Dr. Michael T. Morrissey, Director
Dr. Jae Park
Dr. Yi-Cheng Su

Dr. Michael T. Morrissey

Director of OSU Seafood Laboratory
Professor, Department of Food Science and Technology
Ph.D. (1983) Oregon State University (Food Science)
M.S. (1977) University of Wisconsin (Food Chemistry)
B.S. (1970) University of Notre Dame (Chemistry)

In 1990 I took the position of Director of the Oregon State University Seafood Laboratory in Astoria, Oregon. I am also a Professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology which is located on the main campus in Corvallis. Our Seafood Laboratory is very active undertaking both applied and basic research. We have three faculty members, three full-time staff and 10-15 graduate students depending on the research projects. Our current projects include surimi technology, marine biotechnology, waste utilization and seafood processing. I have projects in value-added seafood products, the recovery of bioactive components (proteases, antioxidants) from seafood wastes, the use of high hydrostatic pressure for seafood processing, the use of computer systems (neural networks) in determining quality factors in the Pacific whiting fishery, seafood HACCP, and quality determination for albacore tuna. We pride ourselves with working closely with the seafood industry for both their short-term projects and long-range goals. I have enjoyed working internationally and have done projects throughout Latin America, Asia, and Australia. We have had a great group of graduate students from all over the globe who work hard but yet find time to enjoy themselves in the Astoria setting. The majority of students take their M.S. or Ph.D. degree in the area of Food Science although we have had several students in Bioresource Engineering and Marine Resource Management as well. A prospective graduate student needs to apply for admission to the OSU graduate school and should have taken their TOEFL and GRE tests. Normally the students take one year of classes on the main campus and then move to Astoria for their research activities. We moved into our new laboratory in October 1997. This new lab will allow us to expand our research activities especially in the area of marine biotechnology and advanced seafood processing. If you wish more information click back to the OSU Seafood Lab home page, or you may e-mail me directly at Michael.Morrissey@oregonstate.edu.

Research Interests: My research interests are in seafood processing, quality control and safety at both the domestic and international level. On-going research projects include examining Pacific whiting for surimi production, and processing albacore tuna into value- added products. Investigations are continuing in determining quality standards for seafood products as well as research into the biochemical and microbial changes that occur in seafoods throughout the distribution chain. A new area of interest is the study of perceptions of quality and wholesomeness of seafood from both the consumer's and retailer's perspectives, and the recovery of bioactive components from seafood wastes. The Seafood Laboratory will continue to work with the Oregon fishing industry to maintain a high quality and safe seafood supply.

Professional Activities: Member of the Institute of Food Technologists, Pacific Fisheries Technologists, and American Chemical Society.

Dr. Jae Park
Research Interests

Rheological and chemical characterization of fish proteins and their interaction with functional ingredients and/or physico-chemical components from surimi production to utilization including pasteurization. A number of grants and gifts from private industry (surimi, surimi seafood, and ingredients) enabled me to conduct these studies.

Development of advanced processing techniques (i.e., ohmic heating) has been accomplished with financial support from the Sea Grant. Ohmic heating was proven to be a new method for the better utilization of Pacific whiting surimi without enzyme inhibitors. This study has led the U.S. surimi seafood industry to use Pacific whiting surimi without the use of enzyme inhibitor which has contributed a significant saving to the industry. Recent approaches with ohmic heating are the study of heating rate effects on gelation, gelation kinetics, and pasteurization of seafood. Through a n USDA grant on radio frequency, Debye resonances of polar food molecules targeted for uniform capacitive heating was investigated. .

R ecovery of proteins from surimi processing by-products (seafood wastes), funded by state and federal agencies, has shown a new way to control seafood processing waste. The recent approaches to this area also cover the minimization of the solubility of myofibrillar proteins at various biochemical and physical conditions. In addition, the study to upgrade surimi processing waste to food (fish sauce) through fermentation and enzymatic degradation was conducted with the Sea Grant's support. Fish sauce research has become a major field along with surimi and surimi seafood research.

Acid and alkali-aided recovery of fish proteins : Unlike a conventional surimi processing method, this method induces denaturation followed by renaturation using a pH shift and protein is recovered using centrifugal methods. Through keeping sarcoplasmic proteins, which is removed in conventional surimi processing, the recovery rate can reach over 35%.

Surimi School Website
Dr. Park's Bio Page

Dr. Yi-Cheng Su

Assistant Professor
Department of Food Science & Technology
Seafood Biochemist
OSU Seafood Laboratory

Research Interests:
Investigation of microbial growth in seafoods during processing and storage, development of improved methods for detecting microbial pathogens and toxins in seafoods and application of innovative technologies for increasing quality and shelf life of products and reducing pathogens in seafood processing plants and finished products.

Dr. Su's Website