Adjunct Professor

Principal Research Officer – Dept of Food Quality and Sensory Science, Teagasc Food Research Centre Moorepark.  Tel: 00 353 (0)2542245: kieran.kilcawley@teagasc.ie  

Education 

Kieran obtained his BSc Hons. Biotechnology at the University of Westminster, London, UK in 1994 and a PhD in Food and Nutritional Sciences (Studies on the Biochemistry and Technology of Enzyme-Modified Cheddar cheese) at University College Cork, Ireland in 2002. 

Previous Experience 

Kieran was previously employed as a research scientist at Imperial Biotechnology Ltd, London, UK between 1990 and 1996, primarily involved in research in flavour development. 

Current Role 

Kieran Kilcawley joined Teagasc in 1996 and was promoted to his current position in 2008.  He set up the flavour chemistry facility in Teagasc in 2008 and is responsible for research in flavour chemistry in foods and beverages. 

Kieran became an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences in University College Cork in October 2020. 

Research 

The main focus of his research continues to be directly related to flavour in foods and beverages. He is an expert on the biochemistry of cheeses, fatty acid analysis and oxidation of dairy powders. He is actively involved in advanced gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, covering areas of aroma extraction, method development and validation, data processing, comprehensive chromatography and chemometrics. Kieran collaborates with national and international researchers in flavour.  

Mentor 

Kieran has supervised 15 post graduate students (9 Phd students and 6 MSc students), hosts placement students every year as part of their undergraduate degrees, and periodically hosts Erasmus students and Post-Doctoral researchers. He is also involved in lecturing at University College Cork, and is part of his role within Teagasc at University College Dublin and SETU Wateford. 

Links with Industry 

Kieran works extensively with industry both nationally and internationally in the area of flavour development, aroma profiling, identification of taints/off-odours, chemical contaminants, lipid oxidation and in the analysis of fatty acids in dairy foods. 

Memberships 

Kieran is a member of the American Dairy Science Association, the Royal Society of Chemistry, International Dairy Federation, an Affiliate member of the British Society of Flavourists and a committee member of the Irish Mass Spectrometry Society. Kieran currently leads a Standing Committee on Analytical Methods on free fatty acids in dairy products within the International Dairy Federation and is a member of sub-committee on analytical methods for food authenticity use set up by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. He is also on the editorial board of the Journal of Dairy Research and was previously on the editorial board of Dairy Science & Technology.  

Experience 

Kieran has and is currently coordinating national projects funded by Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Enterprise Ireland, Teagasc, and Science Foundation Ireland and has also been involved extensively as a collaborator in National projects but also in an EU funded project. Kieran has organised and chaired National and International Conferences and has >110 peer reviewed publications and 16 book chapters. H-index of 37, Citations 3884.