Project description
A growing market and consumer interest in natural and healthy products have encouraged researchers and the industry to develop and study functional ingredients that can be added to foods to increase nutritional value. In this direction, Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs; such as DHA and EPA), are an important food, supplement, and pharmaceutical ingredient. However, they are obtained from animal sources. This project aims at developing sustainable production technologies for microalgae-derived oil rich in Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). A laboratory-scale heterotrophic fermentation process, based on tuning fermentation conditions, will be developed for the controlled production of DHA and EPA for nutritional and pharmaceutical purposes. The project outcomes will assist the Australian food industry to deliver a safe, sustainable, and competitive supply of nutritive vegan food in the global health market for improving health outcomes.
Supervisors research focus
The major area of my research includes “microbial cell manufacturing” where the emphasis is laid upon developing technologies to produce and purify novel molecules such as proteins/ enzymes/ bioactive from a variety of unexplored habitats such as marine and waste agriculture resources. My group has contributed to "Bioprocessing for bioactive production (Omega-3 fatty acids, Lipases, and Carotenoids), Nutraceutical extraction for human health and Nanobiotechnology approaches for bioenergy production."
Industry involvement
Note: You need to register interest in projects from different supervisors (not a number of projects with the one supervisor).
You must also contact each supervisor directly to discuss both the project details and your suitability to undertake the project.