Carbohydrate Nutrition

Dr. Bin Zhang is a Professor in the School of Food Science and Engineering at South China University of Technology (SCUT), China. Before joining SCUT in 2016, he was trained in food nutrition (PhD) at the University of Queensland, and worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at Purdue University and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He was awarded as National Young Talent Scholar and Hong Kong Scholar. His current research directions are: 1. Carbohydrate chemistry, including the structural and functional properties of food carbohydrates, such as starch, human milk oligosaccharides, dietary fibers; 2. Carbohydrate nutrition, mainly involving the carbohydrate intervention on health/disease in vitro and in vivo models via gut-X axis; 3. Maternal and infant microbial ecology, including evaluation and regulation of infant-microbial-ecology related health function, and the design of infant formula. He published more than 160 peer-reviewed papers with over 8000 citations (H index=55), including Carbohydrate Polymers, Chemical Engineering Journal, Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Biomacromolecules. He currently serves on the editorial board of Carbohydrate Polymers, iMeta and Foods, and the co-chair of the Carbohydrate Working Group of INFOGEST.

Dr. Sushil Dhital is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Monash University, Australia. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia, in 2011, where he elucidated the structure–property relationships of starch granules. Following his Ph.D., he held a research fellow position at UQ, examining starch–plant cell wall interactions. Sushil joined Monash University in July 2019. Currently, Sushil serves as an Editor for the journal Carbohydrate Polymers and is on the Editorial Board of Food Hydrocolloids, Food Chemistry, and Bioactive Carbohydrates and Dietary Fibre. He also serves as the President of the Australasian Grain Science Association (AGSA). Sushil's research focuses on fundamental and applied studies that elucidate the structure–property–function–health relationships of food and food ingredients. His expertise lies in linking plant molecular structures to macroscopic properties relevant to food, health, and product development. He employs cross-disciplinary approaches, drawing from physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering. He utilizes various in vitro and in vivo models to uncover the fundamental mechanisms underlying the nutritional and processing functionality of food and food ingredients. Sushil has published over 150 peer-reviewed research and review articles, along with several book chapters, non-technical papers and edited books. His work has garnered over 8000 citations, with an H-index of 60.