School of Food and Advanced Technology – food technology staff

Contact details +6492136626

Dr Zhi Yang PhD

Senior Lecturer in Food Technology/Food Engineering

Doctoral Supervisor
School of Food and Advanced Technology

Dr. Zhi Yang conducted his Ph.D. research at the University of Auckland from 2012-2016. In that project, he focused on elucidating the structure-function relationship of several food biopolymers under processing using advanced scattering techniques such as synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering and (ultra) small-angle neutron scattering. He traveled overseas to use state-of-the-art instruments in several prestigious institutes (Australian synchrotron; Beijing, and Shanghai synchrotrons; ASNTO; KAUST).

His postdoc research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is to in situ characterize the multiscale structural changes of various biomass during thermochemical pretreatments using SANS. This project belongs to a large DOE initiative for a better and deeper understanding of plant biopolymer structures and interactions to improve the efficiency of biofuel production. At the University of Auckland as a research fellow, he took the lead for two projects. The first one is preparation, physicochemical characterization of enzymatic digested porous starches and investigate their applications in dairy products. The second project was in cooperation with the dairy industry and focused on the physicochemical characterization of goat infant formulae acidified gels and their in-vitro digestion behavior.

His current and long-term research goals are (1) creating the new products and functionalities from food and biomass biopolymers using either biochemical (fermentation, enzymatic) and physical approaches (high hydrostatic pressure, extrusion, large shear, and ultrasound), (2) developing novel non-invasive methods, such as light, X-ray, and neutron scattering to probe the structural changes of food and biomass biopolymers under processing and digestion in situ.

My research expertise lies in the physico-chemical characterization and structural investigation of food and biomass biomacromolecule based-systems including plant proteins, starch, gelatine, non-starch cell wall polysaccharides, carrageenan, and milk protein; in both liquid or gel states. I am particularly interested in the development of Synchrotron Small Angle X-ray Scattering and Neutron Scattering methods to probe the multiscale structures of food and biomass biopolymers from sub-nanometers to several microns in their static state or under stresses in situ (e.g. high pressure, high temperature, shear. etc).

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Professional

Contact details

Location: Room 2.07, Innovation Complex (IC) Building
Campus: Auckland

Qualifications

Food Biotechnology - Wageningen University (2011)
Doctor of Philosophy - University of Auckland (2016)

Research Expertise

Research Interests

My research expertise lies in the physico-chemical characterization and structural investigation of food and biomass biomacromolecule based-systems including plant proteins, starch, gelatine, non-starch cell wall polysaccharides, carrageenan, and milk protein; in both liquid or gel states. I am particularly interested in the development of Synchrotron Small Angle X-ray Scattering and Neutron Scattering methods to probe the multiscale structures of food and biomass biopolymers from sub-nanometers to several microns in their static state or under stresses in situ (e.g. high pressure, high temperature, shear. etc).

Research Opportunities

Plant protein processing and characterisation (01/12/2020) Study various physicochemical properties of plant proteins
Self-assembly of food derived peptides (01/01/2023) Study self-assembly behaviour of peptides and develop their potential applications

Thematics

Future Food Systems

Area of Expertise

Field of research codes
Chemical Engineering (090400): Engineering (090000): Food Engineering (090802): Food Processing (090805): Food Sciences (090800): Functional Materials (091205): Materials Engineering (091200): Rheology (090408)

Keywords

Food Biomacromolecules Structures and Functionalities; Food Rheology; Milk proteins; Starch and non-starch polysaccharides; Small-angle X-ray Scattering; Small-angle neutron Scattering; Ultra Small-angle Neutron Scattering; Non-thermal Food Processing

Consultancy and Languages

Languages

English
Last used: Currently using
Spoken ability: Excellent
Written ability: Excellent
Chinese (Mandarin)
Last used: Native speaker
Spoken ability: Excellent
Written ability: Excellent

Teaching and Supervision

Contact Supervisor

Graduate Supervision Statement

Graduated postgraduate students:

Master of Food Technology (MFoodTech):

Shubham Patole (2020-2021): Graduation with distinction (A+)- A study on thermally induced gelation of quinoa protein isolate dispersions
Lan Luo (2021-2022): Graduation with distinction (A+)- Effect of non-thermal processing techniques on physicochemical properties of quinoa protein isolate dispersions

Dr Zhi Yang is available for Masters and Doctorial supervision.

Current Doctoral Supervision

Main Supervisor of:

Mahsa Hassani - Doctor of Philosophy
Identification and characterisation of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) derived from food proteins

Co-supervisor of:

Yusi Qin - Doctor of Philosophy
Preparation, characterisation, in vitro digestion, and application of novel hybrid protein assemblies
Yinxuan Hu - Doctor of Philosophy
Structuring of plant protein-based systems

Completed Doctoral Supervision