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UCC's one hundred year history in quailty education of students in food and nutrition is recognised and acclaimed both nationally and around the globe. We welcome you to our website.
Learn of our School Research - led by our Academic staff
Our research is mainly in the fields of vitamin D and food fortification, maternal and child nutrition; currently investigating the evidence for healthy, sustainable diets throughout the life course.
Professor Mairead Kiely BSc (Nutrition), PhD, RNutr (Public Health Nutrition);
Co-Director, Cork Centre for Vitamin D and Nutrition Research,
Principal Investigator, Irish Centre for Maternal and Child Health Research (INFANT)
My research interests focus on public health areas of vitamin D, population distributions of serum 25(OH)D and related metabolites, dietary requirements for vitamin D and food-based solutions
Cereals, malting and brewing science specifically focussing on gluten free foods and beverages, starter cultures, functional beverages, rheology and food structure are the areas of my expertise
Professor Elke Arendt MSc, PhD, DSc.
Professor in the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences and APC Microbiome Centre
https://www.ucc.ie/en/cerealscience/research-team/arendt/
Our primary research interests address food packaging, shelf-life stability, food composition and food quality, particularly in relation to muscle food
Chemistry/biochemistry of muscle-based foods; physicochemical aspect of processed meat and fish; functional properties of muscle proteins; chemistry of cereal/cereal products are my research interest
Our research focuses on food ingredients, particularly dairy, spanning techno-functionality and formulation through to bio-functionality, involving extensive international collaborations.
Prof. Seamus O'Mahony BSc, PhD
Lecturer in Food Science
Programme Director MSc Food Science
Food Ingredients Research Group Leader
Pillar Leader in Dairy Processing Technology Centre
Funded Investigator in Vistamilk and APC Microbiome Research Centres
Our research focuses on clinical nutrition & dietetics, specifically nutrition and cancer prevention, cancer-associated wasting, body composition assessment by CT, cachexia and nutrition support.
Dr. Aoife Ryan, BSc, PhD, PGDip TLHE and CORU Registered Dietitian DI021735
Senior Lecturer in Nutrition & Dietetics; Programme director MSc Human Nutrition & Dietetics; Programme Director Post Graduate Diploma in Nutritional Sciences
Our specialist skills are in the area of sensory and product reformulation, working on sensory and flavour based projects involving a diverse selection of products
My main research interests include assessing the relationship between body composition (sarcopenia and cancer cachexia) and health outcomes in patients with malignant disease.
Alice leads research in the area of nutrition, food bioactives and health, specifically, the design of innovative food-based solutions to support health and well-being.
Dr Alice Lucey, BSc (Nutritional Sciences), PhD, RN (Public Health Nutrition), PG Dip (TLHE)
Maternal and paediatric nutrition, focusing on micronutrients, especially iron, and brain development in term and preterm infants and nutritional biomarker research are my main areas of expertise
My particular emphasis is on dairy chemistry, technology and processing with focus on all aspects of milk and dairy product production, quality and characteristics across the supply chain
My research interest is on the prevention and management of obesity, particularly maternal, child and adolescent obesity.
Dr. Majella O'Keeffe
Dr Majella O’Keeffe is a graduate of the BSc Nutritional Science at UCC; PhD at Cardiff University; Columbia University Research fellow New York Obesity and Nutrition Research Centre; Diploma in Dietetics from King’s College London - recipient of the Van Der Bergh prize
My research interests are in the area of sustainable food systems, including upcycling of side streams, alternative proteins, and life cycle assessment focusing on technological and nutritional aspect
My research focusses on the impact of nutritional exposures and health behaviours during pregnancy/early life on later health outcomes, with emphasis on analysis of dietary patterns and diet quality.
Our research focuses on nutritional intake and appetite control across the lifespan, particularly exploring where changes can improve the health and sustainability of older adults diets.
Dr Miriam Clegg, BSc, PhD, RNutr (Nutrition Science), SFHEA
Senior Lecturer in Human Nutrition
“My research interests aims to produce alternative proteins, food ingredients, bioactive, and biobased products, for improving resources efficiency, food security, and implementing circular bioeconomy
Dr. Gaurav Rajauria, SUSBioRef: Sustainable Bioprocess Technology and Biorefinery Research Group
Professor Mairead Kiely BSc (Nutrition), PhD, RNutr (Public Health Nutrition);
Mairead Kiely is a nutrition scientist by training and a registered Public Health Nutritionist with AfN. Mairead's teaching interests are in vitamins and human health, diet and cardiovascular disease, food choice and eating behaviour and performance nutrition. Her research is mainly in the fields of vitamin D and food fortification, maternal and child nutrition and she has been involved in projects on dietary assessment methods and food data for many years. Mairead is currently investigating the evidence for healthy, sustainable diets throughout the life course. She is co-director of the Cork Centre for Vitamin D and Nutrition Research and leads the Maternal and Child Nutrition Research platform at the Infant research centre for maternal and child health. Mairead has published more than 180 peer-reviewed papers and several international reports. She was joint co-ordinator of the multi-centre European Commission-funded project on Vitamin D [ODIN; Food-based strategies for vitamin D deficiency prevention throughout life] until 2018. She is active in the evidence-based development of nutrition policy and is a member of the UK Scientific Advisory Committee for Nutrition (SACN) as well as the SACN subgroup on Maternal and Child Nutrition. Mairead is the micronutrients section editor for the European Journal of Nutrition and currently chairs the Irish Section of the Nutrition Society.
My research interests focus on the key public health areas of vitamin D, including population distributions of serum 25(OH)D and related metabolites, dietary requirements for vitamin D in different population subgroups, food-based solutions for increasing vitamin D intake and status, and the role of vitamin D in health outcomes. He has over 130 publications; his work has contributed to current understanding of dietary vitamin D requirements and factors which affect same, as well as finding evidence-based dietary approaches for reaching the requirement estimates.
