professor in the discipline of food and nutrition technology
priority research area: MoleculeTech
Scientific achievements
Professor Dorota Żyżelewicz from the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences at Lodz University of Technology is a specialist in food technology and analysis, with particular emphasis on plant-based foods, bioactive compounds, and the technology of chocolate and chocolate products. Her scientific output includes 73 publications, which have received 2,504 citations, and her h-index is 31. In 2021, she obtained the title of professor in agricultural sciences in the discipline of food technology and nutrition.
Research profile and directions
Her scientific interests focus on the isolation, identification, and characterization of health-promoting and anti-nutritional compounds present in plant raw materials, semi-products, and food products. Professor Żyżelewicz studies the influence of technological and biochemical processes on sensory properties, bioavailability of bioactive compounds, biological activity, and physicochemical properties of food. A key area of her research includes bioactive plant extracts and preparations, encapsulation systems for bioactive substances, and the use of food industry by-products to develop nutraceuticals and functional foods.
Among her most significant achievements is the development of a comprehensive approach combining modern technologies and advanced analytics in the design, production, and characterization of bioactive plant extracts and preparations for applications in food and pharmacy. Her research has demonstrated the possibility of enhancing the health-promoting properties of food products, including their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activity, as well as reducing the formation of anti-nutritional compounds during food processing.
Honours and recogniotion from the scientific community
Professor Dorota Żyżelewicz actively cooperates with the food industry, especially in the design of functional products, confectionery and chocolate products, and foods with improved biological properties. She has participated in projects concerning sugar-free confectionery products with increased dietary fibre content, bakery products with reduced fat content, innovative confectionery fillings, and kombucha production technology. She is a co-author of a patent concerning a method for producing oak seed powder intended for use in the food industry.
She holds numerous scientific and expert roles. She is a member of the Committee on Food and Nutrition Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Chair of the Section for Young Scientific Staff of this Committee, a member of the Polish Society of Food Technologists, the European Sensory Science Society, and the international consortium Food and Industrial Uses of Quercus. She is also Chair of the Food Technology and Nutrition Discipline Council at Lodz University of Technology and leader of the Starch Technology and Confectionery Research Team. For her scientific activity, she has received awards, including the Award of the Rector of Lodz University of Technology and the Rector of the Medical University of Lodz for the best original scientific publication in 2024.