Prof. Anwesha Sarkar

Excited to share our new preprint on "Data-driven pipeline enables discovery of plant protein surfactants" led by Dr Sridharan @simhas.bsky.social - Thanks @ukri.org @horizoneu.bsky.social. We discover systematically plant proteins that will optimally act as surfactants
chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10....

Climate Change Could Halve the Area Suitable for Livestock Farming by 2100, Shows Study Livestock farming is a leading driver of climate change, which could result in a 36-50% decline in the area suitable for grazing by the end of the century.

A new study published in @pnas.org underscores why protein diversification is 🔑 to a secure and sustainable food future: Grassland-based grazing systems will “witness a severe contraction” due to climate change, threatening food security—especially in regions already facing hunger and instability.

Six new members of the ERC Scientific Council The European Commission has appointed six new members to the governing body of the European Research Council (ERC), the Scientific Council. The term of one current member has also been renewed. In par...

Six new members join the ERC Scientific Council:

🔸Michel Campillo
🔸Emmanuelle Charpentier
🔸Kateřina Králová
🔸Susana Narotzky
🔸Karin Roelofs
🔸Eleftheria Zeggini

Read more: erc.europa.eu/news-events/...

Wish you all festive greetings from Sarkar Lab to you All! to more science, learnings, health, collaboration and fun 🥂!

Delighted to have this interdisciplinary study published today titled "Unveiling plant protein astringency perception through neural and cellular responses" in Scientific Reports by Dr. Ben Kew @foodscileeds.bsky.social. Thank you #NAPIC and @erc.europa.eu for funding #LubSat doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Huge congratulations to Dr. Ben Kew (NAPIC R&I Fellow) @foodscileeds.bsky.social for winning the prestigious IMECHE Tribology Bronze Medal. We are so proud of you environment.leeds.ac.uk/faculty/news...

Congratulations Daisy @foodscileeds.bsky.social for passing her PhD viva on her thesis titled “Potato Protein-Based Microgels: From Bulk to Interface” with only editorial corrections. Thank you Prof. Milena Corrideg and Dr. David Harbottle for the viva... All the best Dr. Daisy Z. Akgonullu!!!

Our #lubrication and delubrication work of #microgels, now accepted in Food Hydrocolloids. Its a comprehensive work by Qi, Visiting #PhD Student who shows how size, deformability and surface of tongue matter when microgels either lubricate or actually increase friction: doi.org/10.1016/j.fo...

A very detailed work on how insoluble particles such as plant protein particles may disperse in non-aqueous media such as oil and impact rheological behaviour is now published in Soft Matter by Megan Holdstock #PhD student. Thank you @ukri.org SOFI2 CDT & Nestle for funding, doi.org/10.1039/D5SM...

It was great to collaborate on this work with University of Portsmouth with our #tribology and #adsorption strengths and find that indeed saliva can recover its lubricity even after exposure to sweetened acidic beverage: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... @envleeds.bsky.social @envleeds.bsky.social

Sip Smartly: Study Finds Apple Juice’s Impact on Oral Health Is Temporary In a groundbreaking study published in PLOS One, researchers from the University of Portsmouth have challenged long-held assumptions about the immediate effects of apple juice on oral health, revealing that our saliva's natural protective mechanisms are far more resilient than previously believed. This investigation marks the first time advanced scientific techniques, typically reserved for engineering and material science, have been applied to understand how apple juice influences the lubricating and immune functions of human saliva.

Sip Smartly: Study Finds Apple Juice’s Impact on Oral Health Is Temporary

In a groundbreaking study published in PLOS One, researchers from the University of Portsmouth have challenged long-held assumptions about the immediate effects of apple juice on oral health, revealing that our saliva's…

A beautiful paper in Food Hydrocolloids combining self-consistent field theory calculations and experiments by Mingxin (#PhD student) in @sarkarlab.bsky.social show how surface hydrolysis of legume proteins can improve their adsorption properties: doi.org/10.1016/j.fo... @foodscileeds.bsky.social

A crowd of people dressed smartly and in graduation gowns stood in front of The Great Hall.

That’s a wrap – our summer graduations have come to an end 🎓

Congratulations to the class of 2025 and welcome to the @leedsalumni.bsky.social community 💚

We hope you had the best time celebrating – we can’t wait to see what’s next for you!

Massive congratulations to Dr. Elizabeth Tenorio-Garcia and Dr. Mary Okeudo-Cogan for graduating with their #PhD from @sarkarlab.bsky.social. So proud of your #PhD journeys and future career trajectories. Congratulations Lucy and Stephanie for your exciting MSci projects in our lab - best wishes!!