Prof. Dr. Elke Arendt is a Professor the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork since 1993. She lectures and carries out research in the area cereals and beverage science, with special emphasis on designing foods and beverages for consumers with special dietary needs (gluten free, FODMAP reduced etc.), plant proteins, plant fibers, by-products of the food and beverage industry, food fermentations and starter culture development. She is listed in the top 10 Food Scientists in the world based on citations (Sci Val 2020) and was named highly Cited Researcher in 2017 and 2018 (Clarivate-Web of Sciences https://clarivate.com/webofsciencegroup/)
My key research interests centre around the processing and preservation of food, and dairy products in particular. His key interest concerns the fate and significance of milk proteins and enzymes through the dairy processing chain, from variability in raw milk (e.g., due to lactation and mastitis), through the impact of processing (e.g., heating, high-pressure, homogenisation) to final dairy product quality (especially cheese, liquid milk, infant formula, and other products).
In recent years, a major emphasis of his research has concerned novel technologies, such as high pressure processing and novel emulsification technologies. He has also studied the biochemistry of milk proteins and enzymes for 15 years. A current major focus of research concerns the biochemistry and enzymology of human milk, and also the technology and formulation aspects of infant formulae.
He collaborates widely with colleagues within UCC, in the Cork University Maternity Hospital and Teagasc, and internationally with colleagues and teams from the US, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Major research interests are Milk composition (especially proteins); Milk enzymes and quality variation (e.g., mastitis, lactation); Processing of milk into dairy products (especially heating and cheesemaking); New technologies for food products (e.g., high-pressure treatment); Human milk biochemistry; Infant formula science and technology; Milk protein characterisation and functionality
This research has led to around 200 publications, leading to over 3500 citations, and around 30 supervised or co-supervised MSc and PhD theses.
The research interests of the Food Packaging group is in modified atmosphere packaging and gas flushing technology in relation to fresh and cooked meat and fish quality; development and packaging of value-added convenience type food products; development and application of sensors in food packaging; ingredient formulation for the production of edible and biodegradable packaging materials; compartmentalised odours associated with packaging of foods; pre- and post-slaughter factors affecting meat and fish quality.
We investigate the development and application of gas detecting sensors and other forms fo smart packing technologies within food packs; Formulation, production and application of edible/biodegradable films/coatings, with enhanced active packaging elements, as potential food packaging materials; Product development and assessment of food product stability and shelf-life and quality in foods held in retail packaging systems; Manipulation, application and assessment of modified atmosphere packaging systems and technologies for food pack applications; Pre and post-slaughter activities, and associated procedures, on the composition and quality of muscle food products (meat, poultry and fish)
My reserch interests include Chemistry and biochemistry of muscle-based foods; Physicochemical aspects of processed meat and fish products; Functional properties of muscle proteins; Functionality of added ingredients in meat products; Chemistry of cereal and cereal products; Physicochemical properties of cereal proteins in relation to processability and product quality; Use of enzymes and microorganisms to modify the functionality and processing behaviour of wheat flour dough
Seamus O’Mahony is a multiple award-winning, highly funded and globally connected dairy scientist. Seamus teaches in 15 undergraduate and 9 postgraduate food-related modules, across 7 academic programmes at UCC, in addition to contributing strongly to the development and delivery of bespoke adult learner and CPD programmes through the UCC Food Industry Training Unit. Seamus is Programme Director for the MSc in Food Science at UCC and External Examiner at the University of Nottingham, UK.
Seamus is Principal Investigator and Group Leader of the Food Ingredients Research Group at UCC and his research activities are focused on four main platforms, namely, (1) ingredient development and functionality, (2) powder technology and engineering, (3) formulation science and technology and (4) bio-functional food ingredients. The cutting-edge research he leads is of practical and commercial relevance in the formulation, processing, development and optimisation of food ingredients for various applications, mainly in food, particularly in premium nutritional products, such as infant, clinical and medical nutrition.
Beyond academia, his research outputs have major positive implications for human nutrition, health and wellness and industry end-users. With total competitively-won research funding of >€7.5m, Seamus has diversified his funding portfolio to increase funding from higher impact national (e.g., SFI Research Centres) and international (e.g., H2020) sources in recent years. Seamus has published >110 research articles and 16 book chapters, holds 3 patents, edited 3 books and contributed 160 abstracts, posters and presentations, and has been invited to give presentations at 18 international conferences. He has a h-index of 30, an i10 index of 75 and has >4000 citations.
One of the aspects he is most proud of is the teaching, training, development, hosting, mentoring and coaching of the next generation of students and research staff in the development of a pipeline of human capital at UCC. He has supervised 12 PhD and 9 MSc postgraduate research students through to completion and graduation, currently supervises 14 PhD and 1 MSc postgraduate research student and has hosted 24 research staff members, including 14 postdoctoral researchers and 10 research assistants, from 12 different countries, including two Marie Sklodowska-Curie Career Fit 3-year postdoctoral research fellows.
Dr. Aoife Ryan, BSc, PhD, PGDip TLHE and CORU Registered Dietitian DI021735
Aoife’s main area of research interest is the effect of cancer on nutritional status. Her current research programme focuses on: (1) Computed tomography (CT) diagnosed cancer cachexia and sarcopenia and the impact on quality of life, toxicity to chemotherapy treatment and survival (2) the development of functional foods to treat anorexia of aging and disease (3) role of nutrition in the prevention and treatment of cancer. Aoife is currently principle investigator on a number of randomised controlled trials based in Cork in cancer populations. Aoife has attracted €3m in research income through competitive funding programmes (e.g. HRB, Industry funding, FHI, SFI). She has received a number of awards for her research including: 'Research Dietitian of the Year' from the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute; two Irish Healthcare Awards and both the Julie Wallace Award and the Cuthbertson Award from the Nutrition Society. Aoife has published many scientific journal articles and also five cookbooks books for cancer patients which have all been professionally endorsed.
Dr. Maurice O’ Sullivan is a sensory scientist and senior lecturer in food science working in the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, UCC. In 2016 he launched his book “A Handbook for Sensory and Consumer Driven New Product Development (Innovative Technologies for the Food and Beverage Industry)
Our research involves sensory and flavour based projects involving a diverse selection of products.
