João Trigo

PhD project title: Recovery, functionality, and digestibility of seaweed proteins and analysis of food process waters to be used as media for seaweed cultivation

Short description of the project

This project focuses on making seaweed proteins a more attractive and sustainable alternative to conventional food proteins. The research aims to optimise protein recovery from brown and green seaweed using scalable, food‑grade methods, and to analyse food process waters to assess their potential as cultivation media for seaweed. The goal is to improve both the utilisation of marine biomass and the circularity of food production systems.

Supervisors

Main supervisor

• Ingrid Undeland, Chalmers University of Technology

Co-supervisors

• Mehdi Abdollahi, Chalmers University of Technology
• Göran Nylund, University of Gothenburg

Location

Division of Food and Nutrition Science, Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology

In 2019, my passion for food and marine sciences brought me from Portugal to Sweden to begin my PhD education. I enjoy every part of the research process—from supervising students and planning experiments to communicating results. It is inspiring to work on a project that contributes to sustainable use of marine resources and supports the development of low‑impact food systems.

João Pedro Trigo from Chalmers University of Technology defended his doctoral thesis: “Seaweed as a Sustainable Source of Food Protein: Maximizing Seaweed Protein Content, Protein Recovery, and Nutritional Quality” on Friday, September 29, 2023, from 10:00–14:00, in the KC Hall, Kemigården 4, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg. Opponent: Professor Jöel Fleurence, University of Nantes, France.