dr.habil. JK (Julia) Keppler

Dr. habil Julia K. Keppler is Associate Professor (UHD) at the Laboratory of Food Process Engineering of Wageningen University & Research. Her research focuses on the targeted functionalization of proteins during extraction or processing in foods, encompassing dairy, plant, insect, mussel, and single cell proteins (including proteins produced by precision fermentation). The focus is on understanding protein-protein and protein-ingredient interactions during processing from the nanoscale (individual protein properties) to the mesoscale (protein aggregates such as fibrils, micelles) and macroscale (gels, emulsions, foams). The overall goal is to identify favorable protein sources (or mixtures of various sources) and processing conditions for producing meat and dairy alternatives of the future.

Julia Keppler (co-)authored over 79 scientific peer-reviewed papers and holds 3 patents. She obtained her PhD in 2014 at Kiel University (Germany) and her Habilitation in Food Technology in 2021. Since 2014, she was a junior research group leader at Kiel university and visiting post-doc at INRA (France). Since 2019, she is leading the protein functionalization group at the laboratory of Food Processing Engineering.