Wine, Food & Nutrition Science | School of Agriculture, Food & Wine

Professor Vladimir Jiranek Head of the Department of Wine and Food Science — **Professor Vladimir Jiranek**
**Head of the Department of Wine and Food Science**

Innovative research for better wines and more nutritious food

Our wine science research is aimed at understanding the winemaking process and how it can be manipulated to improve the quality of wines.

Our research extends over the whole of the grape and wine value chain.

Our research links food, nutrition and sustainable agriculture to improve human health.

Research strengths

Wine science

Our wine science research is aimed at understanding the wine-making process and how it can be manipulated to improve the quality of wines. Our research expertise spans the entire wine production chain, from viticulture to sensory studies.

Wine chemistry, microbiology, biotechnology and the relationships between grape and wine sensory attributes and wine composition and quality are all key research strengths.

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Lead researchers

Researcher	Focus areas
A/Prof Sue Bastian	Sensory science; grape berry & wine quality; consumer behaviour; wine & food interactions
A/Prof Cassandra Collins	Vine management
A/Prof Chris Ford	Organic acid metabolism
A/Prof Paul Grbin	Wine microbiology and biotechnology
A/Prof David Jeffery	Analytical chemistry: aroma, flavour and phenolic compounds
Prof Vladimir Jiranek	Wine microbiology and biotechnology
Dr Richard Muhlack	Wine making technology and process engineering
Dr Vinay Pagay	Environmental factors affecting flavour and aroma compounds in winegrapes
Prof Kerry Wilkinson	Wine chemistry; sensory science

Related research groups and centres

Waite Research Institute	Supports collaboration between the Waite precinct partners, drive research and build capacity for Australia's agriculture, food and wine sectors.
ARC Training Centre for Innovative Wine Production	Research to provide new knowledge, methods and technologies as well as highly skilled PhD and postdoctoral researchers to tackle the main challenges for the Australian wine industry.
Hickinbotham Roseworthy Wine Science Laboratory	Houses state of the art fermentation and wine making equipment for teaching oenology students and conducting research
WIC Winemaking Services	Specialist contract winemaking service with a focus on small batch wines, supporting the Australian wine industry by providing high quality small- and pilot-scale wines for research and commercial projects.
Wine Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology Group	Undertakes research aimed at understanding wine associated microorganisms at a fundamental level as well as tackling aspects of wine quality, process efficiency and sustainability

Food and nutrition science

Improvements in nutritional status of human populations can optimise health outcomes, benefiting quality of life and reducing whole-of-life health care costs. Our research contributes to improving human nutrition through research on agriculture, food and nutrition. Activities include clinical intervention trials that provide evidence for public health recommendations.

Current projects also encompass functional food development, native foods and edible insects, as well as sensory science and consumer research.

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Lead researchers

Researcher	Focus areas
Dr Tina Bianco-Miotto	Epigenetics
Prof Rachel Burton	Grains for health, dietary fibre
Dr John Carragher	Grains for health, functional foods and industry relations
Prof Robert Gibson	Human nutrition, grains for health, clinical trials and lipidomics
Dr Graham Lyons	Agronomic biofortification
A/Prof Beverley Muhlhausler	Obesity and metabolic health
Dr Shao Jia (Jo) Zhou	Nutrition in pregnancy and early life, food innovation and regulation, public health nutrition

Related research groups and centres

Waite Research Institute	Supports collaboration between the Waite precinct partners, drive research and build capacity for Australia's agriculture, food and wine sectors.
Australia-China Joint Research Centre on Grains for Health	Aims to advance research, knowledge and training in grain biology, variety development, innovative processing, health and nutritional sciences, behavioural economics, and translate this into desirable products that will be taken up by consumers.