Jane Lavin
Overview: Jane is a PhD student in Teagasc Moorepark researching the impact of plant-based fermentates in the gut microbiome. A growing number of consumers are opting for plant-based milk substitutes for medical reasons, like cow’s milk protein allergy, lactose intolerance, or as vegetarians/vegans motivated by concerns for the environment and/or animal welfare. Plant-based milk substitutes, or plant extracts, are water-soluble extracts of legumes, oilseeds, cereals or pseudocereals that resemble bovine milk in appearance. In addition to plant-based milk substitutes, Jane will be testing mushroom, wasabi, yacon root and other foods of interest.
Jane is originally from Tramore, Co. Waterford but has been based in Cork for the past six years. She holds three years of industry experience working previously as a research associate working on probiotic product development and formatting with Novozymes OneHealth. She most recently worked as a microbiology analyst in PepsiCo. Global Concentrate Solutions.
Programme area: Food Bioscience
Supervisors: Dr Harsh Mathur, Dr Torres Sweeney, Dr Paul Cotter, Dr Linda Giblin, Dr Tom Beresford, Dr Torres Sweeney
Location: Moorepark
Funding source: Teagasc