Get to know Dr. Rao

Interests

My research interests lie in utilizing food chemistry, especially immunochemistry and physicochemistry, as a tool to answer questions arising in both food safety and quality disciplines. My food safety research primarily focuses on the development of rapid methods for the detection of harmful or prohibited substances in foods. My food quality research primarily focuses on studying 1) the fundamental mechanisms and external factors influencing the interactions of proteins and other ingredients; and 2) the bioavailability of nutrients and bioactive components in foods.

Education

  • B.S., Food Sciences and Engineering (Jinan University, P.R. China)
  • M.S., Food and Nutrition (Florida State University)
  • Ph.D., Food and Nutrition (Florida State University)

Publications and Other Scholarly Activities

Jiang, X. Y., Fuller, D., Hsieh, Y.-H. P., & Rao, Q. C. (2017). Monoclonal antibody-based ELISA for the quantification of porcine hemoglobin in meat products. Food Chemistry, under review.

Keshavarz, B., Jiang, X. Y., Hsieh, Y.-H. P., & Rao, Q. C. (2017). Matrix effect on food allergen detection – a case study of fish parvalbumin. Food Chemistry, under review.

Rao, Q. C., Klaassen Kamdar, A., Guo, M. F., & Labuza, T. P. (2016). Effect of bovine casein and its hydrolysates on hardening in protein dough model systems during storage. Food Control, 60, 621-628.

Rao, Q. C., Klaassen Kamdar, A., & Labuza, T. P. (2016). Storage stability of food protein hydrolysates – a review. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 56, 1169-1192.

Rao, Q. C., Richt, J. A., & Hsieh, Y-H. P. (2016). Immunoassay for the detection of animal central nervous tissue in processed meat and feed products. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 64, 3661-3668.

Hsieh, Y-H. P., & Rao, Q. C. (2017). Immunoassays. In Nielsen, S. S. (Ed.), Food Analysis 5th ed., (pp. 487-502). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

Accomplishments

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson