Sean O'Keefe

Sean O'Keefe is a Professor in the Food Science and Technology department at Virginia Tech and a fellow with the Water INTERface IGEP. The main focus of Dr. O'Keefe's research is to enhance the quality of foods. He has focused on peanut products over much of his career conducting research that has been used to develop modified fatty acid (MFA) peanuts (high oleic), which are widely used in the food industry. A second area of research focus is novel bioactives, especially those with antimicrobial, antioxidant or UV light blocking properties. Working with Pepsico, Dr. O'Keefe and colleagues investigated the performance of mycosporine like amino acids as additives that can be used to protect natamycin, which is a natural antimicrobial that suffers from poor light stability. They have identified natural antioxidants present in peanut skins, a waste product from the peanut processing industry as well as antimicrobial compounds present in plant materials. Finally, he has also worked with beverage products including beer for which water is a critical and often ignored component. 

You can learn more about Dr. O'Keefe and his work on his research website.