Professor Mike Gidley
Director
Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences
University of Queensland ,
St Lucia , 4072
Personal Website Address: none at present
Email: mike.gidley@uq.edu.au
The Big Question
- Integration of nutrition and food sciences across the agri-food chain to improve understanding of whole food health & sensory properties, and to provide opportunities for enhanced benefits.
The Short-term goals
- Facilitate project teams spanning the agri-food chain.
- Develop projects that use recent breakthroughs in biological and physical sciences to tackle technical barriers in nutrition and food science.
Food and nutrition sciences in Queensland are set to receive a boost following the joint appointment of an international expert by The University of Queensland (UQ) and the Department of Primary Industries (DPI).
Dr Mike Gidley will take up the dual role of the Director of UQ's Centre for Nutrition and Food Science, and the Research Mentor for the DPI's Agency for Food and Fibre Sciences (AFFS).
According to the Executive Dean of UQ's Faculty of Natural Resources, Agriculture and Veterinary Science, Professor Roger Swift, food processing is already the largest manufacturing industry in Australia and attracting experts like Dr Gidley will enhance that position.
"The kind of international experience that Dr Gidley brings has the potential to provide research that could significantly enhance Queensland 's ability to secure important export markets through increased international competitiveness," Professor Swift said.
According to Professor Swift the new centre is the result of a high level of collaboration in the scientific community.
"Not only is it another example of the strong and productive links between UQ and the DPI but within the University scientists from four different faculties will contribute to the centre," he said.
DPI Food Technology Director Peter Skarshewski said Dr Gidley had studied and worked extensively in the UK, particularly in the field of food sciences, and would bring an enormous amount of experience to the position.
"As Research Mentor, Dr Gidley will lead the research efforts of the AFFS which supports all players in food and fibre supply chains, resulting in safe, sustainable food and fibre production tailored to the needs of world markets," Mr Skarshewski said.
Dr Gidley is currently the Group Leader of the plant-based foods and ingredients section of Unilever Research in the UK . In this position he supervises staff who are conducting research in plant genomics, materials science and processing, and the discovery and sourcing of nutritional and functional food ingredients.
Dr Gidley was awarded his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of London and a PhD from the University of Cambridge .
As well as his work with Unilever, Dr Gidley has served on the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, both on the Plant and Microbial Sciences Committee and the Agri-Food Committee. He has also been a part of the Royal Society of Chemistry Carbohydrate Group and the Carbohydrate Research Foundation UK .
"AFFS is continually forging ahead with its research into food and fibre, and the appointment of Dr Gidley can only improve the advances we are making particularly in food technology while also enhancing our interactions with The University of Queensland," Mr Skarshewski said.
| Group (lab) Members and areas of research
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Centre was started in late 2003 and is currently in start-up phase. Examples of likely research areas include:
- Nutritional metabolomics, particularly for tropical crops. Understanding the chemical composition and genetic potential of (tropical) crops in the context of known health-benefiting agents and through relevant in vitro assays for biological activity.
- Food structure effects on nutritional performance. Understanding the macrostructural basis for bioavailability of energy and nutrients from food. Molecule/function studies of food structures for tailored nutritional delivery and sensorial properties.
- Developing the science behind 'clean and green' foods. Understanding and measuring clean/green credentials of finished foods. Identifying level of overlap with nutritional benefits and seeking opportunities for reduced food processing inputs without compromising quality.
Current
Applications submitted or planned
- Several applications addressing areas of research identified above are either submitted or planned
| Techniques in the Laboratory
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Currently active
The Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences is a virtual one that is supported by four science faculties of the University of Queensland in partnership with the state Department of Primary Industries. The intention is that techniques developed in any area of the two organisations can be deployed in relevant funded projects.
In development
Top three areas of knowledge
- Food Science;
- Plant cell walls and materials properties of plant-based foods;
- Starch and other polysaccharides.
Top three technical skills
- Linking molecules to material properties;
- Applications of NMR spectroscopy to solid and semi-solid systems;
- Marriage of 'market pull' and 'technology push' to drive technical innovation for the food industry.
| Publications in the past five years |
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- M E Edwards, T-S Choo, C A Dickson, C Scott, M J Gidley and J S G Reid "The seeds of Lotus japonicus lines transformed with sense, antisense and sense/antisense galactomannan galactosyltransferase constructs have structurally altered galactomannans in their endosperm cell walls" Plant Physiology , 2004, in press (accepted 3/12/03).
- E Chanliaud , J de Silva, B. Strongitharm, G Jeronimidis and M J Gidley "Mechanical effects of plant cell wall enzymes on xyloglucan/cellulose composites" The Plant Journal , 2004, in press (accepted 1/12/03).
- A P Ormerod, J D Ralfs, R Jackson, J Milne and M J Gidley "The influence of tissue porosity on the materials properties of model plant tissues" Journal of Materials Science , 2004, 39 , 529-538.
