processing not only affect our enjoyment of food, but also affects how easily nutrients are absorbed further down the gastrointestinal tract. Being able to understand the behaviour of different food types during oral processing is therefore fundamental to sensory and nutrition studies.

This project will investigate mechanisms governing bolus formation and identify critical characteristics that control subsequent digestion. What we perceive as food texture is explained by physical and chemical properties of food, and you will learn how to measure these using techniques such as rheology, particle sizing, and biochemical assays. You will also undertake a mastication study with human participants and develop new approaches to simulating bolus structures in the laboratory. You will then use established digestion models to study nutrient release from different bolus structures.

Despite its importance, there are still many unknowns when it comes to oral processing, and there is plenty of scope for the project to be taken in different directions, building on the foundational studies on food structure and bolus formation.

The project is highly relevant to the development of improved laboratory models of human digestion, enabled through engagement with an international researcher network. The work also has applications in the development of functional foods for metabolic/satiety regulation, oral delivery of therapeutics, and/or texture-modified foods for dysphagia (swallowing difficulties).

processing not only affect our enjoyment of food, but also affects how easily nutrients are absorbed further down the gastrointestinal tract. Being able to understand the behaviour of different food types during oral processing is therefore fundamental to sensory and nutrition studies.

This project will investigate mechanisms governing bolus formation and identify critical characteristics that control subsequent digestion. What we perceive as food texture is explained by physical and chemical properties of food, and you will learn how to measure these using techniques such as rheology, particle sizing, and biochemical assays. You will also undertake a mastication study with human participants and develop new approaches to simulating bolus structures in the laboratory. You will then use established digestion models to study nutrient release from different bolus structures.

Despite its importance, there are still many unknowns when it comes to oral processing, and there is plenty of scope for the project to be taken in different directions, building on the foundational studies on food structure and bolus formation.

The project is highly relevant to the development of improved laboratory models of human digestion, enabled through engagement with an international researcher network. The work also has applications in the development of functional foods for metabolic/satiety regulation, oral delivery of therapeutics, and/or texture-modified foods for dysphagia (swallowing difficulties).