Marlize Bekker

Marlize completed BSc (Industrial Chemistry), BSc Hons (Chemistry) and MSc (Chemistry) degrees at Stellenbosch University (South Africa). In 2010, she completed a PhD (Chemistry) at the same university, focussed on natural product chemistry and the identification of volatile pheromones used in mammalian semiochemical communication. After her studies, she joined the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) from 2011 to 2023, where her research was focused on unravelling the factors that negatively impact wine aroma and flavour, with a specific focus on the formation and fate of undesirable sulfur compounds; as well as elucidating the formation pathways of compounds associated with premium sulfur aroma characters in wine. Her group also developed innovative tools used to remediate undesirable aromas from wine.

Marlize then joined the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, UQ, as a Senior Lecturer in Food Chemistry in 2023. Her research interests include fermented food and beverages. Specifically, evaluating the formation, fate, and function of key aroma and flavour compounds in these food and beverage products, and examining the impacts of processing on these compounds. Marlize is also interested in the isolation and identification of important flavour and aroma compounds from natural Australian Bush foods and the development of new products. Her research relies heavily on the application of chromatographic techniques.

In addition to her research, Marlize coordinates and teaches Food Chemistry to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Marlize is a Review Editor for the Frontiers in Nutrition - Food Chemistry journal.

Active projects:

• A Deadly Solution: Combining Traditional Knowledge and Western Science for an Indigenous-led Bushfood Industry (ARC Discovery-Indigenous)
• Identifying heirloom sugarcane varieties with high sugar and unique flavour profiles (UQ’s Agri-Food Innovation Alliance (AFIA) Industry Kickstarter Grant program)
• Identifying the desirable flavour, aroma, and sensory profiles of novel Australian native lime hybrids (UQ’s Agri-Food Innovation Alliance (AFIA) Industry Kickstarter Grant program)
• Maximising flavour throughout the vanilla production process (Faculty of Science BIRRST Partner 2024 funding scheme)