Dr Jonathan Wilkin

Teaching
Research

My teaching is an important part of my academic career in Abertay; my professional values for teaching closely follow employability and application of knowledge. I am a Fellow of HEA and a module tutor on the following modules for the BSc Food and Consumer Science:

FOD306 - Food Safety and Quality Management
FOD404 - New Product Development 2

As part of the wider community within Abertay, I am a module tutor for an elective module:

ELE024 – Food fads, facts and fiction

Other teaching commitments within the degree programme are:

FOD405 - New Topics in Food – 1 lecture
FOD404 - New Product Development 1 – Co-Teach
ELE006 - Global Change – Guest lecture
ELE007 - Cities of the future: Science Fiction to Science Fact – Guest lecture
ENV309 - Food and Water Security and Sustainability – Guest lectures (4 hours)

At Abertay, we understand the impact University life can have on each individual and therefore alongside Kathryn Cairnie-Lyall, we provide academic support to our fourth year students on Food and Consumer Sciences, Fitness Nutrition and Health, and Food Nutrition and Health BSc's.

Interests

My research focuses on the intersection of food science, nutrition, and food processing, with a particular interest in enhancing the nutritional and functional quality of both traditional and novel food products. My work explores the impact of processing techniques—such as fermentation, germination, malting, ultrasonication, and thermal treatments—on the nutritional composition, techno-functional properties, digestibility, and sensory characteristics of cereals, legumes, seaweeds and composite foods. I have contributed to the development of fortified products including insect-enriched porridge and Moringa-infused baked goods, with an emphasis on sustainable and culturally relevant innovations for improving food security.

I also specialise in the use of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and related metabolomics approaches, to study the chemical and volatile profiles of food systems. Research includes investigations into the Maillard reaction, storage stability of oil-rich seeds and nuts, and the metabolomic characterisation of fermented cereal and legume products. Alongside this, I have a growing interest in seaweed consumerism, particularly in understanding how seaweed varieties such as Alaria esculenta and other brown seaweeds can be optimised for texture, digestibility, and consumer acceptance in functional food applications. Through this work, I aim to bridge the gap between food science innovation and real-world applications in nutrition, public health, and sustainable food systems.

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More Information

Funding

Number of grants: 26		Total value: £3,841,133.24 GDP
Title of project	Role in project	Source and scheme	Year	Duration	Total grant amount
BioSwel - Biotechnological Innovations for Optimised Seaweed Wellness & Economic Levelling-up	Co-I	Innovate UK	2024	12 months	£300,000.00
KTP Abertay University and Growers Garden Limited	Co-I	Innovate UK	2023	32 months	£239,366.50
Reformulation of a Fish Bite to increase the Fibre content.	PI	Interface	2023	3 months	£9,979.70
Reformulation of BiaGo drink to increase fibre and protein.	PI	Interface	2023	3 months	£9,992.20
Taylors Crisps KTP	Co-I	Innovate UK	2023	28 months	£224,520.72
Collaborative development of a fortifying functional food ingredient testing in industrial facilities and human trials.	PI	Innovate UK	2023	18 months	£431,540.00
Reformulating a range of products to lower salt and calorie content.	PI	Interface	2023	3 months	£9,992.20
Development of seaweed-based ‘English breakfast’ black tea for improved nutrition and cardiovascular health support in postmenopausal women	Co-I	Innovate UK	2023	24 months	£373,764.00
Building KTP capacity at Abertay University	PI	Innovate UK	2023	3 months	£18,189.32
Antimicrobial efficacy of chitosan used a biopolymer for food packaging - CuanTec	Co-I	IBioIC	2023	3 months	£19,263.31
CessCon - Valorisation of marine growth waste	Co-I	IBioIC	2022	3 months	£19,888.29
Nutrigo - SIICF	Co-I	Interface	2021	3 months	£10,000
Low Carbon Challenge Fund (LCCF) STAGE 2: Transform - Net Zero	Co-I	Scottish Enterprise / ERDF EU	2021	2 years	£380,294
Stirling Potatoes Ltd. To develop innovative new products and packaging solutions which optimise the use of fresh vegetable produce.	Co-I	KTP Innovate UK	2019	2 years	£172,361
WJ Knox Ltd. To develop commercial products obtained from the waste material from fish net servicing processes.	Co-I	KTP Innovate UK	2018	2 years	£160,116
Meatsnacks Ltd., Developing a sustainable jerky product for the global meatsnacks market	Co-I	KTP Innovate UK	2018	2 years	£148,074
FishFrom Ltd.: Re-use of waste streams to enable development of systems for a land-based recirculation aquaculture system and salmon farming operation.	Co-I	KTP Innovate UK	2018	3 years	£219,020
Colbeggie fruits Ltd., Recovering bioactives from fruit waste	PI	KTP Innovate UK	2018	3 years	£212,469
Mitigating strategies against acrylamide formation in baked goods	Co-I	KTP Innovate UK	2018	3 years	£307,194
Modeling the pathways of toxicant formation in emissions from heated vaporized nicotine delivery devices	Co-I	The Carnegie Trust	2017	2 years	£49,995
Antimicrobial and antioxidant edible films and coatings prepared from chitosan and bio-agents and their application in seafood preservation	Co-I	Newton Fund, Royal Society of Engineering NRCP1617/6/136	2017	1 year	£15,950
Rannoch Smokery, Product Range Enhancement	PI	KTP Innovate UK	2016	2 years	£120,000
Dawnfresh Ltd.- Trout Characterisation	Co-I	Interface Competition	2016	1 year	£49,612
Mackies of Scotland Ltd., Creation of consumer acceptable chocolate	Co-I	KTP Innovate UK	2015	2 years	£122,030
Omega Products Developments Ltd., Creation of consumer acceptable seaweed products	PI	KTP Innovate UK	2015	2 years	£93,203
Ivan Wood and Sons Ltd., Validation of a starch removal system	PI	KTP Innovate UK	2015	2 years	£124,319
Various Innovation vouchers (not counted in totals) ~ 20 individual ones	PI	Interface	2011-2016	3 months each	£5,000 each

Esteem

External Examiner (Teaching)
- Glasgow Caledonian University – September 2017-2021 – Food Bioscience MSc & BSc
- Ulster University – September 2017-June 2022 – Consumer Management and Food Innovation BSc
- Greenwich University – September 2021-present –
  - MSc Applied Food Safety and Quality Management (NRI)
  - MSc Applied Food Safety and Quality Management with Industrial Practice
  - MSc Food Safety and Quality Management e-Learning (E-Learning) (NRI)
- The University of Central Lancashire – October 2023 – present - MSc Food Safety Management
- Lincoln University – October 2023 - present – MSc International Food Safety, Sustainability, and Innovation
External Examiner (Research)
- University of Johannesburg – September 2020 - MRes
- Ulster University – March 2023 – PhD
Professional bodies
- Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST)
Member (2011- 2018),

Fellow (March 2018 – present),

Member of Scottish Committee (2014 - present) – Branch Secretary

Chartered Scientist (October 2021 – present)

Membership Assessment Panel (October 2021 – present)

CPD Assessor (April 2022 – present)
Visiting researcher
- University of Johannesburg

Knowledge Exchange

I have been a PI/ co-applicant on over 12 Knowledge Transfer Partnership’s (KTP):

The main body of work involves and my speacilism is in:

Recovery of waste
Seaweed consumerism
New product development,
Food hygiene and safety
Processing, up-scaling / technical solutions
Marketing and consumer research

Outreach

Dr Wilkin has a strong track record in science communication, public engagement, and education outreach. His early involvement included leading “How the Cookie Crumbles” with Baldragon Academy as part of Dundee Science Festival (2012) and collaborating with Websters High School in Kirriemuir and The Prince’s Trust to develop a new food product (2014–2015). He has also worked closely with Home Economics teachers across Scotland, co-creating CPD events to support curriculum development (2024) and hosting public-facing activities such as the Dundee Food and Flower Festival in the Discovery Tent (2014) and TeachMeet at St John’s RC High School.

He has appeared on several high-profile media platforms to promote food science, including BBC’s Fake Britain (2015), STV’s Too Good to Waste – Passing It On... (2014), and The Beechgrove Garden (2013). Additionally, he created a suite of educational food science videos for chemistry teachers on core topics like the Maillard Reaction, lipid oxidation, enzymic browning, smoking, TLC, and emulsions. Dr Wilkin has also contributed to events such as Café Science (2015), the Friends of Dundee University Botanical Gardens lecture series (2015), and served as a Scotland Food & Drink Federation Ambassador.

More recently, he was an invited speaker at “The Future of Food” event for Dundee Food Festival and IFST’s 60th anniversary celebration held at the V&A Dundee (2024). His invited lectures include talks for FDF Scotland & Interface on reformulation for health (2024), the Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group on Food on Net Zero transitions (2022), REHIS on hurdle technology and preservation (2022), and international engagements such as Nha Trang University in Vietnam on green extractions (2017). He has also delivered multiple lectures on food reformulation and new product development at Interface events and Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences in Germany.