Dr Bernadine Flanagan
Dr

Bernadine Flanagan

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 336 53449

Background

Since joining the Centre for Nutrition and Food Science in 2004, my work has focussed on food structure and how it changes during digestion and fermentation. I use NMR spectroscopy and wet chemistry techniques, to characterise polysaccharides particularly: starch, plant cell walls, dietary fibre and cellulose. My research has resulted in the publication of 93 papers with over 6000 citations and a H-index of 39 (scopus). I regularly review papers for Food Hydrocolloids and Carbohydrate polymers. I have co-supervised eight PhDs to completion and am currently co-supervising four PhD students and am principal supervisor to one PhD and two masters students.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Science (Honours, 1997, UQ) and PhD in Inorganic Chemistry (2002, UQ) I worked with Prof David Fairlie (h-index 104, 42, 140 citations) to study peptide synthesis and high-field, multi-dimensional NMR.

I have practical experience with in vitro and digestion and fermentation and havecollaborated to perfect a batch fermentation system to compare the fermentability of a number of complex dietary fibres using human faecal inoculum. Using this methodology, I have studied how the chemistry and architecture of dietary fibres affects the digestion and fermentation of starches and dietary fibres. My Skills in NMR spectroscopy have enabled me to develop methods for quantifying starch molecular order and to quantify Short Chain Fatty acids and other fermemetabolites.

Availability

Dr Bernadine Flanagan is:
Available for supervision

Fields of research

Food sciences Macromolecular and materials chemistry

Qualifications

  • Bachelor (Honours) of Science (Advanced), The University of Queensland
  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland

Research interests

  • Investigating food structure and how it affects digestibility and fermentability.

    Characterising starch and dietary fibres and exploring how they change in response to differences in processing conditions. How does food architecture affect the digestibility and fermentability of food and feeds. Using spectroscopy and analytical chemistry techniques to explore the composition and structures of food and feeds. Determining how the interaction of plant cell wall polysaccharides influences their structure and function with particular focus on the interactions of cellulose hemicelluloses. How the density and solubility of plant cell wall components drives fermentability.

Research impacts

Over the last twenty years (13 years FTE) I have been part of many multi-disciplinary teams working with industry, government and fellow university based researchers nationally and internationally. For Six years as part of the CSIRO Food Futures Flagship and then for 7 years as a member of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Cell walls, a team of over 80 researchers, based at UA, UM, ANSTO and international collaborators in the UK and Sweden. These collaborations lead to many multi-disciplinary publications with a focus of polysaccharide structure and function. Using NMR, I established new methods for polysaccharide structure analysis and increased our understanding of complex plant cell wall structure relationships.

In 2005 I was awarded a UQ New Staff Research Start Up Fund. In 2023 I was a CI on a successful $1.68 million ARC LIEF bid for a national network for magnetic resonance spectroscopy. I am a CI on a recently awarded a $788, 130 ARC Linkage grant, LP240100343, in this project I will lead the activities in polysaccharide structure and characterisation. As a result of my interest in plant polysaccharides, I was voted Vice Chair of Australasian Grain Science Association (AGSA) and was appointed 2025 AGSA Brisbane conference chair.

Search Professor Bernadine Flanagan’s works on UQ eSpace

129 works between 1999 and 2026
All (129) Journal Article (94) Other Outputs (2) Conference Publication (33)

101 - 120 of 129 works

2009

Journal Article

Influence of different carbon sources on bacterial cellulose production by Gluconacetobacter xylinus strain ATCC 53524

Mikkelsen, D., Flanagan, B. M., Dykes, G. A. and Gidley, M. J. (2009). Influence of different carbon sources on bacterial cellulose production by Gluconacetobacter xylinus strain ATCC 53524. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 107 (2), 576-583. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2009.04226.x

Influence of different carbon sources on bacterial cellulose production by Gluconacetobacter xylinus strain ATCC 53524

2009

Journal Article

Effects of processing high amylose maize starches under controlled conditions on structural organisation and amylase digestibility

Htoon, A., Shrestha, A. K., Flanagan, B. M., Lopez-Rubio, A., Bird, A. R., Gilbert, E. P. and Gidley, M. J. (2009). Effects of processing high amylose maize starches under controlled conditions on structural organisation and amylase digestibility. Carbohydrate Polymers, 75 (2), 236-245. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2008.06.016

Effects of processing high amylose maize starches under controlled conditions on structural organisation and amylase digestibility

2009

Conference Publication

NMR study of molecular interactions between bile salts and cereal non-starch polysaccharides

Gunness, P., Flanagan, B.M. and Gidley, M.J. (2009). NMR study of molecular interactions between bile salts and cereal non-starch polysaccharides. Australian Cereal Chemistry Conference, Wagga Wagga, Australia, 2009.

