Michael Gänzle

Professor and Canada Research Chair, University of Alberta

Dr. Michael Gänzle is Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier I) in Food Microbiology and Probiotics within the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences of the University of Alberta. His research program studies the link between the microbial ecology of food and food quality as well as human and animal health. Current research projects aim to achieve the functional characterization of lactic acid bacteria for use as starter cultures, protective cultures, or probiotics in food with a focus on cereal-associated lactic acid bacteria; production of oligosaccharides from sucrose, lactose or starch by lactic acid bacteria and biological activities of oligosaccharides; novel, non-thermal preservation methods with a focus on high pressure processing and biopreservation; and intestinal microbial ecology with focus on the use of prebiotic carbohydrates and dietary fibre to improve host health.