{"id":8144,"date":"2025-09-30T05:00:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T05:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cnr.edu.bt\/?page_id=8144"},"modified":"2026-01-30T09:58:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T09:58:03","slug":"department-of-food-science-technology-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.cnr.edu.bt\/?page_id=8144","title":{"rendered":"Department of Food science & Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Mr. Ugyen<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Associate Lecturer & Head of Department<\/b><\/p>\n

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Mr. Ugyen<\/strong> is an associate lecturer in the Food Science and Technology programme at the College of Natural Resources, and currently heads the Department. He holds a Master of Science in Food Science and Technology from Naresuan University, Thailand, and a B.Sc. (Hons) in Food Technology from the Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Uttar Pradesh, Prayagraj, India. Mr. Ugyen has been actively engaged in teaching a wide range of food science modules, including Food Processing and Preservation<\/em>, Fermentation and Enzyme Technology<\/em>, and other core courses in the discipline. His teaching philosophy emphasizes applied learning and research integration, enabling students to develop strong technical and analytical skills relevant to the food industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

His research primarily centers on traditional Bhutanese foods, with a particular emphasis on various processing technologies such as fermentation and enzyme-based transformations. He is deeply committed to studying, documenting, and refining traditional food preparation techniques to improve their nutritional value, ensure safety, and promote value-added product development.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, his interests extend to microbial profiling and DNA-based analyses to uncover the microbial diversity and functional roles in traditional fermented foods. He is also interested in the valorization of agro-food wastes and the development of novel and functional food products, contributing to sustainable food systems and innovation in the food industry. He is currently involved in the quality improvement of the Asian Food Composition Database, funded by AFACI\u2013RDA South Korea, and the NUTRIHubs4NCDs<\/em> project funded by the European Union.<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Mr. Sumba<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Assistant Lecturer & Programme Leader<\/strong><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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Mr. Sumba Drukpa<\/strong> is an Assistant Lecturer in Food Science and Technology at the College of Natural Resources, Royal University of Bhutan, where he has been serving since March 2021. He holds a Bachelor of Technology in Dairy Science and Technology from Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS), India (2020), and a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PgCHE) from Samtse College of Education With over four years of teaching and mentoring experience, he focuses on dairy science, food product development, and the valorisation of food industry by-products. He supervises 2\u20134 student projects annually in areas related to innovative food product development and contributes actively to academic mentoring, curriculum delivery, and quality assurance processes.He is passionate about advancing innovation in both teaching and research, and continuously enhances his professional capabilities through capacity-building trainings and academic development programs.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Ms. Passang Lhamo<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Associate Lecturer & Programme Leader<\/strong><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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Ms. Passang Lhamo<\/strong> is currently serving as an Associate Lecturer in the Department of Food Science and Technology. She holds a Master of Science in Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science from the University of Alberta, Canada, and a Bachelor of Technology in Biotechnology from Jaypee University of Information Technology, India. She also completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education from Samtse College of Education, Bhutan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She has contributed to diverse research initiatives, including the compositional and microbial characterization of traditional fermented cheeses in collaboration with the National Highland Research & Development Center, Bhutan; comparative studies on preparation methods and nutritional profiles of indigenous cereal-based alcoholic beverages; rheological evaluation of protein-based heat-induced gels and molecular analysis of the transcription factor <\/span>CRZ1<\/span><\/i> in the context of quercetin-mediated inhibition of <\/span>Aspergillus flavus<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

She has completed comprehensive training programs and workshops in areas including advanced biotechnological techniques, phytochemical and food analytical testing, climate-smart agriculture, recombinant protein expression and purification, livestock survey methodologies and data analysis, as well as innovation management and intellectual property rights.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her research interests include the chemical characterization of Bhutanese indigenous and wild food sources, with a particular focus on identifying bioactive compounds for the development of nutraceuticals and functional foods. Key areas of interest include phytochemical profiling, evaluation of antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, and the exploration of underutilized native ingredients for their potential health benefits and sustainable commercialization.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Ms. Anooja Nair<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Lecturer<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Mrs. Anooja Nair<\/strong> is Lecturer at the Department of Food Science and Technology with experience teaching modules such as Food Microbiology, Food Toxicology, and New Food Product Development. Passionate about advancing knowledge and practice in food safety, food preservation, product development, and fermentation. Committed to integrating research and teaching to inspire students and contribute to the development of safe, innovative, and sustainable food systems. She is also involved in research, collaborating with colleagues and students to explore innovative ideas and generate meaningful findings in the field of Food Science and Technology. Apart from teaching, Ms. Anooja Nair also served the college in the various capacities such as Head of Department of Food Science and Technology, Program Leader of Diploma Animal Science and Internship coordinator.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Mr. Karma Wangchuk<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Associate Lecturer<\/b><\/p>\n

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Mr. Karma Wangchuk<\/strong>\u00a0is an Associate Lecturer in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the College of Natural Resources, Royal University of Bhutan. He earned his Master of Science (MSc) and Bachelor of Science (BSc) degrees in Biotechnology from SRM Institute of Science and Technology, India, and has since built an academic career dedicated to advancing biotechnology education, food science research, and sustainable mountain agriculture.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout his career, he has held diverse academic and administrative positions within the Royal University of Bhutan, including Head of the Department of Food Science and Technology, Head of the Centre for Sustainable Mountain Agriculture, and Technical Laboratory Advisor. In these roles, he has contributed to strengthening research capacity, laboratory infrastructure, and interdisciplinary collaboration.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

His research spans industrial and microbial biotechnology, microbiome biotechnology, bioprocessing, and environmental microbiology, with projects addressing antimicrobial activities, phytochemical analyses, and the development of value-added chemicals. He has advanced laboratory research in molecular biology and bioinformatics, applying tools for NGS data analysis, metagenomics, transcriptomics, and differential gene expression. Alongside these, he has worked on plant and animal tissue culture and microbial inoculum development, including acetic acid bacteria for apple cider production.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A significant dimension of his career is international collaboration. He has served as Co-Principal Investigator for the establishment of the Asian Food Composition Database, funded by AFACI\u2013RDA South Korea, and as Principal Investigator for the quality improvement of the Asian Food Composition Database under the same program. His leadership in these projects has contributed to building regional research networks and strengthening nutritional data infrastructure across Asia.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In 2023\u201324, he was awarded a U.S. Fulbright Fellowship, through which he deepened his expertise in technology transfer, university\u2013industry collaboration, and innovation management. As part of this fellowship, he engaged with the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), participating in its Central Region Conference, and built connections linking Bhutan\u2019s emerging biotechnology and food science sector with global best practices.<\/span><\/p>\n

As an educator, he has extensive experience teaching undergraduate courses in Biotechnology in Food, Biochemistry, Fermentation, Enzyme Technology, and related areas. He actively supervises undergraduate and postgraduate research projects and theses, cultivating the next generation of scientists while advancing applied knowledge in food biotechnology.<\/span>\n

Current and notable initiatives include:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n