Rate My Professor Dominic Agyei

Dr. Dominic Agyei serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Food Science at the University of Otago, part of the Division of Sciences. He earned his BSc in Food Science and Technology from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana and his PhD in Chemical (Bioprocess) Engineering from Monash University, Australia. Before joining Otago, Agyei was an Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Deakin University, where he researched enzyme-based development of peptide-lipid bio-conjugates for applications in food and pharmaceuticals.

His academic interests lie in bioprocess engineering, focusing on enzyme-mediated transformations of biomolecules—proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates—to improve their functional, biological, and physicochemical properties. Agyei designs bioprocesses for extracting bioactive compounds from food waste and employs enzymes for food waste treatment and remediation. He also explores alternative and indigenous foods, assessing the nutritional composition of edible insects and their implications for food security, as well as the potential of indigenous plants and foods to combat malnutrition and food insecurity. In food informatics, he applies bioinformatics tools for in silico discovery, prediction, and molecular docking of bioactive peptides and compounds, contributing to an indigenous foods database in collaboration with partners in Fiji.

Ongoing research projects under his supervision include the role of food materials in modulating gut dysbiosis, valorization of mushroom by-products, value-addition to New Zealand flaxseed, production of galacto-oligosaccharides from dairy wastes, nutritional profiling of edible insects, novel probiotics as single-cell protein sources, and bioactive properties of native New Zealand plants. He currently supervises multiple PhD and Masters students on diverse topics such as plant protein 3D printing, insect proteomics, and mycotoxin decontamination.

Notable publications co-authored by Agyei include “Effects of germination temperature on physicochemical properties and in vitro protein digestibility of oat flour (Avena sativa)” (Food Chemistry, 2026), “Antioxidant, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic properties of chitosan–PVA films functionalised with chitooligosaccharide and gallic acid” (Sustainable Food Technology, 2026), “Volatile evolutions during solid-state fermentation of oats by mono- and co-cultures” (Food Chemistry, 2026), and “Protein quality of oat-pea-based yoghurt alternatives produced using pulsed electric field treatment” (Food & Function, 2025).

Agyei holds memberships in the Institute of Food Technologists (USA), New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology, and serves in research groups like Otago Global Health Institute and Microbiome Otago.