The current global cheese market is valued at approximately $100 billion and expected to grow annually by 4.68% (CAGR 2022-2027). As an incredibly versatile dairy product, cheese can be consumed directly as a table cheese, used as an ingredient in other foods, or used in the industrial food sector to produce cheese-based ingredients. During these processes, cheese has to exhibit some specific functions. When cheese is consumed, it should show the desired sensory perception, whereas when it is used as an ingredient, it needs to exhibit some techno-functional properties, such as shredding, dicing, and slicing capabilities, as well as specific cooking and melting properties. It is now well recognized that many of these desirable properties of cheese are determined by the structure of cheese components (such as protein, fat, and minerals) and their interactions, as well as their spatial arrangement within the cheese matrix. For example, specific interactions of proteins determines the melt properties of cheese. Cheeses contain high-quality proteins, lipids, and highly bioavailable minerals, and the structure of cheese is known to impact its nutritional properties. Thus, researchers and food producers are increasingly interested in better understanding how structure and function are interrelated. This presentation aims to provide an overview of recent research techniques used in understanding structure-function relationship in cheese, which include a novel dynamic in situ imaging technique to understand the mechanisms of split and crack defects in cheese. The talk will also focus on how protein hydrolysis affects tribological properties of cheese and how tribology may help predict complex sensory perception of cheese. Overall, the audience will gain a fundamental understanding of structure-function relationships and the importance of understanding structure-function relationships to improve the quality of existing products or the design of new innovative products. Speaker: Prabin Lamichhane, PhD