About

Dr. Padma Ishwarya, S. is currently a Science & Technology Specialist at the Good Food Institute (GFI) India. Before joining GFI India in October 2022, she was an Institute Postdoctoral Fellow at the Polymer Engineering and Colloid Science Laboratory of the Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras (2021-2022) and SERB-National Postdoctoral Fellow (2019-2021) at the Agro-processing and Technology Division of CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram. Padma is a passionate food technologist with rich experience in both the academia and food industry.

Dr. Padma Ishwarya, S. obtained her B.Tech in Food Technology from A. C. College of Technology, Anna University, Chennai. She pursued her M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Food Technology from CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysuru – a reputed and premier food research organization of the country. After her post-graduation, Padma worked with Nestle India Ltd., Nanjangud, as a Quality Assurance Officer and Finished Products Coordinator in the Coffee & Beverages division of the factory (2011-2013). She pursued her Ph.D. under the prestigious Prime Minister’s Fellowship Scheme for Doctoral Research (2014-2017), a PPP initiative of the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). 

Padma’s doctoral research aimed at developing a solution to address the challenge of incorporating fibrous ingredients in bread formulation. She arrived at newer insights on the phenomena governing the volume development in leavened dough systems, through advanced microscopy and instrumental techniques. Padma was also successful in extending her research findings to develop an industry-relevant solution for boosting the fibre content in leavened baked goods without the addition of synthetic emulsifiers while obtaining the desired product volume. Padma’s research under the PM Fellowship Scheme was in collaboration with General Mills India Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai. Padma was also a recipient of the DST-INSPIRE Fellowship in the year 2012.

Padma’s research expertise is in the area of soft food materials with specific focus on food foams. She is experienced in conducting investigations on the microstructure of foods with advanced microscopy and image processing techniques, production and quality aspects of instant coffee, and development of functional baked products. During her tenure as doctoral candidate, Padma came up with the theory of ‘coalescence-mediated bubble growth’ during the bread-making process. Her postdoctoral work is the first comprehensive investigation on the foaming and anti-foaming behaviour of surfactant fractions isolated from spent coffee grounds. Padma is also well-versed in the area of quality and food safety management in food industry. After completing her Ph.D., she worked as a Quality Control & Product Development Onsite-Consultant (2017-2018) for Nectar Fresh Pure Honey & Food Products, Mandya, Karnataka. 

To her credit, Dr. Padma has over 25 impactful publications in reputed international journals with an average impact factor of 7.1, 1 authored book, 2 co-authored books, 10 book chapters, and one Indian patent (applied). She is the first author for most of her publications. Four of her publications have featured in the ScienceDirect Top 25 List of ‘Most downloaded articles’ (2014-2015) and ‘Top downloaded paper 2018-2019’ of Wiley.  The books co-authored by her were published by coveted publishers such as the Wiley-IFT Press and CRC Press. She has also presented her research work in various National and International conferences and won 3 best poster awards. Notably, in 2016, her research paper was selected for oral presentation at the “18th World Congress of Food Science and Technology – IUFoST 2016”, held in Dublin, Ireland.

Dr. Padma is the recipient of several awards and recognitions. She received the ‘Young Scientist Award 2018’, instituted by the Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India). Recently, in 2020, her popular science story won the AWSAR award, an initiative conceptualized & supported by the National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC) Division, Department of Science and Technology (DST) and coordinated by Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous institute of DST. During her tenure as a postgraduate student (2009-2011), Padma was the recipient of several awards and scholarships, including the Food Ingredient Specialties Scholarship, Federation of Biscuit Manufacturers of India Scholarship and the Ranganna Setty Award for best dissertation thesis, instituted by the CSIR-CFTRI Alumni Association. In recognition of her distinguished academic record, she was bestowed with the AFST(I)’s Best Student Award in 2011. In 2012, she was awarded the “Association of Food Scientists and Technologists (I) Gold Medal,” by the University of Mysore for securing the highest marks in the examinations of M.Sc., Food Technology Course. In the same year, she was conferred upon with four gold medals instituted by CSIR-CFTRI, Mysuru, for securing the highest CGPA and aggregate marks in M.Sc. Food Technology. In 2012, the management of Nestle India Ltd. bestowed her with the “Best Technical Trainee Award – Most Dependable.”

