MPhil in Digestion and Delivery

University of Leeds

To complete a postgraduate research programme, you’ll need to be dedicated and passionate about your area of study. But it’ll be well worth it. Being a doctoral student is challenging, but incredibly rewarding. You are expected to carry out a programme of research in a particular area under the supervision of a primary supervisor and one or more co-supervisors.We are using cutting edge approaches to understand how the different structures of the food we eat can alter nutrient release during digestion and how the timing and amount of specific compounds can influence health. In response to the obesity epidemic in the UK, where two thirds of adults and a quarter of children under 10 are now overweight or obese, our research is discovering ways to structure food to have a lower glycemic response or boost protein metabolism, while ensuring the food is just as acceptable to the consumer. Our perception of texture and taste and the effect of oral processing on the release of nutrients, flavours and aromas are key to our enjoyment of food. We are using a range of methods to explain the effect of lubrication (tribology) on oral processing and perception. Part of our research focusses on understanding the mechanisms of oral release and breakdown in relation to food physics and multi-scale structural re-organisation. With in-depth quantitative understanding of oral processing, we believe we can provide the foundation for designing tailored food, for example, for people with special oral processing needs.