NMR study of molecular interactions between bile salts and cereal non-starch polysaccharides

2008

Journal Article

Characterization of cellulose production by a Gluconacetobacter xylinus strain from Kombucha

Nguyen, Vu Tuan, Flanagan, Bernadine M., Gidley, Michael J. and Dykes, Gary A. (2008). Characterization of cellulose production by a Gluconacetobacter xylinus strain from Kombucha. Current Microbiology, 57 (5), 449-453. doi: 10.1007/s00284-008-9228-3

Characterization of cellulose production by a Gluconacetobacter xylinus strain from Kombucha

2008

Journal Article

A novel approach for calculating starch crystallinity and its correlation with double helix content: a combined XRD and NMR study

Lopez-Rubio, Amparo, Flanagan, Bernadine M., Gilbert, Elliot P. and Gidley, Michael J. (2008). A novel approach for calculating starch crystallinity and its correlation with double helix content: a combined XRD and NMR study. Biopolymers, 89 (9), 761-768. doi: 10.1002/bip.21005

A novel approach for calculating starch crystallinity and its correlation with double helix content: a combined XRD and NMR study

2008

Journal Article

Molecular rearrangement of starch during in vitro digestion: Toward a better understanding of enzyme resistant starch formation in processed starches

Lopez-Rubio, Amparo, Flanagan, Bernadine M., Shrestha, Ashok K., Gidley, Michael J. and Gilbert, Elliot P. (2008). Molecular rearrangement of starch during in vitro digestion: Toward a better understanding of enzyme resistant starch formation in processed starches. Biomacromolecules, 9 (7), 1951-1958. doi: 10.1021/bm800213h

Molecular rearrangement of starch during in vitro digestion: Toward a better understanding of enzyme resistant starch formation in processed starches

2008

Conference Publication

Nutritional bioactives in tropical fruit

Wilkinson, A. S., Lin, C. N., Flanagan, B., Dietzgen, R., Shaw, P. N., Monteith, G. R., Roberts-Thomson, S. J. and Gidley, M. J. (2008). Nutritional bioactives in tropical fruit. Experimental Biology 2008: Today's Research: Tomorrow's Health, San Diego, U.S., 5-6 April, 2008.

Nutritional bioactives in tropical fruit

2008

Conference Publication

Mechanisms behind the cholesterol-lowering effect of soluble dietary fibres

Gunness, P., Flanagan, B. M. and Gidley, M. J. (2008). Mechanisms behind the cholesterol-lowering effect of soluble dietary fibres. Nutrition Society of Australia 32nd Annual Scientific Meeting: Conference 2008, Stamford Grand Hotel, Adelaide, Australia, 30 November-3 December 2008. Adelaide, Australia: The Nutrition Society of Australia.

Mechanisms behind the cholesterol-lowering effect of soluble dietary fibres

2008

Conference Publication

Bacterial cellulose composites: Models for primary plant cell walls of cereals and grasses

Mikkelsen, D., Flanagan, B., Dykes, G. and Gidley, M. (2008). Bacterial cellulose composites: Models for primary plant cell walls of cereals and grasses. ASM 2008: Annual Scientific Meeting & Exhibition of the Australian Society for Microbiology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 6-10 July 2008. Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Australian Society for Microbiology.

Bacterial cellulose composites: Models for primary plant cell walls of cereals and grasses

2007

Journal Article

Hepta and octapeptide agonists of protease-activated receptor 2

Devlin, M. G., Pfeiffer, B., Flanagan, B. M., Beyer, R., Cocks, T. M and Fairlie, D. P. (2007). Hepta and octapeptide agonists of protease-activated receptor 2. Journal of Peptide Science, 13 (12), 856-861. doi: 10.1002/psc.912

Hepta and octapeptide agonists of protease-activated receptor 2

2007

Journal Article

A refined agonist pharmacophore for protease activated receptor 2

Barry, Grant D., Suen, Jacky Y., Low, Heng Boon, Pfeiffer, Bernhard, Flanagan, Bernadine, Halili, Maria, Le, Giang T. and Fairlie, David P. (2007). A refined agonist pharmacophore for protease activated receptor 2. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 17 (20), 5552-5557. doi: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2007.08.026

A refined agonist pharmacophore for protease activated receptor 2

2007

Journal Article

A method for estimating the nature and relative proportions of amorphous, single, and double-helical components in starch granules by 13C CP/MAS NMR

Tan, Ihwa, Flanagan, Bernadine M., Halley, Peter J., Whittaker, Andrew K. and Gidley, Michael J. (2007). A method for estimating the nature and relative proportions of amorphous, single, and double-helical components in starch granules by 13C CP/MAS NMR. Biomacromolecules, 8 (3), 885-891. doi: 10.1021/bm060988a

A method for estimating the nature and relative proportions of amorphous, single, and double-helical components in starch granules by 13C CP/MAS NMR

2007

Conference Publication

Effect of processing high-amylose maize starches under controlled conditions on structural organization and amylase digestibility

Shrestha, A. K., Htoon, A., Flanagan, B. M., Lopez-Rubio, S., Uthayakumaran, S., Chanvrier, H., Bird, A. R., Gilbert, E. P. and Gidley, M. D. (2007). Effect of processing high-amylose maize starches under controlled conditions on structural organization and amylase digestibility. 14th European Carbohydrate Symposium, Lubeck, Germany, 2-7 September, 2007.

