Sophie Dodd

Sophie Dodd is a Researcher at Cranfield University’s Centre for Soil, Agrifood and Biosciences, focusing on food safety and authentication. She is part of the FoodBioSystems DTP funded by the BBSRC, with projects on honey authentication using DNA markers and metabolic fingerprinting.

• Education: BSc in Forensic Biology (Nottingham Trent University), MSc in Advanced Food Safety (Queen’s University Belfast).

Research Interests: Detecting food fraud via molecular biology and analytical chemistry, particularly in heather honey. Her work includes:

• Developing real-time PCR methods for botanical authentication of heather honey.
• Creating DNA markers to detect corn, rice, and sugar beet syrup adulteration in honey.
• Investigating anti-inflammatory activity of UK heather honey using RAW 264.7 cells.
• Optimizing SORS and machine learning for rapid, non-invasive sugar adulteration screening.

Funding and Collaborations: Part-funded by the Food Standards Agency and STFC Food Network +. Collaborated with researchers from Wageningen Food Safety Research, Queen’s University Belfast, and STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.

Publications: Her work includes studies on DNA barcoding for honey adulteration (Food Control, 2025) and SORS-based classification models (Foods, 2024).