Cynthia Chilaka

Cynthia Chilaka serves as a Marie Curie Senior Research Fellow at Queen's University Belfast's School of Biological Sciences. Her research bridges food science, agricultural practices, and livelihood systems with particular focus on Nigerian agricultural contexts and crop authentication methodologies.

Her research interests center on metabolomics applications in food authentication and sustainable agricultural practices. Specializing in yam cultivation systems and black pepper geographic origin verification, she employs advanced analytical techniques including elementomics and chemometrics. Her work integrates scientific analysis with socio-economic dimensions of farming communities, particularly examining how cultural beliefs influence agricultural relationships and food security in Nigeria.

Dr. Chilaka's recent publications demonstrate strong interdisciplinary connections between food chemistry, plant biology, and anthropological studies of farming communities. Her research shows consistent methodological rigor in metabolomic profiling while addressing practical agricultural challenges in West Africa.

• Marie Curie Fellowship

As a Marie Curie Fellow, Dr. Chilaka leads research projects examining food authentication and agricultural sustainability. Her work involves international collaborations, particularly with Nigerian institutions, focusing on yam cultivation systems and black pepper traceability. The Marie Curie funding supports her development of analytical frameworks combining elementomics and metabolomics for geographical authentication of food products while examining socio-economic dimensions of farming communities in Cross River State, Nigeria.