Kieran Kilcawley

Kieran Kilcawley serves as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences within the Faculty of Sciences and Health at University College Cork, while holding a primary position as Principal Research Officer at Teagasc Food Research Centre Moorepark. He also lectures at University College Dublin and SETU Waterford.

His academic credentials include:

• BSc Hons. Biotechnology from University of Westminster, London (1994)
• PhD in Food and Nutritional Sciences from University College Cork (2002)

Professor Kilcawley's research centers on flavor chemistry in foods and beverages, with specialized expertise in cheese biochemistry, dairy lipid oxidation, and fatty acid analysis. His laboratory employs advanced gas chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques for aroma extraction, method validation, and chemometric data analysis, addressing critical challenges in food quality and sensory science.

He maintains extensive collaborations with national and international researchers and industry partners, focusing on flavor development, taint identification, and analytical methodology standardization. His work directly impacts dairy product development and quality control through practical applications of fundamental research.

Professor Kilcawley has coordinated numerous research projects funded by Irish government agencies and industry partners. His mentorship includes 15 postgraduate students (9 PhD, 6 MSc), annual undergraduate placements, and international researchers. He established Teagasc's flavour chemistry facility in 2008, which serves as Ireland's national resource for advanced flavor analysis in food systems.