Richard J. Fitzgerald

Dick FitzGerald holds a BSc (Hons) in biochemistry and a PhD in protein chemistry/enzymology from UCC. Post-doctoral experience was at the Food Science Department, North Carolina State University, USA. He has subsequently worked at the Food Biotechnology Centre at UCC and as a Senior Research Officer at the Chemistry Department, Teagasc, Moorepark. He joined the University of Limerick as a Lecturer in the Biological Sciences Department in 1997 and was appointed Associate Professor in 2002. In 2016 he was awarded a full professorship (personal chair) in Food Biochemistry at UL. His research interests include protein purification, enzymatic hydrolysis and cross-linking of food proteins, food protein functionality, biologically active peptides and functional food ingredients (including ACE and DPP-IV inhibitory peptides, caseinophosphopeptides, antioxidant peptides, and glutamine enriched peptides), enzymatic reduction of food protein antigenicity, role of starter culture exopeptidases in food protein hydrolysate debittering. He has over 30 years’ experience in both academic and applied food protein ingredients research. He has published >150 papers in the peer-reviewed scientific literature, has prepared numerous invited peer-reviewed scientific review manuscripts and has authored/co-authored numerous invited book chapters. He also holds patent applications in the area of milk and cereal protein hydrolysate ingredients. He was the recipient of University of Limerick Award for Research Excellence in 2001. He has been an invited speaker at numerous national and international scientific meetings and acts as independent expert referee for over 12 different scientific journals. Prof. FitzGerald has a track record in research project management having acted or currently acting as coordinator in 3 EU-funded multidisciplinary projects, Enterprise Ireland Innovation Partnership projects, an Enterprise Ireland Commercialization project, numerous FIRM-funded projects and numerous confidential industry- funded projects. He has successfully led a number of applied research projects in the area of food protein hydrolysates. The scientific innovations of these projects have been commercialised by Irish industry leading to the export of high value-added hydrolysate ingredients to Europe and North America. He is the UL scientific leader in the HEA-PRTLI ‘Food Ireland’ initiative, Principal Investigator in the Enterprise Ireland/Dairy Industry-funded National Functional Foods Centre (Food for Health Ireland, FHI), Principal Investigator in the Dairy Processing Technology Centre (DPTC) hosted at UL which is a 5 year, €25 million project to provide advanced technology research solutions relevant to the Irish Dairy Processing sector and was a Principal Investigator in the Marine Institute/DAFM-funded Marine Functional Foods Research Initiative (NutraMara).