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.
This underscores the school’s commitment to research excellence and groundbreaking scientific innovation, and highlights the talent and hard work of its researchers, facilitated by the technical and professional services teams.
This group effort highlights the drive, ambition and momentum of the staff across the School of Food Science and Nutrition who deliver world-class research.
Currently in its seventh iteration, this list identifies the globe's leading researchers, which represents approximately 2% of all scientists around the world.
The composite indicator provides standardised information on a wide range of bibliometric indicators, including citations, h-index, co-authorship adjusted hm-index and citations to papers in different authorship positions.
Using Scopus data provided by Elsevier, academics are classified into 22 scientific fields and 174 sub-fields according to the standard Science-Metrix classification. The data looks at current-year data (in this case, based on Scopus data as of 1st August 2024) and career-long data. View Elsevier's database.
This overview is ordered alphabetically by surname and provides a snapshot of the breadth of research excellence across the school.
Professor Janet E. Cade
Janet is an expert in public health nutrition and nutritional epidemiology. Lately, she has focused on myfood24, an MRC-funded dietary assessment tool and now a spin-out company, collaborating with the World Health Organisation to improve the nutritional quality of baby foods, and working on the UK Women's Cohort Study, which has detailed information on diet and cancer incidence in 35,000 British women.
She said: “This recognition reflects a wider team effort. I am honoured to work with so many talented people to show how important what we eat is to our long-term health.”
Professor Eric Dickinson
Eric formally retired from the School in 2008 and, as a visiting researcher, continues to contribute across the fields of food colloids, stability and rheology. A leading expert in his field, he has published over 400 papers and has been cited over 30,000 times.
Dr Rammile Ettelaie
Rammile is an associate professor of Food Chemical Physics. He holds a visiting professorship in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering of Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China.
His specialisation spans the fields of emulsions and foams, competitive adsorption of surface-active molecules, colloidal interactions and more widely the simulation and modelling of a range of food-related interfacial phenomena.
Rammile has research interests in transport properties in disordered heterogeneous media, and the use of Pickering emulsions/colloid science in understanding the behaviour of catalysts in microreactors, under a variety of different conditions.
He said: “Symmetry and order are beautiful, but it is the disordered systems that most exercise the mind.”
Professor Yun Yun Gong
Yun Yun’s research sits in the food safety, nutrition, and public health interface. She is interested in assessing the impact of food chemical contaminants (specifically mycotoxins) on human health, and developing effective tools to protect the public’s health.
She has led a number of international collaborative research projects on food safety and prevention of child double burden of malnutrition, providing scientific evidence for policy decisions in China and Africa.
She said: “My research would not have been possible without close collaborations with amazing international partners. Collaboration is essential to top quality science. In addition to a focus on scientific excellence, research in global health requires a strong passion and commitment towards real world solutions that improve public wellbeing.”
Dr Wing-Fu Lai
Wing-Fu conducts research primarily on the development and engineering of polymeric materials for food and pharmaceutical applications.
He held professional qualifications as both a Licensed Pharmacist and Dietitian in China and was also accredited as a Registered Nutritionist and Chartered Chemist in the UK, as well as a Certified Food Scientist in the US.
He said: “I am pleased to be ranked among the world’s top 2% of scientists by Stanford University for the fourth consecutive year. With the support of my School, I remain committed to conducting impactful research that advances delivery technologies for both food and pharmaceutical applications.”
Professor Alan Mackie
Alan specialises in interfacial layer compositions, protein-surfactant interactions, orogenic displacement and more recently, colloidal behaviour in the gastrointestinal tract and the link between psychological responses and gastric behaviour. He uses in vitro models to assess the role of food structure on nutrient release, absorption and metabolism.
“My involvement in the Infogest network has generated many highly cited papers and the achievements of the network including my inclusion in the Stanford list of the top 2% of Scientists continues to be a source of pride. This has led to a much improved understanding of how food can be designed to be healthier.”
Professor Brent S. Murray
Brent is an expert in particle-stabilised foams and emulsions, protein and polysaccharide microgel particles, interfacial tension and rheology. His work is particularly notable in the field of alternative proteins, where his cutting-edge innovation on various projects has driven growth and excellence in the field.
He said: “It is certainly gratifying that 4 current and former scientists in the School are in the top 100 at the University of Leeds: my former mentor and colleague Eric Dickinson at Number 1 (!), myself around the middle (55), Janet Cade at 69 and our former HoS Alan Mackie at 88.
“However, I am always wary of getting carried away by these sorts of metrics and, if my more ‘junior’ colleagues are feeling any sort of envy, remember that these figures are largely due to being (a) so long in the tooth and (b) a result of collaborating so many of you, wonderful people, in our school and other schools in Leeds over the years. Long may this continue.”
Professor Megan Povey
Megan develops novel ultrasound and acoustic methods for food characterisation and processing, using computer and mathematical modelling, instrument design and process equipment innovation and highlights the importance of sound in our enjoyment of the food we eat.
She said: “I am pleased to see that after over fifty years of research and publishing, my work is widely recognised and cited.”
Professor Anwesha Sarkar
Anwesha’s research is at the crossroads of experimental colloid science and surface tool development; through understanding the mechanisms and principles behind multiphasic colloidal structure-physiology interactions to address global sustainability challenges by transitioning towards alternative proteins.
Her expertise spans many approaches, including multi-scale tribology and rheology, adsorption, imaging, and sensory science.
She said: “I'm pleased that the research of my team has been recognised in such an exciting area. Colloid science and oral tribology are offering new approaches to feed the world's population sustainably, and we are on the cusp of a new era in understanding alternative proteins.
“Being in the company of eminent colleagues in this wonderful globally recognised list highlights the breadth of multi-disciplinary research strengths across the School, of which I am very proud.”
Professor Kieran Tuohy
Kieran studies the health effects of diet-microbe interactions within the gastrointestinal tract. He has expertise in pre- and probiotics, microbial ecology, fermentation technologies, nutrition, functional food design and testing.
He said: “It’s a great honour to have our work recognised, especially by peers through their own publications. A big thank you to all my team and collaborators, past and present.”