- J S G Reid, M E Edwards, C A Dickson, C Scott and M J Gidley "Tobacco transgenic lines that express fenugreek galactomannan galactosyltransferase constitutively have structurally altered galactomannans in their seed endosperm cell walls" Plant Physiology , 2003, 131 , 1487-1495.
- O M Astley, E Chanliaud, A M Donald and M J Gidley "Tensile deformation of bacterial cellulose composites" International Journal of Biological Macromolecules , 2003, 32 , 28- 35.
- M J Gidley , S Ablett and D R Martin "The food supply chain: the present role and future potential of NMR", in 'Magnetic resonance in food science' Royal Society of Chemistry, 2003, pp 3-16.
- E Chanliaud , K M Burrows, G Jeronimidis and M J Gidley "Mechanical properties of primary plant cell wall analogues" Planta , 2002, 215 , 989-996.
- M E Edwards, E Marshall , M J Gidley and J S G Reid "Transfer specificity of detergent- solubilised fenugreek galactomannan galactosyltransferase" Plant Physiology , 2002, 129 , 1391-1397.
- M Kacurakova, A C Smith, M J Gidley and R H Wilson "Molecular interactions in bacterial cellulose composites studied by 1D FT-IR and dynamic 2D FT-IR spectroscopy" Carbohydrate Research , 2002, 337 , 1145-1153.
- M J Gidley , E Chanliaud and S Whitney "Influence of polysaccharide composition on the structure and properties of cellulose-based composites", in 'Plant Bioploymer Science: food and non-food applications' Royal Society of Chemistry, 2002, pp 39-47.
- M J Gidley "Using Nature to tailor hydrocolloid systems", in 'Gums and Stabilisers for the Food Industry 11' Royal Society of Chemistry, 2002, pp 281-288.
- A Ormerod, J Ralfs, S Jobling and M Gidley "The influence of starch swelling on the materials properties of cooked potatoes" Journal of Materials Science , 2002, 37 , 1667- 1673 .
- O M Astley, E Chanliaud , A M Donald and M J Gidley "Structure of Acetobacter cellulose composites in the hydrated state" International Journal of Biological Macromolecules , 2001, 29 , 193-202.
- M J Gidley "Starch structure/function relationships: achievements and challenges", in 'Starch: advances in structure and function', Royal Society of Chemistry, 2001, pp 1-7. L. McCartney, A P Ormerod, M J Gidley and J P Knox "Temporal and spatial regulation of pectic (1->4)- beta-D-galactan in cell walls of developing pea cotyledons: implications for mechanical properties" The Plant Journal , 2000, 22 , 105-113.
- T A Waigh, K L Kato, A M Donald, M J Gidley, C J Clarke and C Riekel "Side-chain liquid-crystalline model for starch" Starke , 2000, 52 , 450-460.
- T A Waigh, M J Gidley, B U Komanshek and A M Donald "The phase transformations in starch during gelatinisation: a liquid crystalline approach" Carbohydr Res , 2000, 328 , 165-176.
- S E C Whitney, M J Gidley and S J McQueen-Mason "Probing expansin action using cellulose/hemicellulose composites" The Plant Journal , 2000, 22 , 327-334.
- G P Schwall, R Safford, R J Westcott, R Jeffcoat, A Tayal, Y-C Shi, M J Gidley and S A Jobling "Production of very-high-amylose potato starch by inhibition of SBE A and B" Nature Biotechnology , 2000, 18 , 551-554.
- R F Tester, S J J Debon, H V Davies and M J Gidley "Effect of temperature on the synthesis, composition and physical properties of potato starch" J Sci Food Agric. , 1999, 79 , 2045-2051.
- E Chanliaud and M J Gidley " In vitro synthesis and properties of pectin/ Acetobacter xylinus cellulose composites" The Plant Journal , 1999, 20 , 25-35.
- M E Edwards, C A Dickson, S Chengappa , C Sidebottom, M J Gidley and J S G Reid "Molecular characterisation of a membrane-bound galactosyltransferase of plant cell wall matrix polysaccharide biosynthesis" The Plant Journal , 1999, 19 , 691-697.
- S E C Whitney, M G E Gothard, J T Mitchell and M J Gidley "Roles of cellulose and
xyloglucan in determining the mechanical properties of primary plant cell walls" Plant Physiology , 1999, 121 , 657-663.
- S A Jobling, G P Schwall, R J Westcott, C M Sidebottom, M Debet, M J Gidley,
R Jeffcoat and R Safford "A minor form of starch branching enzyme in potato tubers has a major effect on starch structure: cloning and characterisation of multiple forms of SBE A" The Plant Journal , 1999, 18 , 163-171.
- A Edwards, D C Fulton, C M Hylton, S A Jobling, M J Gidley , U Rossner, C
Martin and A M Smith"A combined reduction in activity of starch synthases II and III of potato has novel effects on the starch of tubers"
The Plant Journal, 1999, 17 , 251-261.
- T A Waigh, A M Donald, F Heidelbach, C Riekel and M J Gidley
"Analysis of the native structure of starch granules with small angle X-ray microfocus
scattering" Biopolymers , 1999, 49 , 91-105.
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