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.