Rate My Professor Indrawati Oey

Professor Indrawati Oey is Chair Professor of Food Science and Head of the Department of Food Science in the Division of Sciences at the University of Otago. She obtained her PhD in 2000 from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, with a thesis titled 'Lipoxygenase inactivation by high pressure treatment at subzero and elevated temperatures: a kinetic study,' along with an MSc from the same university and a BSc from Bogor Agricultural University, Indonesia. Her career includes roles such as Chair of Training and Development for the European Union-funded NovelQ project from 2005 to 2008. Presently, she serves as Principal Investigator at the Riddet Institute Centre of Research Excellence, President Elect of the International Society for Electroporation-Based Technologies and Treatments (to assume presidency in 2026), Science Leader for the Ngā iwi i Te Rohe o Te Waiariki Māori Aquaculture Programme, and Science Board Member for the German Institute of Food Technologies. Oey actively teaches, mentors students, and leads research in smart food processing strategies employing conventional and advanced technologies like thermal treatments, high pressure processing, and pulsed electric fields to yield safer, healthier products with distinctive sensory attributes. Her investigations cover plant protein production and functionality, enzymatic and chemical reactions in biological systems, enzyme technology and modulation, postharvest innovation, sustainable food production, kinetic modelling for biological processes, and stability of health-related secondary metabolites for novel functional foods. She contributes to the University of Otago's Food Waste Innovation research group, focusing on food waste measurement, reduction strategies, technology applications, and influencing consumer and producer behaviour.

Oey was appointed Distinguished Professor by the Institute of Food Science and Technology at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in 2017 and elected Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology in 2016. She holds fellowships with Food Standards Australia New Zealand and the International Academy for Food Science and Technology, and is a Professional Member of the Institute of Food Technologists. Her impactful publications include 'Effect of high-pressure processing on colour, texture and flavour of fruit-and vegetable-based food products: a review' (Trends in Food Science & Technology, 2008); 'Does high pressure processing influence nutritional aspects of plant based food systems?' (Trends in Food Science & Technology, 2008); 'Effect of extrusion on the anti-nutritional factors of food products: An overview' (Food Control, 2017); and 'Effects of processing on anthocyanins, carotenoids and vitamin C in summer fruits and vegetables' (Food Chemistry, 2012). Her research advances non-thermal food technologies and sustainable practices in the field.