My experience covers all areas of dietetics and have given many presentations, media interviews and lectures to the public and fellow professionals in Ireland, the UK and Australia. I have taught nutrition to undergraduates and postgraduates at University College Dublin, Monash University and University College Cork in: nutritional sciences, dietetics, nursing, medicine, food marketing, speech and language therapy and public health. I have published numerous peer reviewed articles, and presented my research at several international scientific meetings and my research has attracted a number of both national and international awards. My main research interests include assessing the relationship between body composition (sarcopenia and cancer cachexia) and health outcomes in patients with malignant disease. I am a CORU Registered Dietitian and also hold a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education from UCC
Dr Alice Lucey, BSc (Nutritional Sciences), PhD, RN (Public Health Nutrition), PG Dip (TLHE)
Dr. Alice Lucey completed her BSc (Nutritional Sciences) and PhD in Nutrition at the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences at University College Cork. Alice is the current Academic Programme Director of the BSc Nutritional Sciences. Alice is a Registered Nutritionist (AfN) and Lecturer in Nutritional Science at the School of Food & Nutritional Sciences.
Alice is a Principal Investigator at the Cork Centre for Vitamin D and Nutrition Research, UCC. Alice leads and collaborates in research in the area of nutrition, food bioactives and health, specifically, the design of innovative food-based solutions to support health and well-being. Alice has been awarded >€2 million in research funding and her research interests include the role of micronutrients vitamin K and D and food-based strategies (including dietary bioactives, fruit, vegetables, dietary fibre) on cardiometabolic and musculoskeletal health outcomes.
Alice has significant expertise and more than 15 years’ experience in trial design and methodology for human dietary intervention studies; and has coordinated dietary based interventions at national and European level. Alice has co-authored peer-reviewed publications in leading nutrition and health journals and has supervised MSc and PhD candidates.
Alice actively collaborates with the food sector and is interested in food innovation, she has recently completed her PG Certificate in Innovation, Commercialisation, and Entrepreneurship (Food) at University College Cork. She has a distinct interest the Irish agri-food sector and nutrition-informed ‘Farm-to-Fork’ strategies and food systems.
Alice was awarded her PG Diploma in Teaching & Learning at Higher Level (2018) and teaches nutrition across fourteen modules across seven different academic programmes, ranging from fundamental nutrition to specialist areas including Animal Nutrition, Lifecycle Nutrition, Public Health Nutrition and Nutritional Epidemiology. As a Lecturer the integration of nutrition research within our classes is a priority for her so that our students are always up to speed on the latest developments in the field.
Alice is strongly committed to encouraging professional development in Nutrition Science and has been a member of the Nutrition Society since 2002 and has contributed to the Nutrition Society Irish Section Committee since 2016. She is local ambassador for The Nutrition Society at UCC. She is currently the local organiser for the upcoming Irish Section Meeting which will be hosted by UCC in Cork in 2022.
As a former BSc Nutritional Sciences graduate, it really is a privilege for me to teach our Nutritional Science students at UCC and to support and develop their knowledge of food, nutrition and health, as there is no doubt they will be the future leaders in this field.
My research interests are mainly in the field of maternal and paediatric nutrition, with a particular focus on the role of micronutrients, especially iron, in brain function and development in term and preterm infants. Another key focus has been in the area of nutritional biomarker research, focusing on nutritional status diagnostic criteria and screening in vulnerable population groups. To this end, in June 2020, I was awarded a Health Research Board Applying Research into Policy and Practice Fellowship to develop the first ever screening tool for iron deficiency in pregnant women and infants.
I have presented my work at multiple national and international scientific meetings and published many peer-reviewed scientific journal articles. In 2019, I was awarded a British Nutrition Foundation Drummond Early Career Scientist Award, recognising nutrition scientists in their early career who show great leadership potential.”
My research program currently focuses on dairy chemistry and processing across the supply chain with particular emphasis on the effects of farming practices, cow feeding systems and dairy processing technologies on the quality and functional characteristics of milk and dairy products.
Dr Majella O’Keeffe is a graduate of the BSc nutritional science at UCC. She completed her PhD at Cardiff University before moving to New York where she joined Columbia University, New York Obesity and Nutrition Research Centre as a research fellow. On completion of her post-doctoral training she moved to London where she graduated, first in class, with a post graduate diploma in Dietetics from King’s College London and was a recipient of the Van Der Bergh prize. After graduation she worked as a clinical research dietitian at Barts NHS Foundation Trust and Queen Mary of London in the area of maternal obesity. In 2014, she re-joined King’s College London as a post-doctoral research dietitian working in the area of gastrointestinal health before obtaining a lectureship in nutrition and dietetics where she taught across multiple programmes including the BSc and MSc in Dietetics at King’s. In 2020, she returned to Ireland as a lecturer in the School of Public Health at UCC before being appointed as senior lecturer in the School of Food and Nutritional Science at UCC where she leads on the MSc Human Nutrition and Dietetics.
Dr O’Keeffe’s research interest is on the prevention and management of obesity, particularly maternal, child and adolescent obesity. She is the principal investigator for the evaluation of the South East London (SEL) Healthy Weight Programme which is funded by Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. The SEL Healthy Weight Programme is a multi-disciplinary weight management programme which utilities either diet and lifestyle approach (BALANCE) or a total meal replacement approach (FAST) to weight loss. She is also funded by the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research where she is a co-investigator on a project investigating metabolic surgery for the treatment of non-alcoholic steato-hepatitis (NASH). She is currently co-investigator on two international Medical Research Council funded projects which focus on prevention of obesity and cardiovascular disease:
Strengthening primary care systems for prevention & control of cardiovascular diseases in Kenya: feasibility study of health kiosks in markets which focuses on the creation of public health kiosks in community markets in order to improve the prevention and control of obesity and cardiovascular diseases in a deprived rural setting in Kenya.
Strengthening the primary care system for adolescent indigenous health in Brazil: Integrating community health workers into the school setting involves co-development of an intervention in schools using community health workers to deliver targeted services for health promotion for Indigenous adolescents. My work also investigates the role of the wider environment, particularly the school and school-foodscape, on nutrition and health related outcomes in young people with projects based in London, South America and the Middle East.
