I am an Associate Professor of Food Science, in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Connecticut. My research interest includes biomass production and characterization, nanotechnology, encapsulation, food quality and safety. With more than 10 years of research experience in highly interdisciplinary areas, we apply materials science and engineering principles to understand physical, chemical, and biological interactions among various natural biomaterials (polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids) and design novel and sustainable future foods. Specifically, our team will develop a precision cultivation approach that is high-throughput, energy-efficient, and economically-viable to grow microalgae with high protein biomass for novel food and feed development.