Call for Applications : Fully - Funded Doctoral Fellowship

Developing nutritious and accessible plant-based proteins towards addressing protein deficiencies within India

The University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology (TDU), a leading research institution committed to high-impact efforts bridging diverse domains, in partnership with Eco ProVeg Initiative Pvt. Ltd., a non-governmental organisation committed to promoting plant-based diets and livelihoods in India, invites applications for a fully-funded doctoral position.

This unique opportunity is designed to support an outstanding doctoral candidate to undertake original, problem-solving research that cuts across traditional disciplinary boundaries, aligning academic excellence with real-world impact.

Research Focus

Developing a novel fortified textured vegetable protein (FTVP) product from locally grown crops that can be produced at scale to be accessible and nutritious.

The selected candidate will undertake a doctoral research project focused on the interface between food science and technology, health and nutrition sciences, and environmental sciences.

The specific research topic must address the following key areas, with clear relevance to the Eco ProVeg Initiative Pvt. Ltd. mission:

1. Development of two novel, open-source (royalty-free licensing) FTVP products, anchoring the product for taste and texture and innovating on juiciness (Year 1).

2. Complete nutritional assessment of the FTVP product (Year 2).

3. Environmental assessment of the carbon, water and pollutant footprints of such a product (Year 3).

TDU’s labs & pilot plants are well equipped with equipment and instruments to undertake cutting edge research in the field of protein structuring for food applications. These include dry (air classifier) & wet protein extraction, twin screw extruder, decanter centrifuge, rheometer, texture analyser, laser-diffraction particle size analyser, FTIR, GC-MS, HPLC, Nitrogen analyzer, Rancimat, SDS-Page etc.  A very well-equipped kitchen is also a part of the set-up to productise structured proteins into consumer facing formats.

Click here to download the document for more information about the fellowship

To download the Phd application form, please follow the steps below :

1) Click on Phd Application Form

2) The form will open in Google Docs

3) Navigate to File in the top-left corner

4) Select Download

5) Choose Microsoft Word (.docx)

6) The document will then be saved to your device

Please refer to the attached image for guidance

Contact

For queries related to submission of application contact:

Mr. Ravi Kumar, Assistant Registrar Academics, TDU, E-mail: ravi.g@tdu.edu.in

For more on the technical and scientific aspects of the research, you may reach out to:

Dr. Gurmeet Singh, Professor & Dean Research at TDU, E-mail: gurmeet.singh@tdu.edu.in

Dr. Avik Banerjee, Project Lead, Eco ProVeg Initiative, E-mail: avik.banerjee@proveg.org