Effect of processing high-amylose maize starches under controlled conditions on structural organization and amylase digestibility

2007

Conference Publication

New insights into starch molecular conformation from solid state 13C NMR spectroscopy

Flanagan, B. M., Tan, I., Halley, P. J., Whittaker, A. K. and Gidley, M. (2007). New insights into starch molecular conformation from solid state 13C NMR spectroscopy. 56th Australian Cereal Chemistry Conference, Freemantle, 10-14 September 2006. North Melbourne: Royal Australian Chemical Institute.

New insights into starch molecular conformation from solid state 13C NMR spectroscopy

2007

Conference Publication

Effects Of Mango Extracts and Components On Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation

Wilkinson, A. S., Lin, C. N., Flanagan, B. M., Dietzgen, R. G., Monteith, G. R., Shaw, P. N., Roberts-Thomson, S. J. and Gidley, M. J. (2007). Effects Of Mango Extracts and Components On Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation. 41st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists and 10th Southeast Asian Western Pacific Regional Meeting of Pharmacologists, Adelaide, South Australia, 2-6 December 2007. Victoria, Australia: ASCEPT.

Effects Of Mango Extracts and Components On Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation

2007

Conference Publication

Applications of fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy in cereals

Flanagan, B. M. and Gidley, M. (2007). Applications of fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy in cereals. 57th Australian Cereal Chemistry Conference, Melbourne, Victoria, 5-10 August 2007. North Melbourne: Cereal Chemistry Division.

Applications of fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy in cereals

2006

Journal Article

Self-condensation of a thiazole-peptide bearing a 21-membered loop into a library of giant macrocycles with multiple orthogonal loops

Singh, Y, Hoang, HN, Flanagan, B and Fairlie, DP (2006). Self-condensation of a thiazole-peptide bearing a 21-membered loop into a library of giant macrocycles with multiple orthogonal loops. Organic Letters, 8 (6), 1053-1056. doi: 10.1021/ol052842e

Self-condensation of a thiazole-peptide bearing a 21-membered loop into a library of giant macrocycles with multiple orthogonal loops

2006

Conference Publication

Digestibility of starches: effects of polymer conformation and food structure

Gidley, M, Flanagan, B M, Shrestha, A K, Rubio, A.L., Gilbert,, Htoon,, Chanvrier,, Uthayakumaran,, Lillford, P.J., Xhou, X.K., Bird, A.R. and Topping, D.L. (2006). Digestibility of starches: effects of polymer conformation and food structure. Thirtieth Annual Scientific Meeting of the Nutr Soc of Aust, Sydney, 29 November - 2 December 2006. Melbourne: HEC Press.

Digestibility of starches: effects of polymer conformation and food structure

2006

Conference Publication

Nutritional bioactives in tropical fruit

Wilkinson, A, Hewavitharana, A, Flanagan, B M, Dietzgen, R G, Monteith, G R, Shaw, P N, Roberts-Thomson, S J and Gidley, M (2006). Nutritional bioactives in tropical fruit. The 3rd Australian Health & Medical Research Congress, Melbourne Convention Centre, Melbourne, Australia, 26 November-1 December, 2006. Melbourne, Vic, Australia: National Health and Medical Research Council.

Nutritional bioactives in tropical fruit

2005

Conference Publication

Development and application of a liposome delivery method to enhance the bioavailability of antioxidants and evaluate cytotoxicity in colon and breast cancer in vitro models

Sutherland, A., Hewavitharana, A., Flanagan, B. M., Monteith, G. R., Shaw, N., Roberts-Thomson, S. J. and Gidley, M. (2005). Development and application of a liposome delivery method to enhance the bioavailability of antioxidants and evaluate cytotoxicity in colon and breast cancer in vitro models. 29th Annual Scientific Meeting of Nutrition Society of Australia, Melbourne, Vic, Australia, 30 November-3 December, 2005. Clayton, Vic., Australia: Blackwell Science Asia.

Development and application of a liposome delivery method to enhance the bioavailability of antioxidants and evaluate cytotoxicity in colon and breast cancer in vitro models

Current funding

  • 2025 - 2028
    Chemical and mechanical modification of starch-based packaging materials
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2024 - 2025
    A national network for magnetic resonance spectroscopy
    ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities
    Open grant
  • 2005 - 2007
    Study of Iron Chelation in Rice
    UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
    Open grant

Availability

Dr Bernadine Flanagan is:
Available for supervision

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Supervision history

Current supervision

Completed supervision

Enquiries

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