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Professor Anwesha Sarkar

Professor Anwesha Sarkar

  • Position: Chair in Colloids and Surfaces
  • Areas of expertise: oral tribology; biomimetic surface design; emulsions; hydrogels; microgels; protein complexes; alternative proteins; sensory-satiety relationships; multiscale imaging; force measurement cross scales
  • Email: A.Sarkar@leeds.ac.uk
  • Phone: +44(0)113 343 2748
  • Location: 10.76 EC Stoner
  • Website: Sarkar Lab | Twitter | LinkedIn | Googlescholar | Researchgate | ORCID

Profile

Anwesha Sarkar is Professor of Colloids and Surfaces, she joined the University of Leeds in Septermber 2014. She is the Director of Research and Innovation for the School of Food Science and Nutrition. She is the founder of MicroLub Ltd, aUniversity of Leeds spin out company.Prior to joining University of Leeds, she spent 4 years working in Nestlé Global Research Centre, Lausanne & Nestlé Headquarters, Vevey (Innovations) at Switzerland. Her international research trajectory spans from academic institutions to industries in India, New Zealand, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

Responsibilities

  • Director of Research and Innovation
  • Founder of MicroLub Ltd (University of Leeds Spin Out)

Research interests

Prof. Sarkar's research lies at the crossroads of experimental colloid science and human health, with a specific focus on understanding the mechanisms and governing principles of multiphasic colloidal structure-physiology interactions to solve grand health challenges. To understand those interactions at various length scales (nano-to-human scale), the experimental approaches span from use of mechanical measurements (tribology, rheology, nanotribology using atomic force microscopy), adsorption techniques (quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D)), imaging (confocal laser scanning microscopy, electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy), scattering (light, X-ray), electrophoresis, in vitro oral-gastrointestinal model with extension to in vivo human trials (sensory, satiety).

Prof. Sarkar is the editorial board member of journals, Food Hydrocolloids, Tribology Letters and Journal of Texture Studies. Prof. Sarkar has been recognized by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Research and DEvelopment Award (2024), Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) McBain Medal (2024), University's Women of Achievement Awards (2021) at the University of Leeds and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Food Group Junior Medal 2019 as a result of her research in designing novel colloidal structures with targeted oral lubrication performance. Previously she was awarded Elsevier Young Scientist Award (2009) and Nestlé Discovery award (2011) for her scientific researches. To date, Prof. Sarkar has published +130 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and is the co-inventor of 8 patents and she is regularly invited for giving keynote lectures at national and international conferences in food and soft matter areas.

For detailed information on the current research portfolio and recent research results, please visit Sarkar Lab. Currently, the research team led by her has 3 Postdoctoral Fellows ,15 PhD Students, 2 Visiting Research Fellows and 1 Research Assistant funded by UK Research Council (UKRI), ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) grants, industries and several international grants. Majority of the PhD Students and postdoctoral research fellows supervised in the past are scientists in leading food, pharmaceutical and allied soft matter industries in the UK and overseas.

Key Research Themes

  • Oral Processing and Tribology
  • Microstructure and Gastrointestinal Digestion
  • Edible delivery systems
<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Any research projects I'm currently working on will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>

Qualifications

  • PhD in Food Technology - Colloidal digestion of emulsions, Massey University, New Zealand
  • MS in Food Technology - Protein extraction and characterization from food wastes, CFTRI, India
  • BTech in Dairy Technology, WBUAFSc, India

Professional memberships

  • Member of RCS (Royal Society of Chemistry)
  • Member of SCI (Society of Chemical Industry)
  • Member of ACS (American Chemical Society)
  • Theme Lead for Product Functionalisation and Performance in EPSRC Molecules to Product CDT
  • Key Academic Member of EPSRC Soft Matter for Formulation and Industrial Innovation (SOFI) CDT
  • Member of AOCS (American Oil Chemists' Society)
  • Member of IFT (Institute of Food Technologists)
  • Conference Chair of the 17th Food Colloids Conference at Leeds, UK

Student education

  • Colloids
  • Physical Chemistry
  • Oral Tribology
  • Oral Processing
  • Colloidal Digestion
  • Food Processing

Research groups and institutes

  • Food Colloids and Processing
  • Food Colloids and Soft Matter at Interfaces
  • Novel Food Design and Processing
  • Food safety, food security and global health
  • Digestion and Delivery
  • Obesity, Cancer and Metabolic Disease
  • Human Nutrition and Lifestyle Intervention
  • Functional Biopolymers for Food and Health

Current postgraduate researchers

<h4>Postgraduate research opportunities</h4> <p>We welcome enquiries from motivated and qualified applicants from all around the world who are interested in PhD study. Our <a href="https://phd.leeds.ac.uk">research opportunities</a> allow you to search for projects and scholarships.</p>