Derek Dee

Derek Dee is an Assistant Professor in Food, Nutrition and Health (Food Science) at the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia (UBC). His research focuses on understanding protein structure and function, with applications in food, biomaterials, and medicine. Dr. Dee leads the Food Protein Biophysics Laboratory, where he applies biophysical tools and protein engineering to study protein folding and aggregation, particularly amyloid fibrils (also known as nanofibrils).

Dr. Dee's educational background includes:

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Physics, University of Alberta
• PhD in Biophysics, University of Guelph
• MSc in Food Science, University of Guelph
• Bachelor's (Honors) in Food Science, University of Saskatchewan

Dr. Dee's research centers on protein folding, aggregation, and the engineering of amyloid-like nanomaterials. His work examines how to control the self-assembly of food proteins into nanofibrils with varying functional properties, while assessing their safety for food applications. A key focus is converting plant proteins (particularly from legumes like soy, pea, lentil, and chickpea) into nanofibrils for use as meat analogues. His research also involves using novel bioconjugate chemistry and molecular biology tools to engineer proteins with non-standard amino acids, which can be targeted for specific labeling or to create functionalized nanofibrils. This work bridges food science and biophysics, combining biochemical, molecular biology, and biophysical approaches to better understand and utilize food proteins and enzymes.

Analysis of Dr. Dee's recent publications reveals a strong focus on plant protein nanofibrils, particularly from legumes like lentils and peas. His research explores the structural properties, formation kinetics, and functional applications of these nanofibrils in food systems. There's also significant work on understanding protein folding mechanisms, amyloid formation, and the application of high-pressure processing in food science. His research increasingly addresses sustainability in food production, with growing attention to cellular agriculture and recombinant protein expression as future food sources.

Dr. Dee has received several prestigious awards and fellowships:

• Alberta Innovates Health Solutions Postdoctoral Fellowship
• Ontario Graduate Scholarship
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Post Graduate Scholarship

Dr. Dee actively mentors graduate students interested in applying fundamental concepts from biophysics, biochemistry, molecular biology, bioinformatics, or molecular dynamics to understand proteins for food or health applications. His laboratory, the Food Protein Biophysics Laboratory, provides a training environment that blends basic and applied sciences. Current research projects include the conversion of plant proteins into nanofibrils for meat analogues and the use of bioconjugation to create functionalized nanofibrils. His work has potential applications as adhesives, cell-culture scaffolding, biosensors, encapsulants, and food ingredients. Dr. Dee collaborates with food scientists, physicists, and computer simulation specialists, and his research is supported by various funding sources focused on sustainable food systems and protein engineering.

The Food Protein Biophysics Laboratory utilizes advanced techniques including single-molecule force spectroscopy with optical tweezers, proteomics (LC-MS/MS), and various biochemical and biophysical methods to study protein structure and function. The lab collaborates with the National Research Council (NRC) in Saskatchewan on pea protein research and works on developing novel food ingredients from plant proteins to create sustainable alternatives to animal-based products.