Research Interests:
Novel food bioactives and formulations, gastrointestinal digestion and microbiome, food-omics and food nanosciences, process-structure-functionality relationships
Short Synopsis:
• Food Chemistry and Biochemistry: Fabrication and characterization of novel food-grade ingredients and formulations. Physicochemical basis of digestion. Metabolomic and proteomic analyses of foods, Prebiotics and antioxidants and their role in foods. Personalization of foods.
• Food technology: Novel strategies to rationally design food colloids and interfaces. Development of structured emulsions and other oral controlled release formulations.
• Emerging food Science and technology: In-Vitro models of the gastrointestinal tract, structure-function relationships, nutritional programming of the gut microbiome. Impact of processing and formulation on food safety and digestive fate.
Current international collaborations: Institute of Food Research (Norwich, UK), National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA, Rennes, France).
Lesmes, U., Baudot, P. and McClements, D.J. (2010). Impact of interfacial composition on physical stability and in vitro lipase digestibility of triacylglycerol oil droplets coated with lactoferrin and/or caseinate, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 58, 13, 7962–7969.
Benshitrit, R., Shani Levi, C., Tal Levi, S., Shimoni, E. and Lesmes, U. (2012). Development of oral food-grade delivery systems: current knowledge and future challenges. Food and Function, 3, 10-21.
Lesmes, U. and McClements, D.J. (2012). Controlling Lipid Digestibility: Response of lipid droplets coated by b-lactoglobulin-dextran Maillard conjugates to simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Food Hydrocolloids, 26, 1, 221-230.
David-Birman, T., Mackie, A. and Lesmes, U. (2013). Impact of dietary fibers on the properties and proteolytic digestibility of lactoferrin nano-particles. Food Hydrocolloids, 31, 1, 33–41.
Shani Levi, C., Levi Tal, S. and Lesmes, U. (2013). Comparative performance of milk proteins and their emulsions under dynamic in vitro adult and infant gastric digestion, Food Hydrocolloids, 32, 2, 349-357.