Derek Dee
Assistant Professor
Food Safety Engineering
Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Dr. Dee’s research uses biophysical tools and protein engineering to study protein folding and aggregation, particularly amyloid fibrils (aka nanofibrils). Certain amyloid fibrils play a role in disease, while functional protein nanofibrils hold promise for a variety of applications, including as adhesives, cell-culture scaffolding, biosensors, encapsulants, and food ingredients. Current projects include the conversion of plant proteins into nanofibrils for use as meat-analogues, and the use of bioconjugation to create functionalized nanofibrils.