Brigitta Yaputri

Brigitta completed her B.S. in Food Science and B.S. in Nutrition in 2020 at the University of Minnesota. During her undergraduate studies, she completed her URS (Undergraduate Research Scholarship) and UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program) on lactic acid bacteria and multidrug-resistant Salmonella Heidelberg under Dr. Anup Johny Kollanoor. Later in her senior year, she joined Dr. Ismail's plant protein lab in Spring 2020 as an undergraduate research assistant. Her interests in food research & development, innovation, and sustainability (upcycle of food waste) grew as she participated and won in three product development competitions between 2018-2021 at the RCA, CGA, and ASB conference with her team.

Currently, she is a M.S. student in Dr. Ismail's lab focusing on chickpea & pea protein extraction, characterization, and modification to improve texturization properties for meat analog application. Outside of the lab Brigitta enjoys traveling, cooking, reading, and spending some time at the farmer's market or grocery store. She is also passionate about the zero-waste lifestyle - especially when it comes to food waste!