Anwesha Sarkar is an Indian food scientist who is a professor of colloids and surfaces at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

. Her research considers the mechanisms that underpin biolubrication in soft biological interfaces. She was awarded the 2019

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the ...

Food Group Early Career Medal.

Early life and education

Sarkar studied Dairy Engineering at the West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences. She moved to the

Central Food Technological Research Institute The Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) is an Indian food research institute and laboratory headquartered in Mysore, India. It is a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. India is the wor ...

for graduate studies, where she specialised in food technology. After completing her master's degree, Sarkar worked at

Nestlé India Nestlé India Limited is the Indian subsidiary of Nestlé which is a Swiss multinational company. The company is headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana. The company's products include food, beverages, chocolate, and confectioneries. The company was ...

. In 2007, Sarkar moved to

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, where she completed a doctorate in colloids. Sarkar then returned to Nestlé, where she worked as an application scientist.

Research and career

In 2014, Sarkar joined the faculty at the

. Her research considers the mechanisms that underpin bio-lubrication in soft biological interfaces. In 2019, she was awarded the

Food Group Early Career Medal. Sarkar's research has shown that the texture of food plays an important role in whether people feel full. Sarkar has extensively studied

lingual papillae Lingual papillae (: papilla, ) are small structures on the upper surface of the tongue that give it its characteristic rough texture. The four types of papillae on the human tongue have different structures and are accordingly classified as circum ...

, the microstructures on the surface of the tongue. She developed a "tongue simulator" that features

3D printed 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer ...

papillae. To create the tongue simulator she moulded the papillae patten onto the surface of an elastomer. She studied the processes by which people digest chocolate, showing that the taste sensations occur while the chocolate is lubricated. After a solid piece of chocolate is eaten, cocoa particles are released, and fat interacts with the tongue. Her experiments showed that the fat content on the surface was the key factor in determining the texture of chocolate in the mouth. Sarkar's research showed that fat deep within the chocolate plays a limited role in the taste, and could be removed without compromising the chocolate sensation.

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarkar, Anwesha Living people Massey University alumni Academics of the University of Leeds Year of birth missing (living people) Indian food scientists Women food scientists 21st-century Indian scientists 21st-century Indian women scientists Nestlé people