Dr Aylin Sahin
Dr Aylin Sahin is a lecturer in Sustainable Food System with an interdisciplinary background in Bioprocess engineering, Food Science and Technology and Biophysics. She graduated from TU Munich with a BSc (2012) and a MSc (2014) in Bioprocess Engineering, and she worked as a researcher at Fraunhofer IVV on the characterisation and application of plant proteins in extruded meat alternatives and puffed snacks (2012-2014). In addition, she worked as a research assistant on the investigation of the structure of an arsenic binding protein using molecular simulation at Manipal Institute of Technology in India. In 2019, she completed her PhD in Food Science in UCC focusing on sugar reduction in sweet bakery products using fermentation to combat non-communicable diseases. After her PhD, her research focused on upcycling side streams to promote circular economy and exploring alternative protein sources, their physicochemical properties and modulation using different processing tools. In addition, she has a strong interest in assessing the life cycle of foods to evaluate sustainability.
Áine Hennessy
Dr Áine Hennessy is a Lecturer in Nutritional Sciences at the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences. She is a Science Foundation Ireland-funded Investigator at the Irish Centre for Maternal and Child Health Research (INFANT) and a member of the Cork Centre for Vitamin D and Nutrition Research at UCC.
Dr Hennessy is a graduate of the BSc (Hons) Nutritional Sciences at UCC and completed a PhD with the Irish Universities Nutrition Alliance unit at UCC. She also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education from UCC. Her research focusses on nutritional exposures and health behaviours during pregnancy and in early life and associations with health outcomes in complex maternal pregnancy and infant birth cohort datasets. Dr Hennessy also has extensive expertise in nutritional surveillance, with a focus on micronutrients, risk-benefit analysis of food regulation and dietary assessment method development (including web-based and automated technologies).
Since 2017, Dr Hennessy has attracted over €630k in research funding and in 2019 she was awarded a prestigious Science Foundation Ireland Starting Investigator Research Grant (SIRG) to support her research on functional indicators of iodine status during pregnancy using an outcome-driven, personalised nutrition approach. This award, the first to a recipient in Food and Nutrition research, aims to address the three key research gaps in iodine nutrition research: the absence of a biomarker of individual iodine status, unreliable estimates of intake, and a paucity of data on which neurodevelopmental domains are most affected by mild-moderate iodine deficiency in utero using data from maternal-infant cohort studies.
Dr Miriam Clegg, BSc, PhD, RNutr (Nutrition Science), SFHEA
Senior Lecturer in Human Nutrition
Miriam’s areas of research interest include examining the role of food and diet on appetite, incorporating markers of food intake, eating behaviours and nutritional status including gastrointestinal transit, energy expenditure and hormones related to appetite. At present, her work focuses strongly on exploring nutrient intakes across the lifespan, particularly investigating mechanisms for improving foods, diets and appetite control, and increasing protein intake in older adults.
The main methodologies that she utilises are food intake and physical activity measurements, questionnaires and scales, indirect calorimetry for energy expenditure and substrate utilisation, measurement of appetite hormones and gastric emptying via stable isotopes and oral processing techniques.
Read the stories of some of our students who graduated with BSc (Food Science), BSc (Nutritional Science) and BSc (Food Science and Technology) degrees. They are happy to share their career experiences with you and hope that this will help you with your career choice.
Attention to detail, being a cross functional team member and organisation are key to success
Food Science at UCC has opened many doors and opportunities in my career linking technical content, innovative thinking and teamwork seamlessly. A global food network (..and many friends along the way
‘This is a fantastic programme that links colleges internationally and provides great opportunities for students to understand different cultures and educational systems.’
Jia Hou – Product Development Specialist, Nestlé Development Centre, Askeaton, Ireland
On graduation with a wide spread of basic core knowledge, microbiology, nutrition, food chemistry, processing and engineering.. also, knowing I could pick up the phone for support was a huge bonus
Valerie Kingston and her husband Alan, are the founders of Glenilen Farm, an artisan, dairy-based food company located in West Cork. Valerie’s entrepreneurial journey began when she started selling home-produced cheesecakes at the local farmer’s market over 20 years ago. What originated as a cottage industry is now an award-winning commercial enterprise supplying dairy-based chilled products to major retailers in Ireland and the UK, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.
All courses I have attended in UCC have benefited myself and my business immensely – be it from understanding supply chain and logistics, to nutritional composition
Marion Cantillon - Postgraduate Diploma in Nutritional Science
Deirdre a UCC Food Science and Technology graduate started her Irish Distillers journey in August 2012. Deirdre was an integral member of the commissioning team that installed and operated the Pot stills and Distillation Columns that were a part of the 100-million-euro expansion.
In September 2014 Deirdre was appointed the role of Process Technologist. In this role, she aided the everyday running of the Brewhouse. After a year in the Brewhouse she moved to the Feeds Recovery where she was involved with process optimisation and every day running of the plant.
Deirdre was appointed Bond Supervisor in September 2016. In the Bond area, Deirdre oversees the filling of new make spirit before entering the array of barrels before maturation. Along with this, she is involved with mature spirit disgorging from the barrels. There are currently 1.3 million casks maturing on site.
From March 2021 Deirdre has worked with Master Blender Billy Leighton in Midleton Distillery, and is responsible for the development of new and existing blends, marrying together specific and intricate flavours and aromas, ultimately, creating a palette of tastes that make up Irish Distillers’ portfolio of Irish whiskeys. She is also be responsible for the management of stock, including cask profile and age profile, as well as laying down stock for future generations.
Dr. Tom O'Callaghan, College Lecturer, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, UCC
Tom graduated from UCC with a B.Sc. in Food Science in 2014. Following this, he took up the position of assistant production manager with Carbery Food Ingredients, having conducted his 6 months college placement with Carbery Group in 2013. In 2015, Tom began his Ph.D. in Science based in Teagasc Moorepark examining the impact of pasture based feeding systems on the composition and quality of milk and dairy products. During his Ph.D. Tom was the recipient of a Teagasc Overseas Training Award, with which he travelled to The Metabolomics Innovation Centre in University of Alberta for three and half months. Tom Graduated with his Ph.D. in Science from UCC in 2018.
