PhD Opportunities

The below project is part of our ARC Training Centre for Hyphenated Analytical Separation Technologies (HyTECH) in partnership with the University of Tasmania and University of Queensland.

Project aim and description: This ICHDR project ties in closely with ‘Early detection of microbial spoilage in perishable foods’, while taking the rapid analysis capabilities developed therein to industry solution level by developing an analyser for at-sample analysis, hence removing the need to transport samples to a laboratory. This project will harness positive temperature coefficient compensating heating utilizing partner organisation know-how in diffusion bonding and GC column coating and will be combined to develop an analyser for near real-time at-sample detection of pathogenic microbes in food. The project will realise a genuine Industry 4.0 Technology for real-time at-sample detection of pathogens in food, which is a highly desirable goal keenly sought by the Australia food manufacturing industry.

Primary Supervisor: Dr. Snehal Jadhav

Location: Deakin University, Burwood Campus

Prerequisites: Applicants must hold an undergraduate degree with first class honours (or equivalent) in a relevant field. Interested students must meet Deakin University’s PhD entry requirements and be eligible to apply for an Australian Post Graduate Award or equivalent. The supervision team will work with suitably qualified applicants to apply for scholarship funding.

Enquiries: For further information, please contact Professor Russell Keast russell.keast@deakin.edu.au

Please submit your cover letter, CV, academic transcript and English proficiency score (if applicable) to Professor Russell Keast.

The below project is part of our ARC Training Centre for Hyphenated Analytical Separation Technologies (HyTECH) in partnership with the University of Tasmania and University of Queensland.

Project aim and description: Ultra-heat-treated (UHT) flavoured milks have an extended shelf life of 6+ months, however the flavour of the UHT milks deteriorates within a 1-month period. Whether the flavour degradation is caused by reduction of characteristic flavour compounds or evolution of off-flavours remains unknown. This project will involve extraction, separation, identification and quantification of food volatile organic compounds (FVOCs) in UHT flavoured milks at various time points using MDGC-O and GCXGC-MS. This project will introduce novel data analysis approaches to speed up and simplify automated sample comparison based on data analysis methodology.

Primary Supervisor: Prof. Russell Keast

Location: Deakin University, Burwood Campus

Prerequisites: Applicants must hold an undergraduate degree with first class honours (or equivalent) in a relevant field. Interested students must meet Deakin University’s PhD entry requirements and be eligible to apply for an Australian Post Graduate Award or equivalent. The supervision team will work with suitably qualified applicants to apply for scholarship funding.

Enquiries: For further information, please contact Professor Russell Keast russell.keast@deakin.edu.au

Please submit your cover letter, CV, academic transcript and English proficiency score (if applicable) to Professor Russell Keast.

The below project is part of our ARC Training Centre for Hyphenated Analytical Separation Technologies (HyTECH) in partnership with the University of Tasmania and University of Queensland.

Project aim and description: Microbes can proliferate in a range of different foods ranging from fresh produce to ready-to-eat food products and bring about chemical changes in the food rendering it unsuitable or unsafe for consumption. The standard workflow for detecting bacteria in food involves a two-day culture-based approach, but we have completed a pilot study using E.coli spiked into UHT milk which has shown that two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) cuts one full day from this workflow. By developing sensitive hyphenated techniques for analysis, this project will further reduce analysis time to near-real time. Biomarker discovery of spoilage microbes in a broad range of food matrices will be performed using headspace-GC×GC-MS using SilFlow microchannel device technology to pinpoint target compounds, followed by development of rapid isothermal analysis of microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs). Faster detection of microbial contamination will provide immense benefit to the food manufacturing industry to assure food quality while reducing time-to-sale of food by alleviating the testing bottleneck in the food supply chain.

Primary Supervisor: Dr. Snehal Jadhav

Location: Deakin University, Burwood Campus

Prerequisites: Applicants must hold an undergraduate degree with first class honours (or equivalent) in a relevant field. Interested students must meet Deakin University’s PhD entry requirements and be eligible to apply for an Australian Post Graduate Award or equivalent. The supervision team will work with suitably qualified applicants to apply for scholarship funding.

Enquiries: For further information, please contact Professor Russell Keast russell.keast@deakin.edu.au

Please submit your cover letter, CV, academic transcript and English proficiency score (if applicable) to Professor Russell Keast.

The below project is part of our ARC Training Centre for Hyphenated Analytical Separation Technologies (HyTECH) in partnership with the University of Tasmania and University of Queensland.

Project aim and description: More than ever, consumers want to trust the provenance and authenticity of foods they consume. Analysis of volatile organic compounds emanating from food is a mainstay of authenticity determination, revealing substitution in spices, honey, olive oil etc. Gas chromatography (GC) is the prototypical technique for the separation, identification and quantification of food volatile organic compounds (FVOCs). Research using comprehensive two dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) provides increased separation power compared to ubiquitous (one dimensional) gas chromatography. However, industry uptake of GC×GC has been impeded due to the restriction posed by data interpretation challenges and the perceived hardware complexity. This project will overcome the described GC×GC barrier to adoption by introducing novel data analysis approaches to speed up and simplify automated sample comparison based on data analysis methodology. The project addresses several significant knowledge gaps and will introduce several novel technological advances including simplified hardware and new data interpretation strategies.

Primary Supervisor: Dr. Dan Dias 

Location: Deakin University, Burwood Campus

Prerequisites: Applicants must hold an undergraduate degree with first class honours (or equivalent) in a relevant field. Interested students must meet Deakin University’s PhD entry requirements and be eligible to apply for an Australian Post Graduate Award or equivalent. The supervision team will work with suitably qualified applicants to apply for scholarship funding.

Enquiries: For further information, please contact Professor Russell Keast russell.keast@deakin.edu.au

Please submit your cover letter, CV, academic transcript and English proficiency score (if applicable) to Professor Russell Keast.