Professional Affiliations

  • Member of the “Smart Proteins – Sectorial Expert Committee on Biomanufacturing” constituted by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India.
  • “Subject Matter Expert” in Food Processing including safety & Millets Processing for value added products, Food Industry Capacity and Skill Initiative (FICSI), New Delhi
  • Review Editor, Editorial Board of Food Chemistry, A specialty section of Frontiers in Chemistry and Frontiers in Nutrition
  • Reviewer, Industrial Crops and Products, Elsevier Publishing
  • Reviewer, International Journal of Food Engineering, De Gruyter, Germany
  • Reviewer, Gels, MDPI
  • Reviewer, International Journal of Food Science, Hindawi
  • Reviewer, Journal of Food Quality, Hindawi
  • Reviewer, Journal of Texture Studies, Wiley
  • Reviewer, Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods, Codon Publications
  • Member of the Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) (AFSTI)
  • Life Member of the A C Tech Alumni Association, Alagappa College of Technology, Anna University; Reference no. 10/2021-22
  • A lecture on ‘Current Scenario & Future Opportunities for R&D Innovations in Plant-Based Alternative Protein’ at the one-day workshop on ‘Vegan Foods: Prospective & Challenges’. This workshop was organized by the DSLD College of Horticultural Engineering and Food Technology (CHEFT), Devihosur, a constituent college of the University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot.
  • “Plant-based dairy products”, a guest lecture for the students of Integrated M.Sc. Food Science and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, on April 24th 2024.
  • “Opportunities in smart protein R&D”, as a part of the Alternative protein workshop conducted at the Startup Mahakumbh, organized by ASSOCHAM, NASSCOM, Bootstrap Incubation & Advisory Foundation, TiE and Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA), from March 18-20, 2024 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
  • “Plant-based surfactants for applications in the food industry”, at the Conference on ‘Emerging Trends in Surfactant Science: Properties and Industrial Applications’, organized by the Society for Industrial Chemistry on September 2nd, 2023, at ICT Mumbai.
  • Expert committee member in the Brainstorming Session on “Smart Protein – Future Sustainable Food with Low Environmental Footprint” convened by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, at the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, on August 12th 2023. 
  • Panelist in the discussion on “Developing next generation plant-based products and building the smart protein talent pool” at the Smart Protein Forum organized by The University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology (TDU), Bengaluru, on July 28th 2023.
  • Guest lecture on “Plant-based meat, egg and dairy products – An overview” for the M.Sc. students of Integrated Food Science and Integrated Biotechnology programs, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT).
  • “Plant-based food and smart proteins from pulses” at the International Conference on Pulses: Smart Crops for Agricultural Sustainability and Nutritional Security”, organized by the Indian Society of Pulses Research and Development (ISPRD), ICAR – Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur and Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi and to be held at NASC Complex, Pusa Campus New Delhi, during 10th-12th February 2023.
  • “Smart protein: The current scenario & the way forward” at the 29th Indian Convention of Food Scientists & Technologists (ICFOST), organized by the Association of Food Scientists and Technologists India (AFST(I)) at Al Saj Convention Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, from 5th-7th January 2023.
  • “Coffee: The Science behind Product Development and Recent Perspectives”, a lecture for M.Sc. Food Science and Technology and Integrated M.Sc. Biotechnology students of Vellore Institute of Technology, on October 29th 2022.
  • “Coffee: The Science behind Product Development and Recent Perspectives”, under the “FDP-STP Program on the theme, “Medicinal & Aromatic Plants” – a flagship program of Atma Nirbar Bharat jointly organized by the UGC-HRDC and Mahakaushal University, Jabalpur, from 2nd-7th March 2022.
  • “Spray-freeze-drying”: A synergistic drying technique for foods and bioproducts, under the “Popular Lecture Series” of Course Code “CH1010: Introduction to Chemical Engineering” for the students of B.Tech., Chemical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M), on 3rd September 2021.
  • “Food Fortification – For Health and Well-being” at the One day workshop on “Food Fortification – The way forward”, held at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, supported by the AFST(I) Kollam Chapter, under the auspices of “Netprofan”, Indira Gandhi National Open University and Department of Community Science, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, on November 15th , 2019.
  • “Applications of computational fluid dynamics in food and bioprocessing” at the Technical Workshop on Biomodeling and Food Safety, organized by M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology at Bangalore during 16th-20th September 2013.