CONSUMERS AND FOOD MANUFACTURERS ARE INCREASINGLY INTERESTED IN PLANT-BASED PROTEINS FOR THEIR SUSTAINABILITY, AND OTHER ECONOMIC, AND HEALTH BENEFITS. SOY IS A COMMONLY USED PROTEIN SOURCE FOR PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, BUT INCREASING DEMAND FOR PLANT PROTEINS IS DRIVING SCIENCE-BASED EXPLORATION FOR NEW AND NON-TRADITIONAL SOURCES. HEMP PROTEIN, A BY-PRODUCT OF OIL EXTRACTION FROM HEMP SEED, HAS EXCELLENT NUTRITIONAL QUALITIES, MAKING IT A PROMISING NOVEL AND ALTERNATIVE PLANT PROTEIN. ALTHOUGH HEMP PROTEIN IS HIGHLY NUTRITIOUS, ITS COMPACT STRUCTURE LIMITS ITS FUNCTIONALITIES AND USEFULNESS FOR MANY FOOD APPLICATIONS. HIGH-PRESSURE PROCESSING (HPP) IS AN EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR MODIFYING PROTEIN STRUCTURE AND ENHANCING FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES.THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS SEED GRANT IS TO DEMONSTRATE THE CAPACITY OF HPP TREATMENT TO ALTER HEMP PROTEIN STRUCTURE AND IMPROVE FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES IMPORTANT IN FOOD MATRICES. WE WILL UTILIZE HPP TO INDUCE STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN HEMP PROTEIN ISOLATES, EVALUATE THEIR STRUCTURAL, PHYSICOCHEMICAL, AND FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES, AND CONDUCT A PRELIMINARY STUDY TO FORMULATE HPP-TREATED HEMP PROTEIN ISOLATE-BASED YOGURT.RESEARCH DESCRIBED HEREIN WILL ADVANCE OUR KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THIS NOVEL PROTEIN SOURCE AND METHODS FOR ENHANCING ITS FUNCTIONALITY. IT ADDRESSES USDA-AFRI A1364 PROGRAM PRIORITY AREA OF 'IMPROVE OUR KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHEMICAL, PHYSICAL, AND BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF NOVEL FOODS AND FOOD INGREDIENTS.' IT ALSO LAYS A FOUNDATION FOR OUR LONG-TERM GOAL TO DEVELOP HIGH-FUNCTIONALITY HEMP PROTEIN FOR USE IN HIGH-QUALITY PLANT-BASED FOOD PRODUCTS. PROPOSED RESEARCH AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BENEFIT STAKEHOLDERS BY INCREASING VALUE AND DEMAND FOR HEMP PROTEIN AND REVENUE TO PRODUCERS AND MANUFACTURERS ACROSS THE SUPPLY CHAIN.