In March 2017, Tom took up the role of Permanent Research Officer in Teagasc Dept. of Food Chemistry and Technology. Tom’s research program currently focuses on dairy chemistry and processing across the supply chain, with particular emphasis on the effects of farming practices, cow feeding systems and dairy processing technologies on the quality and functional characteristics of milk and dairy products. In 2018 Tom became a Principal Investigator and Pilar lead with the Food for Health Ireland research program.
In May 2020 Tom was appointed as College Lecturer in the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, UCC.
Rachel O’Brien, RDA Technologist II- Primary Dairy, Kerry Europe & Russia
Rachel is currently an RDA Technologist with Kerry Group, based in the Primary Dairy sites, Listowel, Charleville and Newmarket.
Rachel graduated from UCC in 2016 with a BSc Hons in Food Science and started the Kerry Graduate programme. She has worked in many roles within RDA between Naas, Listowel, Charleville and Newmarket over the past 3 years, some being applications focused and some being plant focused. "There hasn’t been a day where I haven’t learned something new! The fast-paced nature of Kerry is a great place for a graduate as you have the time and drive to embrace the busy day to day."
Anne Parle MPH BSc, Nutritionist & Site Leader, Food Choice
Anne graduated with a BSc in Nutritional Sciences from UCC in 2013. Following this she went on to complete a Masters in Public Health & Health Promotion. While completing work placement with the Health Promotion Department in the HSE and working as a fieldwork assistant for the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative after graduating, Anne discovered her passion for promoting easy to understand evidence-based nutrition messages. Anne began working with safefood in 2016, supporting the Human Health & Nutrition Team in the development of campaign messages, publishing research reports and managing the All-island Obesity Action Forum.
Anne has now married her two degrees working as a Nutritionist and Site Leader for Food Choice, managing the implementation of the programme across different workplaces. Day to day Anne works with employers and caterers to create a healthy eating environment that supports employees to make healthier food choices. Alongside this Anne carries out a range of educational activities with employees, from group nutrition sessions to one-on-one nutrition consultations.
Teresa Daly, Business Development Manager (Kerry Group- Enzymes Europe)
Teresa Daly is Business Development Manager at Kerry, based in the Naas, Co. Kildare. She graduated from BSc. Hons Food Science in 2013.
In her final year at UCC, Teresa was part of a team who were awarded UCC ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ and also Enterprise Ireland's ‘Dynamic and Emerging Company of the Year’ that developed a unique and novel fat free, high protein vegetable snack called ‘Rooties Crisps’.
Having completed her four year degree she joined the Kerry European Graduate Program in conjunction with the Irish Management Institute.
Teresa has held many positions within Kerry Group ranging from R&D to Technical Sales to Business Development across three Kerry facilities in two global regions and now manages the Kerry Enzymes Business for Europe.
Dr. Eve Mulcahy is a Product Manager for Glanbia Ireland’s protein range of ingredients based in Co. Kilkenny, Ireland. She graduated from UCC with a BSc in Food Science and a PhD in Food Science in 2010 and 2017, respectively. She conducted her PhD studies at the Food Ingredients Research Group, UCC in the area of whey protein-carbohydrate interactions for new ingredient development. During her PhD, Eve was awarded 1st place for oral presentations at the International Whey Conference (2014) and American Dairy Science Association (2015). Eve published 5 papers and a book chapter during the course of her PhD. She has also worked in a number of industrial research and development positions including Kerry Group and Wyeth Nutrition. Most recently, Eve has joined Glanbia Ireland’s commercial team as Product Manager for proteins ingredients, where she is responsible for the end-to-end management of new product innovations as part of the value-creation strategy.
Shonagh Harpur - The Nutrisho, Emmett Place, Kinsale, Co. Cork.
The NutriSho simply reflects who I am and what I do. I am a practicing Nutrition Consultant with a particular interest in nutrition for sports performance and health. My mission is to provide a superlative food first, nutrition consulting service that is underpinned by evidenced based research, centered around optimizing athletic performance and health. One body, one mind and one sport at a time."
Dr. Ursula Kenny, Lecturer and Senior Researcher, Department of Clinical Sciences and Nutrition University of Chester
Ursula first embarked upon her academic journey at University College Cork (UCC), where she completed a BSc. (Hons) degree in Nutritional Science, in 2012. During her time at UCC, Ursula became invested in research and published the findings of her final year dissertation project, under the supervision of Dr Aoife Ryan. Following her Undergraduate degree, Ursula undertook her PhD in 2013, with the Discipline of Health Promotion, NUI Galway, under the supervision of Drs Colette Kelly and Michal Molcho. Her doctoral research explored the mechanisms of and extent to which peers influence adolescent body image in Ireland.
Upon completing her Doctorate in 2017, Ursula pursued a lecturing position with the Department of Clinical Sciences and Nutrition, at the University of Chester, in the United Kingdom, for 18 months. During her role as a Lecturer, Ursula was actively involved in the delivery of the MSc. in Public Health Nutrition and Human Nutrition programmes, and supervised a number of both Undergraduate and Postgraduate research dissertations within the Department. Ursula has remained working with the University of Chester, as a Visiting Lecturer and Senior Researcher.
Following her lecturing position in Chester, Ursula returned to her primary passion - a career in research. Ursula is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher, within the Health Promotion Research Centre, at NUI Galway. As part of her postdoctoral role, Ursula is working on a European Commissioned project, HEPCOM, which aims to tackle overweight and obesity in children and young people via community-based initiatives. Ursula is also working on a WHO-collaborative research project pertaining to young peoples’ health and health behaviours (The Health Behaviour in School Aged Children Study, HBSC study). Ursula hopes to continue working in the arenas of Nutrition, Body image, Health Promotion, and Adolescent Health and well-being.
Jia Hou – Product Development Specialist, Nestlé Development Centre, Askeaton, Ireland
Jia studied Bio-engineering in Beijing Technology and Business University (BTBU) and started her BSc (Honours) in Food Science and Technology at University College Cork in 2007 as a ‘2+2’ programme student.
Jia completed her PhD in Food Science at Teagasc Moorepark Food Research Centre under the supervision of Professor Paul McSweeney, Professor Tim Guinee and Dr Tom Beresford. Her research focus was on optimisation of Cheddar cheese manufacture process. As an international student, Jia got great support from both UCC and Teagasc academically and personally. During her PhD journey, her lovely daughter Laia was born in Cork.
