Yue Liu

Yue Liu applied to study for a PhD at the University of Leeds after graduating from an MSc in her home country, China. Yue tackles the problem of global food waste in her research and supervised by Professors Caroline Orfila and Yun Yun Gong. She enjoys being part of the postgraduate community at Leeds and is a member of the Nutritional Epidemiology research group.

Yue said: “I am an international student who finished MSc study in China. I chose the UK as my PhD study place as I would like to have the chance to experience a different culture. Also, University of Leeds is ranked 1st in the UK in Food Science and Nutrition. In addition, there are many collaborative projects that can provide communication opportunities in this field.”

Preventing global food waste

The topic of Yue’s research centres on using anti-microbial growth compounds from mandarin peel waste to slow down the food spoilage in cereals. In the future she hopes the research will be applied in industry.

“Food loss and waste is a serious problem worldwide,” said Yue. “According to FAO, around a third of the food produced in the world for human consumption is being lost or wasted each year. Among them, food spoilage, which is associated with microbial growth, plays a crucial role in food lost.

“My project is associated with a project held by Professor Caroline Orfila, CitruSafe. Both academy and industry, including BioPower UK Ltd, Keracol Ltd and Parkside Flexibles, contribute to this project. My supervisors and me are trying to find out anti-microbial growth compounds from mandarin peel waste to slow down the food spoilage in cereals.”

I have enjoyed learning how to design a research project and develop the relevant study skills. I hope to successfully demonstrate the hypothesis of the project so it can contribute to the food industry.

She continued: “I have enjoyed learning how to design a research project and develop the relevant study skills. I hope to successfully demonstrate the hypothesis of the project that can have some contribution to the food industry. Most important of all, I look forward to finishing my PhD thesis and publishing the results.”

Supportive postgraduate community

Postgraduate life at the University has enhanced Yue’s experience of being in Leeds. In the future, she hopes to continue to be involved in in food science research, and will look for research positions following her PhD.

Yue said: “The Nutritional Epidemiology research group, which is led by Caroline Orfila, hosts regular meetings for sharing and discussing any research information, test data and experiment experiences. These seminars give me professional support and broad view on food science area.

My supervisors are very knowledgeable and experienced in their field. They always give me plenty of help and support on my research processes.

“My supervisors, Professors Caroline Orfila and Yun Yun Gong, are very knowledgeable and experienced in their field. They always give me plenty of help and support on my research processes. Moreover, my supervisors are always treating me very well. They encourage and guide a lot, which get me through the difficulties over and over again.”

She added: “I’m proud to be part of a professional technical team with outstanding supervision, huge accessible research sources and international communication opportunities.”