Assoc. Prof. Uri Lesmes
Our overall goal is to interrogate novel pathways and ingredients that will ensure the safety and security of the human supply chain for years to come. Our lab leads investigations that help lay the scientific and technological foundations that will facilitate the fabrication of healthier foods and biotechnological formulations tailored to the consumer needs.
We adapt a holistic approach to food production where we seek to understand how processing affects physico-chemistry of foods and consequently their functionality, digestive fate and overall ramifications to health.
In practice, our research emphasis is on understanding the complex rela tionships between food processing, food physicochemistry and the bioaccessibility/bioavailability of bioactives in the human gut. For this purpose, we couple advanced and comprehensive analytical tools, e.g. proteomic analyses with bioreactor-based human digestion models.Additionally, we operate and develop unique bioreactors, which we have adapted to simulate different elements of human digestion, ranging from gastric digestion down to colon microbiome fermentations, in different human populations.
Our current research activities cluster into three main thrusts:
[I] Rational design of functional and value-added products and processes
[II] Development of in vitro human digestion models for investigations of food’s digestive fate and
[III] Innovations and fundamental research of food colloids and biopolymers, namely structured emulsions, nanoparticles and novel food ingredients.
Link to lab websihttp: http://lesmesu.net.technion.ac.il