Jia then worked as a Cheese Technologist at Irish Dairy Board (now called Ornua) to develop a new type of cheese to be sold under the Kerrygold brand in Germany. After that she was employed as Senior Scientist in PLC Ingredients working on fermented dairy products and dairy flavours.
In end of 2017, Jia joined Nestlé Development Centre, Askeaton as Product Development Specialist where she works on the development and production of Wyeth brand infant formula for markets world-wide. Nestlé invested €25M to build a brand new R&D Centre for more that forty research team members in 2016.
Sarah Browner - BSc (Hons) Nutritional Sciences, MSc Innovation in European Business
Sarah Browner graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Nutritional Sciences at University College Cork in 2015. She then went on to complete an International UCC MSc in Innovation in European Business where she got the chance to live in three European cities.
Sarah is now living in Utrecht, The Netherlands where she works as an Analyst in Food and Nutrition at the management and consultancy firm FutureBridge. Before this she worked as a Market Analyst in food trends and innovation at the market research company Innova Market Insights. Sarah’s educational background has provided her with the perfect basis to become an industry expert and deliver insights into key trends that are shaping the Food and Beverage industry. She delivers these insights as a guest speaker at conferences and trade shows across Europe.
Valerie Kingston and her husband Alan, are the founders of Glenilen Farm, an artisan, dairy-based food company located in West Cork. Valerie’s entrepreneurial journey began when she started selling home-produced cheesecakes at the local farmer’s market over 20 years ago. What originated as a cottage industry is now an award-winning commercial enterprise supplying dairy-based chilled products to major retailers in Ireland and the UK, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose. The company is a verified member of Bord Bia’s Origin Green sustainability programme, with all milk used in its produce sourced from Glenilen and neighbouring farms. We chat with Valerie about her memories of UCC.
For Valerie Kingston, the skills and connections she gained while studying for a BSc in Food Science and Technology gave her a head-start when embarking on the daunting prospect of setting up a dairy business.
“Cowpunchers, as we were called, were well-grounded on graduation with a wide spread of basic core knowledge, microbiology, nutrition, food chemistry, processing and engineering etc. Also, knowing I could pick up the phone for support was a huge bonus, even though I had already left college several years beforehand.”
She acknowledges the high calibre of tuition she received from the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences as it is now known, which has a longstanding international reputation for excellence in food research.
“We had a great team of professors and lecturers. I suppose it was later on, I realised how well-renowned and respected the faculty was worldwide. Professor Fox sticks in my memory, he insisted on calling me Virginia Woolf after the writer (my name then was Valerie Wolfe)!“
Valerie's time at UCC was memorable for many reasons and to this day she has vivid recollections of that period in her life, remembering “sitting in the sun with friends in the beautiful grounds, the European tour with the class after final year exams”, and the emergence of a new political landscape in the late eighties.
“I distinctly remember us being in the microbiology lab for an afternoon practical and hearing the Berlin wall had come down, we couldn’t believe it.”
Indeed, she witnessed this new Europe first-hand on a trip she took with the university’s Christian Union (CU). “We used to meet up with other CU’s around the country regularly and went to a European conference in Germany once, by bus, picking others up as we went in Ireland and the UK. It took about a week of travelling; it was a great experience”.
UCC opened up a world of opportunities for Valerie and she embraced all that college life had to offer. Happily, her enthusiasm for her alma mater has been passed down to the next generation, who are now beginning their own third-level journey.
“UCC was so formative, my own kids are at that stage now, one doing occupational therapy and another doing leaving cert and possibly embarking onto UCC also”.
And her advice to today’s students? “Milk the experience to the max, get to know lots of people from different cultures and experiences. Travel and work in the summers, you’ll never have as much free time again”.
Marion Cantillon - Postgraduate Diploma in Nutritional Science
During Marion's final year project in UCC she looked at the impact edible food packaging was making in retail and how it was reducing single use plastics. It was not until she saw first hand the risks associated with working on farms - when her uncle slipped on wet plastic which covered a silage pit and broke his leg that she was inspired to begin the development of her innovative product, Pitseal. She combined her knowledge of farm-life with her previous knowledge of edible packaging and was inspired to develop a better solution for covering silage pits. Pitseal specializes in the process method of making and applying a seaweed based edible biofilm, to replace the current method of covering silage pits with PVC (plastic) sheeting. Pitseal as developed using a unique blend of seaweeds. Pitseal not only acts as an environmentally ideal solution to single use plastic, it also helps with the problem of emissions, which are impacting on the sustainability of farming worldwide. Pitseal has been shown to reduce methane emissions when consumed by animals. The aim Marion's company is to make farming more eco-friendly and provide long term sustainability for farmers and their families.
As a recent graduate of BSc. Food Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Marion continued to study and completed a postgraduate Diploma in Nutritional Science, specialising in biofilms in UCC. She was lucky enough to be selected as part of the class of Ignite 2020, an accelerator program, again based in UCC and received great assistance in getting her company off the ground. Marion will shortly start a PhD in conjunction with Teagasc and UCC, which will allow her to continue to research this area.
Work Placement Stories
Susan is a credit to UCC School of Food and Nutritional Sciences!
Dave Savage- Pepisco R&D, Cork
Susan Aherne spent her Internship with Pepsico R&D in Cork working in the Concentrate Development Team.
I was involved in bringing the product 'Velo Tandem' from idea to shelf. This was of course a huge success for a small local producer - suffice to say my workplace mentor was thrilled!
Jennifer Ramsbottom - 4th Year Nutritional Science student
From the knowledge I had acquired while studying at UCC, I was able to put theory into practice by developing a “meat-like” sausage from plant based ingredients.
Kate Collins - 4th Year Nutritional Science student
Susan Aherne spent her Internship with Pepsico R&D in Cork working in the Concentrate Development Team.
As part of her Internship, Susan worked very closely with one of our team members in Concentrate Development, and found herself as the lead Analyst in the department where she demonstrated experience beyond her years in how she led and managed the day to day analysis for a key Sugar Reduction project. This work involved full quality testing, sensory profiling and documenting all results which she presented to R&D leadership team and Product Development colleagues in Valhalla New York on a weekly basis.
