DrThiru Somasundaram

Dr Thiru Somasundaram is an Associate Research Fellow at the Nutrition and Seafood Laboratory (NuSea.Lab), Deakin Marine Scientific Research and Innovation Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University.

 

His research sits at the interface of aquatic food production systems, aquaculture nutrition, food composition, seaweed bioprocessing, and analytical food science. He uses GC-MS, GC-FID, TLC-FID, HPLC-DAD, ICP-MS, UV-Vis, wet analytical chamistry, texture analysis, and machine-learning/computational modelling to study how processing, formulation, and production affect nutrients, bioactives, safety, and performance in aquaculture and human nutrition.

 

Current projects as a PI include the Uluu REACH program (abalone and barramundi feeding trials using hydrolysed Uluu seaweed residue at Queenscliff and Warrnambool) and Marine Bioproducts CRC Project MBCRC334 with Ridley (Novel microbial boosters for enhanced aquaculture production; NovaqPro™ validation for prawn species across India, Thailand, and Australia). He is a CI on a Deakin Marine Innovation Enabler grant (2026) on macroalgal metabolites and bioactive responses, in collaboration with Deakin School of Medicine and European partners.

 

He has 18 years' experience across government science (NARA, Sri Lanka), FAO (EAF-Nansen), industry, and academia in Australia, Sri Lanka, India, Europe, and the UK. He welcomes enquiries from researchers, industry, and government on aquatic foods, sustainable aquaculture feeds, seaweed bioproducts, and food composition science.