Dr. Zarifeh Raji | Biological Sciences | Best Researcher Award
University of Laval | Canada
Dr. Zarifeh Raji is an emerging scholar in food science and environmental sustainability whose work bridges advanced research with practical innovation in the food industry. With a strong interdisciplinary foundation, she focuses on developing sustainable strategies for toxic metal removal using agro-food byproducts, advancing both environmental protection and clean-label food production. Her research integrates adsorption science, food waste valorization, dietary fiber chemistry, and AI-driven process optimization, reflecting a novel and future-oriented vision for sustainable food systems. Dr. Raji has authored 7 peer-reviewed publications, accumulating over 300 citations and achieving an h-index of 5, with contributions appearing in leading journals such as Chemosphere, Trends in Food Science & Technology, and Biomass Conversion & Biorefinery. Her work is widely recognized for its innovation in converting agricultural residues into high-performance biosorbents for heavy-metal remediation, offering scalable solutions for water and soil safety. Her professional experience spans more than a decade in the food industry, where she has served in R&D, product formulation, supply chain quality management, and key account leadership roles. In these capacities, she has led new product development initiatives, optimized bakery formulations, managed regulatory compliance, and applied data-driven strategies to enhance processing efficiency. She has collaborated extensively with multidisciplinary teams in academia and industry, contributing to research supervision, equipment management, and technology transfer initiatives. Her technical expertise includes sensory analysis, process optimization, microbial testing, and proficiency in analytical and computational tools such as Minitab, SAS, MATLAB, Power BI, and AI modeling frameworks. Dr. Raji’s work has significant societal impact, addressing global challenges related to food safety, environmental contamination, waste management, and sustainable production. Her research supports circular economy principles by transforming food waste into valuable functional materials, reducing environmental burden while improving industrial sustainability. Through her scientific contributions, cross-functional collaborations, and commitment to advancing eco-innovative solutions, Dr. Raji continues to play a vital role in shaping the future of sustainable food technologies and environmental remediation.
Profiles: Scopus | Google Scholar | ORCID
Featured Publications
Raji, Z., Karim, A., Karam, A., & Khalloufi, S. (2023). Adsorption of heavy metals: Mechanisms, kinetics, and applications of various adsorbents in wastewater remediation—A review. Waste, 1(3), 775–805.
Raji, Z., Khodaiyan, F., Rezaei, K., Kiani, H., & Hosseini, S. S. (2017). Extraction optimization and physicochemical properties of pectin from melon peel. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 98, 709–716.
Raji, Z., Karim, A., Karam, A., & Khalloufi, S. (2023). A review on the heavy metal adsorption capacity of dietary fibers derived from agro-based wastes: Opportunities and challenges for practical applications in the food industry. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 137, 74–91.
Karim, A., Raji, Z., Karam, A., & Khalloufi, S. (2023). Valorization of fibrous plant-based food waste as biosorbents for remediation of heavy metals from wastewater—A review. Molecules, 28(10), 4205.
Karim, A., Raji, Z., Habibi, Y., & Khalloufi, S. (2024). A review on the hydration properties of dietary fibers derived from food waste and their interactions with other ingredients: Opportunities and challenges for their application. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 64(32), 11722–11756.