This gave Susan huge exposure to the wider R&D community here in Cork while enhanced her communication skills. As well as this Susan also completed a Gatorade Harmonization Programme for six different formula, examining the common links between the various formulae and again documented same and presented to R&D Pepsico Global Sensory Team based in Little Island.
She played a key role in the Intern Project “PepsEco” which was the designated project all the Interns completed as a group and presented to all Pepsico employees during August this included Global Manufacturing Leaders, showing great presentation skills.
Susan is a credit to UCC School of Food and Nutritional Sciences!
Dave Savage
R&D Concentrate Development, Pepisco R&D, Cork
Jennifer Ramsbottom - 4th Year Nutritional Science student
My placement was in Velo Coffee Roasters from which I gained fantastic experience. As part of the internship I worked on a project - Grow with Aldi - which was an initiative to give small Irish food producers an opportunity to become listed with Aldi should they be successful after a trial period in store.
We progressed through various rounds and were eventually chosen as one of five producers to be taken on permanently as core products at Aldi nationally. I was involved in bringing the product 'Velo Tandem' from idea to shelf. This was of course a huge success for a small local producer - suffice to say my workplace mentor Rob was thrilled!
The coffee has been on the shelves in 137 Aldi stores nationwide since January. I am still involved with the business and helped get the opening order ready in January over the Christmas break.
Below I've included some of the media coverage received if it is of interest.
Kate Collins - 4th Year Nutritional Science student
My name is Kate Collins and I am currently in my final year of BSc Nutritional Sciences in UCC. During my 3rd year 6-month work placement at Drover Foods Ltd., I was given a project to undertake. This was to create a vegan sausage that could replace a normal sausage in sandwiches, rolls, ready meals etc. From the knowledge I had acquired while studying at UCC, I was able to put theory into practice by developing a “meat-like” sausage from plant based ingredients. Learning how different food macronutrients, specific ingredients and other minerals interact with each other, especially upon heating and pressure really helped with creating this product. Also, having done modules in microbiology helped with determining shelf life stability. All in all, I had to pull information I had learned in many of the modules I had undertaken here at UCC to create this product, which is now a part of Boots UK vegan sandwich line.
Explore the School
1880 - 1889 The 1880's
1880 Munster Dairy School - Model Farm Cork
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1880 Munster Dairy School - Model Farm Cork
Dr. Tolborn, a member of the Cork Agricultural Society, proposed in 1880 that a dairy school should be established at the Munster Model Farm in Cork. The Board for National Education supported the proposal and the Munster Dairy School and Agricultural Institute was established and opened in 1880. This was the first dairy school in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It introduced a course (two 6-week terms) for the training of 'dairymaids' for farm butter-making.
1890 - 1899 The 1890's
1893 Creamery Managers Course - Munster Dairy School Cork
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1893 Creamery Managers Course - Munster Dairy School Cork
Industrilization of the dairy industry created the need for trained personnel (creamery managers); to meet this need In 1893 a Creamery Managers (6 week course) was initiated in the Munster Dairy School Model Farm Road Cork. A similar course commenced in The Albert College, Dublin in 1894.
1910 - 1919 The 1910's
1915 Transfer of Creamery Managers course to Royal College of Science for Ireland
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1915 Transfer of Creamery Managers course to Royal College of Science for Ireland
In 1915, the Creamery Managers course was transferred to the Royal College of Science for Ireland and was transferred in 1924 to University College Cork.
1920 - 1929 The 1920's
1923 First Professors of Dairying, University College Cork.
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1923 First Professors of Dairying, University College Cork.
Photograph top left to right: Professor Michael Grimes, Lecturer in Agricultural Bacteriology, 1923-1927; Lecturer (and later Professor of Dairy Bacteriology, 1927-1959: Professor Connell Boyle, Professor of Agriculture 1923-1964; Dean of Faculty of Dairy Science, 1926-1964: Professor Joseph Lyons, Dairy Produce Inspector, Department of Agriculture, 1921-1927; Lecturer (and later Professor) of Dairy Technology, 1927-1954: Lower left to right: Professor Frank McGrath, Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, 1923-1927; Lecturer (and later Professor) in Dairy Engineering 1927-1967: Professor G.T. Pyne, Lecturer (and later Professor) in Dairy Chemistry, 1924-1969: Professor Michael Murphy, Lecturer and later Professor of Dairy Accounting and Economics, 1928-1969.
1924 Report of the Drew Commission
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1924 Report of the Drew Commission
April 11, 1924. The Report of the Drew Commission which was drawn up to advise the newly established Irish Free State Government, made numerous recommendations on aspects of agriculture, including the establishment of a Department of Agriculture at University College Dublin, University College Cork, University College Galway and Trinity College Dublin.
1924 Announcement of the Faculty of Dairy Science in UCC
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1924 Announcement of the Faculty of Dairy Science in UCC
At the meeting of the Governing Body of UCC on October 10th 1924, UCC President Merriman announced that following discussions with Government Ministers and Officials of the Department of Agriculture that the Cork College was to be granted a full Faculty of Agriculture. While the minutes of the Governing Body Meeting recorded the title “Faculty of Agriculture” the term “Faculty of Dairy Science” was recorded twice in the margins of the minutes. (apparently there was some confusion at to what was on offer). Professor O'Rahilly (pctured) who was Registrar UCC at the time (1920-1944) and later President UCC, 1944-1954, had made a major effort to get a Department/Faculty of Agriculture in UCC. However a Faculty of Dairy Science was allocated instead.
1924 1st intake of students on the Certificate in Creamery Management Course
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1924 1st intake of students on the Certificate in Creamery Management Course
On 1st October 1924 it was decided by the Government and UCC to transfer the Creamery Managers’ Course from the Royal College of Science of Ireland, Dublin (RCSI) to UCC. On October 3rd 1924, the Assistant Secretary, Department of Lands and Agriculture, H.G. Smith wrote to nine students who had been due to enter the second year of the Creamery Manager Course at the RCSI informing them that they were being transferred to UCC and that they should report there on October 14 at 10:00. They were requested to confirm which all of them did. There was an intake in 1924 of 13 students, 11 of whom graduated in 1926 and a further 11 in 1927.
