Mirjam Kabel

Mirjam Kabel is an Associate Professor in the Department of Food Chemistry at Wageningen University & Research, affiliated with the Wageningen Institute for Food and Biobased Research (VLAG). Her research is highly interdisciplinary, focusing on the structural and functional properties of plant polysaccharides, lignin, and dietary fibers.

Her research interests lie at the intersection of food chemistry, biochemistry, and animal nutrition. She investigates the molecular structure of plant cell wall components such as arabinoxylan, cellulose, and pectin, and their behavior during digestion, particularly in pigs. Her work also explores the enzymatic modification of these polymers using fungal enzymes like lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases and cellobiose dehydrogenases.

The recent trend in her publications shows a strong emphasis on advanced analytical techniques—including NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and chromatography—to characterize complex biopolymers. Her studies often involve collaboration across disciplines, including microbiology, materials science, and agricultural sciences, reflecting the broad applicability of her research in food, feed, and biobased products.

She actively supervises multiple PhD candidates, indicating her role in training the next generation of scientists. Her current projects include the use of fungal enzymes to modify pectin, the role of seaweed cell walls in vegetative propagation, and the application of lignin as a tracer in animal digestion.

She has presented at conferences and delivered lectures, including on the separation and identification of pectin oligosaccharides. Her work has been supported through various funded research projects, demonstrating sustained academic and institutional engagement.