative protein. The advanced food texture and rheological analysis platform is equipped with Stable Micro TA.XTPlusC Texture Analyser and advanced DHR20 Rheometer with Tribology accessories. This dedicated facility will be used by the PDRA under the direct supervision of a faculty expert to assess the texture and rheological properties of novel meat/dairy alternatives and work collaboratively with BCSP partners. 

With support from the MFIC team within NRI, the appointed PDRA will have the responsibility to drive transformative research on food rheology and perform texture analysis to deliver relevant projects for BCSP. The selected candidate will lead research for BCSP on understanding the texturization process of novel plant/algal protein and develop key scientific insights on the rheological and texture properties of plant/algae protein-based products. 

The PDRA will act as research lead for food texture analysis needed for projects of BCSP which includes responsibility for performing experiments, presenting results and reporting the project progress and regularly attain project meetings etc. The appointed PDRA will also have opportunity to develop bids for external grant application (e.g. UKRI/Horizon Europe etc.) which, if successful, may provide the candidate the career progression to an independent scientist position. With support from Food Processing and Innovation (FPI) research group, the PDRA will have unique opportunity to gain industry experience by engaging in collaborative projects together with food businesses who are involved within our Plant-based Food Accelerator programme. 

The ideal candidate will have proven experience in food rheology and texture analysis (prior knowledge of rheology is essential) with at least PhD level background and preferably some experience of enterprise support. This includes hands on technical and operational experience of advanced rheometer (e.g. DHR20) and texture analyser with demonstrated capability in rheological data analysis for food products, texture profile analysis etc. as well as evidence of teamwork to deliver high quality multi-disciplinary research outputs

For an informal discussion about the post please contact Dr Parag Acharya (p.acharya@gre.ac.uk) 

Should you have any queries please contact the People Directorate Team on peopleoperationsfes@gre.ac.uk

We operate a hybrid working policy, as set out in the University’s Working Principles and Guidelines.

Further details of the fantastic benefits and what we offer can be found here: Our benefits - what we offer | Jobs and careers | University of Greenwich

To apply, please visit the University of Greenwich vacancies page and complete all details, including the supporting statements (please note attached CVs and personal statements will not be seen by the recruitment panel at the application stage). Current Vacancies - Jobs at Greenwich 

Employment Visa: Under the UK Government Points Based System scheme this role does not meet the criteria to be sponsored for a Skilled Worker Route application. 

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