Rate My Professor Grace Lewis

Grace Lewis serves as Assistant Professor of Food Science in the Department of Animal and Food Science at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. She holds a B.S. in Food Science from Pennsylvania State University in 2018 and a Ph.D. in Food Science – Dairy Chemistry from Pennsylvania State University in 2021. Her research expertise centers on dairy processing to enhance dairy protein and milkfat functionality, encompassing technology, product development, and processing systems in the dairy foods space. This includes studies on high-pressure homogenization, casein micelle dissociation, emulsions, foams, and protein interactions to improve nutritional and functional properties of dairy products.

Lewis has made significant contributions through peer-reviewed publications in journals such as the Journal of Dairy Science, Journal of Food Engineering, and Food Hydrocolloids. Key publications include "Dairy Foods: A Matrix for Human Health and Precision Nutrition—Introduction" (2025), "Casein Functionalization Using High-Pressure Homogenization and Emulsifying Salts" (2025), "Physical and Functional Characterization of Whey Protein-Lignin Biocomposite Films for Food Packaging Applications" (2025), "Enhancing casein micelle dissociation in diluted skim milk systems using combined processing techniques" (2024), "Characterization of ethanol-induced casein micelle dissociation using a continuous protein monitoring unit" (Journal of Dairy Science, 2022), "Characterization of high-pressure jet-induced fat-protein complexation" (Journal of Dairy Science, 2022), "High pressure jet spray drying of condensed skim milk results in powders with enhanced interfacial properties" (Journal of Food Engineering, 2021), and several others on high-pressure jet processing of dairy foams, ice cream mixes, and chocolate milk. She has also authored chapters such as "Food Processing by High‐Pressure Homogenization" (2025) and "Differential Scanning Calorimetry" (Encyclopedia of Dairy Sciences, 2022). Her scholarship has received 147 citations.

In addition to research, Lewis mentors undergraduate students as a member of the Undergraduate Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity committee (Fall 2023–Spring 2026). She is affiliated with the Dairy Innovation Hub and served as principal investigator for a Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection grant promoting dairy industry collaborations between Wisconsin and Thailand. This included a 2025 trip to Bangkok and Chiang Mai to explore export opportunities, meet cheesemakers, and plan product development and academic exchanges.