CASS (Consumer-Analytical-Safety-Sensory) Food Research Centre

The Deakin University CASS (Consumer-Analytical-Safety-Sensory) Food Research Centre is dedicated to helping the sustainable growth of the Australian food industry. By using state-of-the-art facilities and renowned researchers, we aim to deliver high-quality consumer, sensory, food safety and flavour analysis, as well as training the next generation of food scientists.

Our vision

CASS's vision is to make sustainable and healthier foods the preferred choice of consumers.

Our objective is to identify and train students who show an interest in consumer, sensory, food safety and analytical science, and provide them with the opportunity to participate in different areas of industry-relevant research.

Our mission

Our team works towards:

conducting the highest-quality consumer, sensory, safety and flavour research
collaborating widely with the Australian food industry and government
educating the next generation of food scientists
promoting consumer, sensory, food safety and flavour analysis research both within Australia and internationally.

Our team

We have a number of widely published, highly esteemed researchers and PhD candidates working hard to deliver advanced knowledge and industry-relevant sensory and consumer science.

Our staff

Name	Specialisation
Professor Russell Keast	Head of the CASS Food Research Centre Professor Keast has over 15 years experience in conducting sensory studies. He specialises in the association between taste, consumption and enjoyment.
Associate Professor Robert Shellie	Associate Professor, Food Chemistry and Flavour Science Robert Shellie’s research focuses on instrumental analysis of flavour compounds in food and beverages. He specialises in new techniques development to enhance flavour analysis capabilities.
Associate Professor Gie Liem	Senior Lecturer Dr Liem has worked in the food industry and research institutes in the Netherlands and the US. His research focus is the food choices of children and cross-cultural research.
Dr Snehal Jadhav	Lecturer in Food Safety Dr Jadhav has experience in working on food industry-based projects in the area of food safety and microbial omics. Her current research focuses on using proteomics and metabolomics approaches to solve issues around food quality, spoilage and contamination.
Dr Georgie Russell	Lecturer in Food Innovation Dr Georgie Russell’s work looks at understanding and influencing consumer behaviours with a focus on psychosocial factors and how these interact with foods, food products, biological and situational factors to affect food product choice, perception and dietary patterns.
Dr Andrew Costanzo	Lecturer in Nutrition Science Dr Costanzo has a background in nutrition and physiology, with previous research looking at the influence of genetics and diet on taste function. His current research interest is on how taste function can be utilised to increase the satiating effect of foods, therefore reducing excessive food consumption and obesity.
Dr Shirani Gamlath	Lecturer in Product Development Shirani Gamlath’s research interests are in designing healthy and sustainable food products. Shirani has expertise in food processing mainly in food extrusion technology and product development in plant based products.
Simone Lewin	Project Manager, Associate Research Fellow

Researchers and PhD candidates

Name	Specialisation
PhD candidate Celeste Chapple	Sensory immersion in virtual environments and the influence on consumer perception, choice and consumption of healthy and unhealthy foods
PhD candidate Kathryn Colla	Measuring dynamics of liking: laboratory versus real-life environments using advanced sensory techniques
PhD candidate Chayan Mahmud	Identification, characterisation, and preference mapping of odour-active compounds in coffee beverages
PhD candidate Tanweer Gondal	Identification, characterisation, consumer acceptance and preference mapping of aroma compounds in brown and white rice from Australian cultivars
PhD candidate Bella Hartley	Investigating umami as a basic taste and the association with diet and genetics
PhD candidate Claudia Hartley	The association between carbohydrate taste and performance
PhD candidate Jookyeong Lee	The influence of oral tactile acuity on food texture acceptance in fussiness of children aged 5 to 12 years
PhD candidate Dipendra Kumar Mahato	The impact of sugar reduction on the consumer acceptance, physicochemical properties and microbial safety of flavoured milk
PhD Candidate Agnes Mukurumbira	Investigation of plant-based antimicrobials for applications in food packaging
PhD Candidate Manuel Rigo	Top-down and bottom-up processing in children's food choice and consumption
PhD Candidate Heng Wan Sin (Valarie)	Rapid detection of bacteria in contaminated foods using gas-chromatography

Contact us

CASS Food Research Centre
+61 3 9244 3753
Email CASS

Twitter
@DeakinCASS

Visit us
CASS Food Research Centre
School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences
Deakin University
221 Burwood Highway
Burwood VIC 3125

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