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Major Research Interests and Accomplishments
Professor Lee has devoted his professional career to enhancing food quality. His research focus his energies toward a fundamental approach to understanding, managing and enhancing food quality attributes that include the traditional color, flavor, texture, safety and nutrition, as well as the newer attributes of security and health promotion through multidisciplinary approaches. Dr .Lee=s research has concentrated on developing innovative solutions to problems of major importance this area, and has been based upon the principle of investigating basic mechanisms to solve practical problems. Dr. Lee=research strategy always aims to determine why a phenomenon occurs in food, adopts cutting edge research tools to understand the mechanism and then uses that information along with insight to develop a means to increase that food quality attribute. Dr. Lee=s research interests are grouped into three main, but overlapping, categories:
1. Molecular Mechanism-Based Chemistry Approaches to Food Quality Enhancement: 2. Process Technology Approaches to Food Quality Enhancement: 3. Biotechnological Approaches to Food Quality Enhancement.
Specific areas are listed under each category and examples of my studies are provided.
1. Molecular Mechanism-Based Chemistry Approaches to Food Quality Enhancement:
A. Chemistry, biochemistry, kinetics and mechanism of browning reaction and browning products.
B. Nutritional, physiological, toxicological and safety evaluation of evaluation of food processing induced browned protein and foods, and other physiologically active
compounds
C. Effect of interaction reactions on cross-linking of protein during processing and subsequent textural, physical and microstructural properties of food.
D. Mutagenicity and N-Nitroso compound formation of Maillard reaction products in foods.
E. In vivo Maillard. browning reactions related to medical application in diabetes, cataracts, aging, parental solutions and bioavailability of trace metals.
F. Multi-disciplinary approaches to establish chemical markers for food quality assessment during processing and
storage using color machine vision for online food quality assessment, chemometric approaches of novel application
of NIR for quality assessment, development of novel chemical markers for kinetic and mechanistic studies of food quality change, and providing quantitative information, predictive capabilities that can mimic other processes
2. Process Technology Approaches to Food Quality Enhancement:
A. Food extrusion science and technology (systematic study to establish the molecular basis of the effect of extrusion on chemical reactions, interactions, cross-linking, and changes of chemical, physical, functional, nutritional, and sensory properties; research and development of extruders as reactors for production of specific food products and
functional ingredients; development of process for rice bran stabilization, extrusion processing in space station).
B. Seafood science and technology (establish the molecular basis and mechanism of interactions of free amino acids with proteins on protein denaturation during frozen storage of fish and its applications to freeze preservation of fishery products with improved quality; effect of modified ice on the shelf-life extension and prevention of darkening discoloration of fish, shrimp and oyster; by-products and shellfish waste utilization; smoking fish technology, Surimi and minced fish technology).
C. Food nitrification and bioavailability of micronutrients (fortification of iron , vitamin A, and proteins in foods,
improvement of bioavailability of nutrients via food processing &preparation).
D. Food quality enhancement for NASA’s advanced life supporting system (ALSS) and manned space missions (to
develop the food technology (i.e. extrusion processing) necessary to provide the astronauts with safe, palatable and
nutritious foods and ingredients by using ALS crops for short-term space stations flights and long-term exploratory flights to the Mars, and to apply the space-aged technology discovered through our research to help make life better
here on earth).
E. Research and development of new food products and new food processes from concepts, laboratory batch, and pilot plant scale to commercial production.
3. Biotechnological Approaches to Food Quality Enhancement:
A. Science and technology of biogenic ice nucleator for energy saving and quality improvement in freezing foods
B. Genetic engineering of microorganisms (to produce ice nucleator in E. coli and yeast, produce Pleurocidin, an antimicrobial peptide, in E. coli and yeast, to enhance provitamin A carotenoid content in tomatoes).
C. Isolation of deep sea hydrothermal vent microorganisms, investigation of selected biological processes in them, and isolation and cloning of their unique lipases, proteinases, and other bioactive substances.
D. Isolation of Maillard reaction reversing enzymes from microorganisms, characterization of their mode of action, and application to food and in vivo systems
E. Biosynthesis of Carotenoids and terpenoids from MVA, IPPP, GGPP in plants and microorganisms, bioavailablity of carotenoids.
F. Bioregulators in secondary metabolites induction (b-carotene, Lycopene, terpenoids, etc.)
G. Biotechnology of functional ingredients production for food colors, flavors, enzymes, phytochemicals, functional proteins, oligosaccharides, trehalose, and emulsifiers.
H. Shelf life extension of live shellfish through modified atmosphere storage.
I. Biotechnological approaches for shellfish waste utilization (biodegradable packaging film from chitin, shellfish waste application for insect pest control).
Most Significant Scholarly and Creative Accomplishments and Impacts of
Professor Tung-Ching Lee’s Research
Professor Lee’s major achievements and impacts of his research are illustrated by examples in the following list:
1. Molecular Mechanism-Based Chemistry Approaches to Food Quality Enhancement:
1) Research accomplishments in the areas of chemical, nutritional, physiological, toxicological and safety aspects of Maillard Browning of foods and implications to the food industry.
2) Developing multi-disciplinary approaches to using chemical markers (e.g., color machine vision for online food quality assessment, application of NIR, etc.) for fast, nondestructive, and accurate quality evaluations of processed and stored foods.
3) Establish the molecular basis of functionality of foods through protein crosslinking reactions.
2. Biotechnological Approaches to Food Quality Enhancement:
1) Initiated the original research in the area of a biotechnological application of biogenic nucleators (INA) for energy saving and improved quality in the freezing of foods. The benefits which may be derived from this research could revolutionize frozen food preservation. We have successfully achieved the purification of INA and in transferring INA gene into yeast.
2) Development of a biotechnological approach for shellfish waste utilization and its application for insect pest control.
3) Isolation and discovery of microorganism from deep sea hydrothermal vent environments for biotechnological applications (e.g. high pressure and high temperature resistant enzymes and bioactive compounds, new drugs).
4) Demonstrated the existence of a novel enzyme in an isolated microorganism which can reverse the formation of Amadori compounds in non-enzymatic Maillard reaction.
3. Process Technology Approaches to Food Quality Enhancement:
1) Research and development of food nutrification and bioavailability of micronutrients (fortification of iron, Vitamin A, and proteins in foods, improvement of bioavailability of nutrients through food processing and preparation).
2) The discovery that cooking can enhance the bioavailability of iron in selected vegetables and fruits and making it easier for the body to effectively absorb and use this important nutrient. These findings could be useful in combating iron deficiency anemia and providing important nutritional boosts the to diet of non-meat eaters.
3) Development of food quality enhancement for NASA's Advanced Life Supporting System (ALSS) and manned space missions (to develop the food technology (i..e., extrusion processing) necessary to provide the astronauts with safe, palatable and nutritious foods and ingredients by using ALS crops for short-term space station flights and long-term exploratory flights to Mars, and to apply the space-aged technology discovered through our research to help make life better here on earth).
4) Developed a patented process for stabilization of rice bran with extrusion cooking for oil extraction and protein utilization.
5) Development of new methods for reduction of post-harvest losses in fishery products and utilization of underutilized fish species.
Recent Research Projects