Zoe (Zhitong) Zhou (Ph.D. Candidate) joined Food Science at the University of Guelph after her M.Sc. in Food Technology from Wageningen University (The Netherlands) and her B.Sc. in Food Science and Technology from Jiangnan University, China. Both departments are among the top Food Science programs globally! Her bachelor thesis focused on the ‘Antioxidant Properties of Dragon Fruit Enzyme Beverage’ at the Nanyang Polytechnic, (Singapore) and her masters thesis was on ‘Effect of Polar Lipids on the Properties of Recombined Dairy Cream’ in Wageningen.  Her current research topic focuses on the digestion of ultra-processed foods (UPFs). The global food supply relies on highly-processed ingredients to satisfy the ultra-processed food (UPF) industry, triggering entirely new hurdles to food security. To illustrate, Canadians who consume more calories from UPFs than whole foods have adverse health outcomes associated with malnutrition encompassing obesity, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome. We aim to determine bioaccessibility and structural changes during the digestion of starchy foods, each with a different level of processing. Our team works with the most advanced robotic digestive systems (i.e., Twin H-Shime & TIM-1) and imaging facilities to provide a hierarchical view of how UPFs breakdown compared to whole foods.

Hala studied the impact of ultra-food processing on food digestibility and ultimately nutritional value. Hala has a BSc in Food and Dairy Industries Menoufia University (Egypt, 2009) and an M.S.c in Food Science from Menoufia University (2014) and her project focuses on the impacts of using hydrocolloid gums as fat replacers on the quality and shelf-life of mayonnaise. Upon graduation from her B.Sc. she received a Certificate of Merit for “Outstanding performance and academic excellence”. Hal has worked as an Assistant Lecturer in the Food Science and Technology Department at Menoufia University from 2010 to 2018. In 2018 she was selected from 5000 applicants along with 84 distinguished young academics from different disciplines to complete their Ph.D. abroad, fully funded by the Egyptian government.  Hala’s project focuses on the relationship between food structure changes induced by the processing and digestibility of some “trending” food products such as Impossible Burger and “healthier” breakfast cereals. These ultra-processed foods are formulated from ingredients extracted from natural food through complicated processing techniques that disrupt cellular structures to obtain hyper-palatable and convenient foods. This alteration to the original structure is linked to change in food digestibility and eventually nutritional quality? Information on the effect of structure variation on digestibility should help designing next-gen foods to be more nourishing.

April Xu completed her undergraduate from the University of British Columbia as a Food Science major where she was awarded the University of British Columbia Medal. At the University of Guelph, she has received the Highly Qualified Personnel Scholarship from OMAFRA – University of Guelph, as well as the Robert Orr Lawson Scholarship. Her research is on the impact of food structure on the digestion and bioaccessibility of lipids. This research aims to contribute to improving food processing, reducing diet-related diseases and bringing nutritious food to consumers.

Elizabeth West graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Physics (co-op) from the University of Guelph with distinction. Due to her experience in the food industry, long-time passion for cooking and baking, and love of science she decided to pursue a Master’s Degree in Food Science, also from the University of Guelph. The objective of her research is to investigate if physical state differs significantly by cooking to alter the metabolic response of lipids in food. Specifically, she is examining how cooking steak to different degrees of doneness modulates fatty acid release and bioavailability during digestion. Her research will support the development of foods that tailor the amount of free fatty acid release, helping to bring more nutritious food to the world.

Pedram’s research focuses on altering 1,3:2,4-dibenzylidene-D-sorbitol’s (DBS) molecular synthons that control self-assembled fibrillar networks (SAFiNs) formation and the interplay between solvent and gelator. The findings from this research provide insights into the rational design of SAFiNs.

Dennis is a 4th year undergraduate student and is currently completing a major in Biomedical Sciences and a minor in Nutritional and Nutraceutical Sciences at the University of Guelph. Outside of his academic career, Dennis is passionate about entrepreneurship. His most recent venture, Living Glass Inc., is a company aiming to redefine the houseplant using modern biotechnology, and was awarded funding and support from the John F. Wood Centre for Business and Student Enterprise since its launch in 2019. His project at Rogers Lab primarily explores the effects of garlic and garlic-derived thiosulfinates on the properties of egg whites, a joint venture involving Dr. César Vega and Dr. Michael Rogers. The research investigates changes on the molecular and physical level when egg foams are exposed to such thiosulfinates. The findings of this may demonstrate a novel method to increase the foam stability of egg meringues, translating into longer lasting meringue-related confectionery.