Research Student Project
Supervisor name & contact details:
Name Dr Orla Cahill & Dr. Catherine BarryRyan
School Food Science & Environmental Health
Email orla.cahill@dit.ie &
catherine.barryryan@dit.ie
Weblink (if available)
Research Centre Name and Website (if
applicable)
FESH http://www.dit.ie/fseh/ & ESHI
http://www.dit.ie/eshi/
Please indicate if the intention is to transfer
from the Masters programme to the PhD
programme (if applicable)
No
Please indicate if the project is suitable for a
self-funded student
Yes
Funding Agency
DIT Fiosraigh Programme
Scholarship Details
Full-time PhD student stipend: €16,000
Project costs €2,000 per annum up to 4 yrs.
Food Science
Subject Area
Title of the Project
No
“AllergyChek”- The investigation and
evaluation of food processing methods on the
allergenicity of food proteins.
Project Description (max 300 words)
Applications are invited for a motivated and self-driven individual to pursue a four-year PhD
research project in the School of Food Science & Environmental Health in Dublin Institute of
Technology, Cathal Brugha St. Dublin 1.
The incidence of people with food allergies is increasing globally with an estimated 17 million
people in Europe alone suffering from serious life-threatening food allergies. Common food
allergens to cause allergic reaction in an estimated 75% of Europeans are cow’s milk, hen’s egg,
peanuts, tree nuts, and fish. however any food has the potential to elicit an immune response.
These food allergens have produced an IgE reactivity in at least 50% of the allergic individuals and
are classified as major food allergens, which are recognised as foods of public health importance
to be included in regulatory allergen lists worldwide.
Over 120 foods have been cited as being associated with anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal reaction
to a food. Currently there is no cure for food allergy or anaphylaxis with the most effective
preventative measure being avoidance of the allergen.
Although foods innately have various proteins present in them, the impact on allergenicity of
these proteins by virtue of food processing methods needs to be considered and quantified.
While studies have done to establish sensitisation due to processed foods in allergic individuals
little focus has been devoted to establishing food processing effects.
The core aims of the project are to;



Evaluate the effects of various food processing methods on the allergenicity of food
proteins to determine both positive and negative effects.
Quantify the effects of selected food processing methods to determine the severity of
the effects.
Optimise methods to reduce the alllergenicity of food proteins.
The ideal candidate should have an undergraduate degree or masters in Biological Science, Food
science or a relevant discipline. As with any research post, the he successful applicant should
have excellent interpersonal, time-management, written and oral communication skills with the
ability to multi-task.
Please indicate the student requirements for this project
Min BSc 2.1 in Biological, Food Science or a relevant discipline.
Deadline to submit applications (only for
funded projects)
12th February 2016