Education:
- Qualification for Food Science Teaching (1984)
- Master in Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Bologna (1983)
- Qualification for the profession of Agronomist and enrolment at the Register of Agronomists in the province of Bologna (1982)
- B.Sc. cum laude in Agricultural Sciences at the University of Bologna (1980)
Professional Experience:
- December 2008 to present: Full Professor, University of Bologna (Italy) (SSD AGR15- Food Science and Technology)
- October 2002-November 2008: Associate Professor, University of Bologna (Italy) (SSD AGR15)
- November 1998-September 2002: Associate Professor, University of Molise (Italy) (SSD AGR15) - October 1990-October 1998: Research Assistant, University of Bologna (Italy) (G08A- Food Science and Technology)
- 1985-1990: Technician, Institute of Agricultural Industries, University of Bologna (Italy)
- 1980-1985: Research fellow, CRPA (Italy) Research Interests and Experience
Research activity focused on lipid composition and degradations (oxidation and hydrolysis) caused by processing and preservation of food from animal and vegetal origin. Main research subjects are: shelf-life of foods, antioxidants, enriched foods and minor components in general. In addition to traditional foods, fortified and functional foods have also been studied. To study such a wide range of food products, ad hoc analytical methods have developed or adapted. The study of cholesterol oxidation in model systems, from a chemical mechanistics standpoint, has been a prerequisite for the study and improvement of oxidative stability of real (food) systems, considering applied processing, preservation and cooking technologies. The most used analytical methods for the research studies, are chromatographic techniques (GC, HPLC and CE) coupled with different types of detection (FID, MS, ELSD UV, RI, MS). Recently, non-destructive techniques, such as electronic nose, FT-IR and equipment for the assessment of oxidation resistance, have also been successfully used; and the research group has collaborated in the development and testing new instrument for measuring the oxidative stability of foods. Among the studied bioactive compounds, the most important are omega-3 fatty acids, CLAs, sterols, tocopherols, phenolic compounds, but also undesirable neoformation substances, such as furosin, acrylamide and oxidation products of lipids.
Refereed Journal Articles and Bibliometric Indexes
- More than 130 peer-viewed articles in high-impact scientific journals (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4935-5817 ) and 2 chapters in books.
Reviewer Activity - Project reviewer: External reviewer for the “Contratti di Sviluppo Aree di Crisi Campane” (Circolare MiSE 5067 del 13/02/2014), projects of the Tuscany region “Bando Nutraceutica 2014”, projects of the Tuscany region “Agroalimentare 2012”, “Progetto Giovani” (Milan University; 2012), the ANVUR (VQR 2004-10; Italy), PRIN project 2009.
- Thesis reviewer: External international reviewer for PhD thesis from Spain (n=3).
- Journal reviewer: External Reviewer of many scientific journals of Food Sciences/Technology, Food Chemistry and Food Analysis area.
Funded projects
a) European and International • Partecipation to the H2020 European project ECOPROLIVE (http://ecoprolive.eu/), (2015-2017) • Partecipation the 7th FP European project EcoBerries (http://coreorganicplus.org/research-projects/ecoberries/), (2015- 2018) • Coordination of the Italy/Spain Integrated Action "Evaluation of Production Processes Depending on Phenolic Content in Foods" (2010). • Partecipation to the 7th FP European project BaSeFood (http://www.basefood-fp7.eu/www.basefood-fp7.eu/index.html) (2009-2012).
b) National Projects • She has received RFO funding in recent years, plus the incentive share, accounting for 20% of the most productive area researchers (2017-2020). • Local coordinator of the UNIBO unit in the project PRIN 2015 “Process and product innovation in the production of hard wheat flour (pasta, cous cous) foods with high environmental sustainability” (2017-2020) • Partecipation to the CL.A.N project-Agrifood (CTN01_00230). “Sustainability Project for the Agri-Food Process - SO.FI.A.” (CTN01_00230_450760) (2014-2016) • Coordinator of the Agreement with Molini Pivetti through the Emilia Romagna Region project "Contribution to companies located in the territories affected by the earthquake of May 2012". Product innovation in the "wheat" chain (2013-2015). • Coordinator of the Agreement with the University of Molise within the project PON PROFSICURI 2 (2013-2014) • Coordinator of OU on "Extraction and characterization of carotenoids and other bioactive molecules from by-products of the tomato processing industry". Nutrition, Health and Quality of Life: Development of new formulas and recipes for traditional diet products made in Italy, optimized for over-50-INDUSTRIA 2015 consumers. • Participation to the Project "Food Integration with Phytosterols: Chemical and Technological Nutrition Evaluations", Cassa di Risparmio di Cesena (2008-2011) • Coordinator of the to the milk production project to improve animal welfare and the production and valorization of dairy butter from the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese district (Misura 124 Regione Emilia Romagna) (2010-2011) • Local coordinator of the UNIBO unit in the project “Definition of markers regarding the sensory and healthy quality of virgin olive oils produced by Sicilian native cultivars”, funded by the Sicily Region (2007-2010). • Local coordinator of the UNIBO unit in the project PRIN 2009 “Phenol phenolic compounds: composition and distribution in different types of barley depending on the type of fractionation” (2010-2012) • Local coordinator of the UNIBO unit in the project PRIN 2004 "Quality and safety of chicken eggs obtained by biological method and with conventional intensive system. Evaluation of the durability and quality of egg products and egg products in the food chain " (2005-2007)
Collaborations with small and medium size national and regional enterprises Several projects with industries from the agro-food sector for the development of research activities for the enhancement of product quality: dairy products, bakery products, meat products, poultry products, vegetable oils, vegetable products.
