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Jack Prendeville

PhD Walsh Scholar

Research Interests

Jack Prendeville’s research focuses on nutritional science, sustainable food processing and the development of alternative ingredients from protein-rich plant biomass. His interests include plant protein extraction and purification, amino acid and mineral composition, nutritional quality, bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, ingredient functionality and biomass fractionation. He is particularly interested in understanding how drying, extraction and emerging processing technologies influence nutrient retention, protein recovery and the physicochemical properties of protein-, carbohydrate- and fibre-rich ingredients intended for food, feed and nutritional applications.

Current Projects

Valorisation and Nutritional Analysis of Protein-Rich Plant Biomass

Jack is completing a Teagasc Walsh Scholarship PhD in collaboration with University College Cork. His research investigates the sustainable processing of protein-rich plant biomass and its potential as a source of protein, amino acids, minerals, fibre and bioactive compounds.

His doctoral research examines how conventional and emerging processing technologies affect:

  • Protein content, purity, yield and recovery
  • Essential and non-essential amino acid composition
  • Mineral and proximate composition
  • Nutritional and physicochemical quality
  • Antioxidant activity
  • Protein-, carbohydrate- and fibre-rich fractions
  • Ingredient structure, morphology and functionality
  • Powder-flow and processing characteristics
  • Potential food, feed and nutritional applications

The project incorporates drying technologies, ultrasound-assisted extraction, enzyme-assisted extraction, biomass fractionation, spectroscopy, chemometrics, microscopy, fluorescence analysis and powder rheology.

International Research Collaboration

As part of an international research placement at INRAE and Université d’Artois in France, Jack has investigated the nutritional, physicochemical and structural characteristics of protein-, carbohydrate- and fibre-rich plant fractions produced using different processing technologies.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy
University College Cork and Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown
Teagasc Walsh Scholarship Programme
Research area: Valorisation and Nutritional Analysis of Protein-Rich Plant Biomass

Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Food Innovation, 2022
Technological University Dublin
First-Class Honours

Awards and Honours

  • Second Place, Food Programme, Teagasc Walsh Scholar of the Year Awards 2026, presented on 13 May 2026.
  • Teagasc Walsh Scholar International Training Award, 2026, supporting an international research placement at Université d’Artois–INRAE, France.
  • Best Food Innovation Student Award, 2022, Technological University Dublin.

Conference Presentations and Awards

  • Prendeville, J. “Optimised Extraction of Duckweed Protein Using Ultrasound-Based Techniques.” Oral and poster presentation at Ultrasonics 2025, Caparica, Lisbon, Portugal. Awarded Best Oral and Poster Presentation Award.
  • Participated in the All-Island Bioeconomy Summit 2025.

Professional Membership

Member, Environmental Sciences Association of Ireland (ESAI)

Journal Articles

  1. Prendeville, J., Jansen, M. A. K., and Tiwari, B. K. (2026). Sustainable Processing of Duckweed (Lemnaceae) for Protein Recovery: Preservation Strategies and Emerging Green Extraction Technologies. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, Article 7768843.
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/jfpp/7768843
  2. Perera, K. Y., Prendeville, J., Jaiswal, A. K., and Jaiswal, S. (2022). Cold Plasma Technology in Food Packaging. Coatings, 12(12), 1896.
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12121896

Book Chapters

  1. Prendeville, J., Zhu, X., Jansen, M. A. K., Pojić, M., Tiwari, B. K., and Lin, L. (2025). Pretreatments for biorefineries. In Innovative Biorefinery Processes for Agri-Food Value Chains (pp. 155–184). Elsevier.
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-28810-4.00009-8
  2. Prendeville, J., Das, R. S., Jansen, M. A. K., Tiwari, B. K., and Bhavya, M. L. (2025). Chemistry of microwave processing of food. In Chemistry of Thermal and Non-Thermal Food Processing Technologies (pp. 9–34). Academic Press.
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-22182-8.00003-6
  3. Chavan, P., Prendeville, J., Hamid, H., Jaiswal, S., and Jaiswal, A. K. (2024). Cold plasma treatment in food packaging: Effects on material properties, sterilization, and safety considerations. In Food Packaging and Preservation: Antimicrobial Materials and Technologies (pp. 215–234). Elsevier.
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-90044-7.00012-4