AI SPEAKER SERIES: Bioactive Peptides from Food Proteins

AIFS AI SPEAKER SERIES FOR FOOD & AG

Featuring Yonghui Li, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director, Department of Grain Science and Industry, Wheat Quality Lab Director, Kansas State University

Join the AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems (AIFS) on the UC Davis campus for a seminar exploring how AI is accelerating the discovery of health-promoting compounds in food.

Bioactive peptides, short chains of amino acids with targeted benefits, have growing potential in functional foods and nutraceuticals. Traditionally, identifying these compounds required time-consuming lab work. Today, advances in machine learning, especially protein language models, offer faster ways to pinpoint promising peptides.

In this talk, visiting Kansas State faculty member Dr. Yonghui Li will share how his group integrates experimental and computational methods to streamline peptide discovery. The seminar will highlight:

• How food proteins are broken down into peptides with specific bioactivities
• The use of AI, from conventional models to cutting-edge deep learning, to predict peptide function
• The advantages of combining lab experiments with AI models to speed up innovation in food and health

Together, these approaches illustrate the potential of AI to make functional food development more efficient, targeted, and impactful.

Lunch will be provided for in-person attendees.

This event is available in hybrid format to attend in person or online.

Yonghui Li, Ph.D.

Dr. Yonghui Li is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director in the Department of Grain and Food Science at Kansas State University.

He received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and master’s degree in biosystem engineering from Zhejiang University, China, and his Ph.D. in grain science, K-State.

Dr. Li's research focuses on understanding the structure, chemistry, modification, and functionality of grain proteins and bioactive peptides with the aim of developing high-quality, functional grain-based foods, ingredients, and nutraceuticals. His team integrates wet chemistry, engineering principles, computational simulation, and applied machine learning to advance proteins and peptide science.

Since joining the faculty in 2016, Dr. Li has secured over $4.7 million in research funding as lead PI and $1.9 million as co-PI, supported by the USDA, NSF, Kansas grain commissions, and the grain and food industries. He has published over 160 journal articles and 3 patents and edited 3 book volumes. Dr. Li is an associate editor for the Journal of Food Science, Cereal Chemistry, Sustainable Food Proteins, and Agricultural Products Processing and Storage.

Info: Bioactive peptides offer exciting possibilities for improving health through food, but identifying them is often slow and resource-intensive. This talk explores how machine learning, including advanced protein language models, can accelerate discovery. By integrating lab-based and AI-driven methods, researchers can more efficiently design functional foods with targeted nutritional benefits.

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