Central German Nutrition Summit Young Researcher Award for food chemist Jan F. Horneck

On 29 September 2026, Jan F. Horneck, a doctoral student in Food Chemistry, received the Central German Nutrition Summit Young Researcher Award for his thesis, ‘Selenium-induced off-flavours in beer’, which he completed at TU Dresden. Horneck has been pursuing his PhD since 2026 with a doctoral scholarship from the German National Academic Foundation at the Institute of Food Chemistry at TU Braunschweig, working in the research group led by Assistant Professor Jana Raupbach.

At the presentation of the Young Researcher Award of the Central German Nutrition Summit 2026 in Erfurt. Photo credits: Jan F. Horneck

Before commencing his doctorate, he completed an education as a dairy laboratory technician and studied Food Chemistry at the Technical University of Dresden. He completed his studies in 2025 with a thesis at the Professorship of Special Food Chemistry at the Technical University of Dresden, for which he has now been awarded the Young Researchers’ Prize. In addition, Horneck is actively involved in the Young Food Chemistry Working Group (AG JLC) at the Braunschweig campus.

The award-winning thesis focused on the essential trace element selenium. Horneck investigated how increased levels of various selenium compounds affect the production and flavour of beer. Using sensory, microbiological, biochemical and instrumental analytical methods, he demonstrated that certain selenium-containing amino acids can slightly impair the growth of yeasts relevant to brewing. However, there was no evidence to suggest that selenium enrichment led to the formation of off-flavours detectable by the senses.

With this Junior Researchers’ Award, the Central German Nutrition Summit recognises pioneering final-year theses relating to the food industry and honours innovative research approaches by junior researchers that demonstrate high practical relevance and particular potential for application.