Opportunities exist for motivated graduates to develop their researchskills further in a variety of innovative food research projects basedat the Moorepark Food Research Centre, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland. Thelaboratories are well equipped and the prospective students will haveaccess to state-of-the-art research equipment and experiencedsupervisors. There are currently four studentships available in thearea of food structure and health and cheese science as describedbelow:

Characterisation of polysaccharides as fat mimetics in mixedbiopolymer systems using dynamic microstructure analysis.

Polysaccharides are widely used in the food industry as thickeningagents and for their fat mimetic properties, whilst milk proteins areparticularly useful as structuring agents in many foods. By exploitingsegregative phase separation phenomena it is possible to control themicrostructure and phase distribution of mixed biopolymer systemscontaining both proteins and polysaccharides and therefore to designfood structures with desired functional properties. Most phaseseparation studies have focused on equilibrium behaviour and usedsmall deformation rheological methods to study properties; very fewstudies have linked large deformation and failure response tomicrostructural features.

Confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM) is a powerful technique forstudying the distribution of food ingredients and also the formationof protein networks. Recent developments in micro-tensile and shearingoptical stages have facilitated the direct observation ofprotein-polysaccharide composites during mechanical deformation. Thissuccessful candidate will develop and apply dynamic microstructurecharacterisation techniques to mixed biopolymer systems containingmilk proteins and polysaccharides. Rheological and microstructuraldata obtained will be correlated with data obtained from equivalentbiopolymer systems containing fat.

Academic Supervisor: Prof. Daniel M. Mulvihill, University College, Cork.Teagasc Supervisor: Dr. Mark Auty, Moorepark Food Research Centre.

Requirements: Applicants should have a good primary degree (1 or 2.1)in Food Science, Biochemistry, Biological or Physical Science.

Funding:The positions are funded by a Teagasc Walsh Fellowship of€17,000 p.a. covering postgraduate stipend and tuition fees.

Location: Sucessful applicants for all positions will be based atMoorepark Food research Centre, Fermoy, Co. Cork. Some time will alsobe spent at the relevant academic institution.

Starting date: The project will start at the beginning of September2006. Students will be required to register for a higher degree at theappropriate academic institution.

Application procedure: Applicants should submit their curriculumvitae, detailing qualifications and experience, together with acovering letter stating which position they are applying for andexplaining why they wish to pursue this project. Deadline forapplications is Friday 18 August 2006. Applications for all positionsshould be sent, preferably by email, to the academic supervisor asdetailed below:

Prof. Daniel M. Mulvihill,
Department of Food and NutritionalSciences,
National University of Ireland,
Cork, Ireland.
dmmul@ucc.ie

Further details are available from Dr. Mark Auty(mark.auty@teagasc.ie, Tel: +353 25 42447)