1928 Laying of the Foundation Stone of the New Dairy Institute
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1928 Laying of the Foundation Stone of the New Dairy Institute
Following much discussion the location of Fernhurst Avenue (now Donovans Road) was chosen as the location for the building of the New Dairy Institute. Work commenced on the building with the laying of the foundation stone by W.T. Cosgrave, President of the Irish Free State on July 20, 1928. The building was opened in 1931.
1928 First BSc (Dairying) graduate conferred
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1928 First BSc (Dairying) graduate conferred
Jeremiah Doherty was the first graduate conferred with a BSc (Dairying) in 1928. He had started an Associateship in the BSc equivalent in the Royal College in Dublin and transferred to UCC to complete his degree. Mr. Jeremiah Doherty (front row, second from left) with President Merriman and academic staff, 1928.
1930 - 1939 The 1930's
1930 Experimental Creamery commences operations
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1930 Experimental Creamery commences operations
The UCC Experimental Creamery built as part of the Dairy Science Building commenced operation in April 1930. It was a semi-commercial operation with a capacity to process 20,000L milk per day. It purchased cream from the small co-operative creameries, Ballinhassig CDS, Carrigaline CDS and Imokilly CDS. And surplus milk from liquid milk producers in the Cork area. It made made retail sales of cheese and butter under its own brand, “University Band”.
1936 First Postgraduate Students
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1936 First Postgraduate Students
Postgraduate degrees in MSc (Dairying) and PhD were introduced at an early stage. First Postgraduate Students (seated l-r: Dr. A.J. Hennerty, Prof. Merriman, President, W. Finlay (MSc), (standing l-r: T. Neville (BSc Dairying), Prof. Grimes, M. O’Shea (MSc later Professor of Dairy Technology).
1940 - 1949 The 1940's
1946 First female BSc(Dairy Science) conferred
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1946 First female BSc(Dairy Science) conferred
Ms. Elizabeth Fitzpatrick was the 1st female to graduate with a BSc in Dairy Science in 1946
1950 - 1959 The 1950's
1950 Introduction of Food Science and Technology
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1950 Introduction of Food Science and Technology
In 1950 postgraduate course in Food Bacteriology for graduates in Chemistry or Biochemistry was introduced. 1957 the US Counterpart Fund; Scholarships were awarded to: Tony O'Sullivan- Conrnell University- PhD 1962; Michael Mulcahy - MIT 1958/9; P.J. Gaffney - Institute of Food Technology, London; S.F. O'Donovan (Pictured) - Universiry of Reading 1958/9.
1954 First discussions on Food Science
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1954 First discussions on Food Science
Henry Atkins, President of UCC 1954-1963 attempted to establish a Faculty of Agriculture through a grant from The Ford Foundation, however funding was unsuccessful. Funding obtained from The Kellogg Foundation allowed for the training of many postgraduate students in Food Science in the USA. President Atkins was a major force in the establishment of Food Science at UCC.
1960 - 1969 The 1960's
1961 First Academic "food" related appointment
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1961 First Academic "food" related appointment
Professor Tadhg O'Mullanae was appointed as Professor of Dairy and Food Microbiology in 1961. This was the first appointment with the title of "food".
1970 - 1979 The 1970's
1970 Introduction of Human Nutrition to the Dairy Science Programme
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1970 Introduction of Human Nutrition to the Dairy Science Programme
The decision to supplement the BSc (Dairying) with Human Nutrition was taken following a review by Professor Harris of Massachusetts Insitiute of Technology in 1970. The first appointement in Nutrition was Dr. Frank Cremin (1974-1978). The 1st Professor of Nutrition was Professor Morrissey appointed in 1978, subsequently in 1979, a joint honours degree in Food Chemistry and Nutrition was introduced.
Photograph: Professor P.A. Morrissey, Lecturer in Food Chemistry and first Professor of Nutrition, UCC
1977 Construction of New Food Science and Technology Building
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1977 Construction of New Food Science and Technology Building
A new site was chosen for the New Food Science and Technology Building at College Road. The site included four properties. La Retraite, Lapp’s Charity, a private house (Cudmore’s) and a poultry merchant’s yard which were purchased. The New Food Science and Technology Building was completed and occupied in 1979. The new building included extensive pilot plant facilities with equipment for Dairy, Meat and Cereal Technology.
1990 - 1999 The 1990's
1993 Expansion of the Food Science and Technology Building
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1993 Expansion of the Food Science and Technology Building
Owing to lack of physical facilities the Food Science and Technology Building underwent a further expansion. The building was officially opened in 1993.
Photograph: Official Opening of the Food Science and Technology Building Left-Right: Albert Flynn, Dean, Bernard Allen, TD, Joe O’Callaghan, Lord Mayor of Cork. Niamh Breathnach, Minister for Education, Michael Mortell, President, UCC.
1998 Establishment of the Department of Food Science and Technology
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1998 Establishment of the Department of Food Science and Technology
During mid 1990's, President of UCC Michael Mortell, embarked on a rationalization programme throughout UCC. This included the amalgamation of Departments within the Faculty of Food Science and Technology. Following consultation the Departments of Food Chemistry, Food Technology, Nutrition and Agriculture agreed to amalgamate to form a Department of Food Science and Technology. This later became the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences and presently the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences with Professorships in Food Technology, Food Chemistry and Nutrition.
2010 - 2019 The 2010's
2016 Faculty of Food Science and Technology: A History
A book outlining the history of the Faculty of Food Science and Technology was published in 2016. ... Read more
2016 Faculty of Food Science and Technology: A History
This book describes mainly the history of the Dairy/Food Science Faculty since 1924 and its antecedents during the period 1880-1924. The focus is on the events leading to the establishment of the Faculty, its physical facilities, course programmes and the staff involved. The book contains numerous figures, photographs and appendices.
All history presented in this timeline has been sourced from the book Faculty of Food Science and Technology University College Cork: A History, edited by Professor Patrick F. Fox with the assistance of Ms. Anne Cahalane.
School of
Food and Nutritional Sciences
School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Room 240 Food Science Building, University College, Cork
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