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Research Chemist (Plant Protein)/Food Technologist (Plant Protein)

  • Full Time, onsite
  • Agricultural Research Service
  • Peoria, United States of America
Salary undisclosed

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  • Plan and conduct research to develop methods for isolation, modification of alfalfa proteins, and adaptation in food products and edible food packaging as well as ingredients for cosmetic products.
  • Isolate and modify proteins and other components from raw feedstock and/or from industry crop processing byproducts.
  • Develop new uses for, and new knowledge of, proteins derived from agricultural crops and co-products.
  • Characterize alfalfa proteins in their native state, and modify them by applying chemical, physical, enzymatic, or other techniques to impart desired functionalities.
  • Develop a fundamental understanding between processing and extent of modification, and subsequent characterization of modified products to understand the performance relationships between process parameters, structure, and functionality.
  • Obtain fundamental information on degradation under different deleterious conditions and other physical and molecular properties.
  • Study generated protein isolates for their functional properties and performance in targeted applications.
  • Use methods and state of the art instrumentation, such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet/visible spectroscopy, circular dichroism, differential scanning calorimetry, and size exclusion chromatography.
  • Apply the principles of Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) or similar framework to quantitatively assess the environmental and economic sustainability of developed renewable products or technologies and potential benefits.
  • Investigate physical processing methods such as milling, steam jet-cooking, and extrusion, as well as enzymatic methods to deflavor isolated protein fractions.
  • Develop a stakeholder base to advocate for enhancing research and enable commercialization of products to meet mandated technology transfer objectives.
Starting at $89,962 Per Year (GS 12-13)