Scientific collaborations with Universities and Research Institutes International
• Several scientific collaborations with Universities from Spain (Granada), Ireland (Cork), Sweden (Uppsala), Rumania (Galati), Turkey (Istanbul) and Tunisia (Tunis).
• 2005-2010: Participation to the IHC Group of Standards for bee products other than honey, coordinated by Dr. S. Bogdanov of the Swiss Bee Research Center (Swiss Federal Research Station for Animal Production and Dairy Products).
• 2001- 2004: participation to the Network of Excellence of the 6th EU Framework Program EURO FED LIPID "Optimized lipid nutrition to prevent and combat the metabolic syndrome", coordinated by Dr. F. Amoneit.
• 1997: Participation to the FAO Cooperative Network on Trace Elements, Natural Antioxidants and Contaminants, for the topic “Cholesterol Oxides in European Foods”- FAO European Cooperative, coordinated by Prof. P. Dutta (University of Uppsala). b) National
• 2002-2007: collaboration with the UNI (www.uni.com) - Royal Jelly Commission for the definition and characterization of the product.
Teaching and Mentorship Experience Classroom Teaching - Food Technologies I (6 CFU, B.Sc. in Food Technology, University of Bologna); 2002 to Present - Analysis of Food Products and Chemical Modifications in Food (CFU 8, M.Sc. in Food Science and Technology, University of Bologna); 2008 to present - Processes of the Food Industry L-A (3 CFU, M.Sc. Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Bologna); 2014 to present - Food Technology: Dairy, Meat and Fishery Products (Module 1) (M.Sc. in Safety and Quality in Animal Production; University of Bologna); 2014 to Present - Industry and Technology of Food from Animal Origin (Module: Dairy products) (B.Sc. in Animal Production and Wildlife Management; University of Bologna); 2014 to Present - Food Science (6 credits) (Ph.D. degree on Food Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Bologna); 2005-2012.
Student Advising (last 5 years) Ph.D. Students 4 M.Sc. Students 30 B.Sc. Students 20 Other Mentorship Activities (last 5 years) Post Doctoral Research Associates 6 Visiting Scientists 5 International Exchange Programs 1
International PhD Dissertation Commissions 2
Organization and institutional activity
• 2017- to present: Corresponding Academician of the National Academy of Agriculture (ANA).
• 2012-13 and 2016: inclusion in the ASN list of evaluators having bibliometric values above the AGR15 thresholds.
• 2012 to present: Member of the Council for the Coordination of the Degree courses in Food Technologies (COSTAL)
• 2015-2018: Elected President of the Italian Society of Food Science and Technology (SISTAL).
• 2014- to present: Member of the Educational Commission of the Department of Agricultural and Food Science; University of Bologna. • 2012- to present: Coordinator of the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degree courses on Food Technology (L-26) and Food Science and Technology (LM-70) (University of Bologna); re-elected for the second term in 2015.
• 2010-2012: Elected member of the Board of the Department of Food Science, University of Bologna.
• September 2012: Member of the Organizing Committee of the XVII Workshop on the Developments in the Italian Ph.D. Research on Food Science, Technology & Biotechnology (Cesena) • 2008- 2012: Secretary of the Council of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bologna.
• 2006-2016: Coordinator of Erasmus Bilateral Agreement with the University of Galati (Romania). • 2005-2012: Member of the Doctoral School of Food Sciences and Biotechnology of the Agricultural School of University of Bologna. •
1998-2005: Member of the Doctoral School of Food Sciences and Biotechnology of University of Molise.