Congratulations Dr. Elizabeth Tenorio-Garcia, post her #PhD, Elizabeth has moved out of our cosy @sarkarlab.bsky.social nest and now a Formulation Scientist at the MicroLub Ltd. We wish you all the best and we are sure you will shine with your amazing material science knowledge and soft skills ;)

New work in Food Hydrocolloids out from my lab @foodscileeds.bsky.social "Characterisation of an oat protein-beta-glucan co-extract" led by Jennifer McLauchlan, #PHd Student. We show how oat protein-beta-glucan co-exists creating different morphologies by changing pH/ ions doi.org/10.1016/j.fo...

New publication titled "Relating #tribology to astringency perception in acidic plant protein-fortified fiber-based smoothies", now in Food Hydrocolloids. We show #tribology, #rheology and #insoluble fraction can provide proxies for sensory tests in initial screening phase doi.org/10.1016/j.fo...

Our new, interdisciplinary work titled "#Pickering water-in-oil emulsions stabilized by #beeswax crystals: design and stability" is now published by Yanhui Zhang in J. Food Eng, co-authored by Dr. Elizabeth Tenorio Garcia, Prof. Michael Rappolt, Dr. Sepideh Khodaparast! doi.org/10.1016/j.jf...

Feeling blessed to be invited as keynote speaker at the 99th ACS and 18th IACIS Colloids conference at Canada and really proud of my team presenting latest results on self-assembly of #alternativeproteins, colloidal structures and their performance at interfaces to AI-assisted #protein discovery.

Thanks 22nd Gums and Stabilizer Conference for giving me the opportunity for a keynote speech on #mouthfeel. Very excited to be at Wageningen with Chenxi and Gloria - presenting oral and poster presentations! #alternativeprotein, #Pickeringemulsion, #demulsification #water-in-water emulsion!

Food scientists in top 2% of researchers citated by Stanford University Ten academics from the School of Food Science and Nutrition are within the small group of experts that make up the top 2% of global researchers cited by Stanford University.

Ten academics from @foodscileeds.bsky.social are within the small group of experts that make up the top 2% of global researchers cited by @stanforduniversity.bsky.social.

Find out more about their leading research: environment.leeds.ac.uk/news/article...

Great to have our lab featured in the Meal Deals: Behind the Bargain Program hosted by Joe Swash on our research on #plantproteins! Check out at 29.20 min if you want to see us 🤩 www.channel4.com/programmes/m... @universityofleeds.bsky.social @envleeds.bsky.social #NAPIC @channel4tv.bsky.social

Tracing the Path from Basic Research to Transformative Therapies

28 of the most important drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) between 1985 and 2009. They found that 80 percent stemmed directly from basic discoveries made in the lab, often by scientists trying to understand a biological process or disease

bit.ly/4jLCfbC

Our work featured in Journal Cover of @acs Applied #Materials & Interfaces. We show how AFM & self-consistent field theory may explain interaction forces between fungal hyphae and how these are moderated by the addition of protein-binding agents in vegan meat analogues! doi.org/10.1021/acsa...

Check out our latest work “Unravelling Protein−Fungal Hyphae Interactions at the #Nanoscale” on how #plantprotein binds to fungal hyphae surfaces using super resolution microscopy, atomic force microscopy and theoretical analysis - an excellent work by Dr. Mary Okeudo-Cogan! doi.org/10.1021/acsa...

Illustration of a robot holding a Pint of Science branded glass cup. "Pint of Science, 19-21 May 2025, 6 venues, 40 talks, 16:30 - 21:30" is written in bold lettering.

@pintofscience.uk is back in Leeds 🎉

Some of our researchers are taking the stage to bring you interesting talks covering topics under themes, such as ⬇️
🧠 Beautiful Mind
⚛️ Atoms to Galaxies
🌍 Planet Earth
💡 And so much more

🗓️ 19 – 21 May

Find out more 👇
pintofscience.co.uk/events/leeds

Once again a super-amazing #BeCurious Event at the @universityofleeds.bsky.social! My little one thoroughly enjoyed the carbon capture, microstructure of butterfly and protein-folding 😄!

Two people are seated at a table with drinks, looking at a menu in a lively pub setting.

A person presenting a slideshow featuring a nature scene to an audience in a dimly lit room.

Audience watching a presenter at a Pint of Science event on a stage with a large screen in the background.

Don’t miss out! 📢

#Pint25 is taking science out of the laboratory and into local venues, including 👇
📍 The Attic
📍 Cardigan Arms
📍 The Lending Room
📍 And so many more!

Buy your tickets now ⬇️
pintofscience.co.uk/events/leeds

What a beautiful day to do our team trip🎉🎉🎉🎉 We loooved forbidden corner

A graphic for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), showing a historical portrait of Marie Skłodowska-Curie overlaid with an image of four young researchers walking down a hallway. The European Commission logo is in the top left. Text reads: "Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions – €404.3 million to support postdoctoral researchers”

Choose Science. Choose Europe.

A new Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025 call is now open.

With a budget of €404.3 million, it will support around 1,650 researchers from Europe and beyond.

Apply by 10 September → europa.eu/!fBTMgF