Ling Zhi Cheong

Ling-Zhi Cheong is a Professor in Food Science at the University of Melbourne's School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences. She also holds the position of Assistant Dean (Enterprise & Innovation) in the Faculty of Science. A certified Project Management Professional (PMP), she earned her PhD and Bachelor's Degree (Honours) from Universiti Putra Malaysia. She joined the University of Melbourne in 2022, after serving at Ningbo University from 2015 to 2022. With vast experience working and collaborating with food and agribusiness companies worldwide, her career emphasizes practical applications in food science.

Professor Cheong's research interests include enzyme technology, bioprocess technology, lipid chemistry and physics, food science and technology, early life nutrition, biodetection and biosensing, and adding value to agrifood processing side streams from aquaculture, aquatic and fisheries, dairy, oilseeds, and nuts processing. She develops processes for producing functional and healthful ingredients such as structured oils, bioactive peptides, oligosaccharides, ceramides, and phospholipids. Other focus areas encompass human milk and early life gut microbiome, enzyme and immobilization technology, extraction and processing of oil and oil seeds, development of healthful fats and oils, plant oil structuring technology, and encapsulation of bioactives. She collaborates with academics and industries in enzyme, food, and oleochemical sectors to advance green and sustainable bioprocesses for functional lipids, investigates their digestibility and metabolic fate, and develops methods for sensing contaminants and oxidative products in food lipids. Her scholarly output appears in top journals like Food Chemistry, Food Research International, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Sensors and Actuators B, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, and Acta Biomaterialia. Key publications include "Curcumin-NADES Synergy in Red Palm Oil Liposomes: A Novel Approach to Enhance Nutrient Delivery" (2026, Food and Bioprocess Technology), "Mahua oil fraction: A sustainable and functional 1,3-dipalmitoyl-2-oleoylglycerol (POS)-enriched cocoa butter equivalent for chocolate production" (2025, Food Chemistry), "Lipidomic analysis of polar lipids in human breast milk using UPSFC-Q-TOF-MS: A study focused on ceramide and cholesterol" (2025, Food Chemistry), "Multicomponent oleogels of ethylcellulose-binary waxes: atomic force microscopy observation and synergistic effect analysis" (2025, Food Research International), and "Lipase-catalyzed production of biodiesel: a critical review on feedstock, enzyme carrier and process factors" (2023). Her research has been patented, and she serves as Editor of Food Chemistry and Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society.

Professional Email: lingzhi.cheong@unimelb.edu.au