Building better plant-based milks

Tell me about your research

I’m trying to understand why some plant-based milks separate or feel gritty in beverages, and what we can do to make them smoother, more stable and more enjoyable to drink. To do that, I study how plant proteins behave at interfaces, how they interact with saliva, and how these properties influence texture and mouthfeel. By linking the underlying chemistry to real sensory outcomes, I’m aiming to help develop plant-based milk products that people genuinely want to buy for their superior sensory qualities.

What motivated your PhD research into plant-based milks?

I’ve always come at this from a sustainability perspective. I grew up very outdoorsy and climate change became an important concern for me as I got older. During my bachelor’s degree I learned more about sustainability within our food systems and how plant proteins can have a much lower environmental footprint compared against meat and dairy. This led me to work with the Good Food Institute, who believe that alternative proteins are a crucial element in building sustainable food systems and do incredible work supporting industry and research in this growing space.

For me, the key question is: How do we give people genuinely good options that make it easy to shift towards more sustainable food choices? Most people won’t switch to a new product unless they find it enjoyable. That’s the challenge that drew me into the science, which I’ve been lucky enough to pursue within Australia’s Food and Beverage Accelerator.

What are the biggest challenges with plant-based milks today?

A lot of it comes down to structural properties of plant proteins. Legume proteins – like those from soy, pea or faba beans – tend to be larger and have very different confirmations than animal proteins. While dairy proteins are structured in such a way that they naturally remain stable in an aqueous environment, most plant proteins are designed for seed storage. This means their native structures are more compact and insoluble, which makes them far less naturally suited to forming a smooth, milk‑like emulsion.

They can also be sensitive to environmental chemistry, like pH or calcium levels, which can impact product quality. That’s why you sometimes see unwanted separation when adding plant-based milks to hot or acidic drinks like coffee and tea. Similarly, the way they interact with saliva is of interest to my research because that can affect product mouthfeel – including that drying or astringent quality people sometimes experience.

In 2025 you completed an internship with Sanitarium. What was that experience like?

Amazing! Through UQ’s placement program for research students, I worked with Sanitarium’s R&D team on their plant-based milk products. My project there focused on gums and stabilisers rather than protein chemistry, which was a great opportunity to think about how other ingredients impact product outcomes.

It was a chance to apply the techniques I use in the lab to real industry challenges – things companies need to solve when making products at scale. It gave me so much confidence. Before that, I hadn’t worked directly in product development, so it was a bit of an unknown. Now I can say: Yes, this is something I enjoy and something I can do.

I still have a lot of my PhD ahead of me so I’m not ready to make any predictions about where I’ll end up when it’s over, but having that experience at Sanitarium made a big difference because I know now that I enjoy working in an industry environment and the type of work involved.

You have recently been paired with a mentor, Anne-Marie Birkill who was the 2025 UQ Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Excellence Award Winner and is the FaBA Project Investment Committee Chair. How has Anne-Marie shaped your journey?

Anne Marie has been an incredible guide for me. A PhD can be a tough journey, and she’s offered support not only about career pathways but about life more broadly.

She asks questions that make me think about what kind of life I want, not just what job I want. It’s a very holistic kind of mentorship that I’m very grateful for. She also brings an industry focused perspective, which complements the academic support I get within my program. I’m very lucky to have been able to work closely with Anne-Marie and look forward to her ongoing mentorship as I navigate a career in food science.