INVITED SPEAKERS

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INVITED SPEAKERS

Dr. Anna Zamora Viladomiu

 

University of Barcelona

 

 

Dr. Zamora has a BS in Environtmental Biology (University of London) and a BS in Biology and Food Science (UB). While working in the department of Applied Economy at UAB as a research assistant, she attended a Masters in Scientific Museology (IDEC, Universitat Pompeu Fabra). In 2004, she obtained a pre-doctoral fellowship to carry out a PhD thesis at UAB on the use of UHPH as an alternative treatment of milk for cheese-making. During her PhD, she spent a research stay working with Prof. A. L. Kelly at the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences at UCC, obtaining the mention of “European Doctor” and "Extraordinary Doctorate Award”. She has gained a broad experience in milk processing and operation of pilot plant equipment especially those used in dairy industry, and in particular heat treatment equipment and emerging non-thermal technologies such as UHPH and HHP. Dr Zamora has a wide expertise in chemistry and instrumental analysis of foods. After a maternity break, in 2015, she became a member of the OPTICmizing research group as researcher scientist and project manager, which allowed her to substantially expand her knowledge in photonics, where she has been instrumental on the development of a novel inline meat emulsion monitoring system in collaboration with Prof. M. Castillo. Dr. Zamora has participated in 15 R&D projects at European/national level, 2 of which acting as Principal Investigator, and 12 research and technology transfer contracts with companies. She is codirecting 4 PhD thesis, one on the application of FFFS for whey characterisation, two on the application of light backscatter in process control, and one on electrospraying of milk, and 2 MS. Previously, she has directed 1 PhD, 13 MS and 4 end-of-degree students, and 9 internship scholars (Erasmus). She has published 27 indexed papers (586 citations), giving an h-index of 14 (Scopus) together with 35 contributions to congresses (18 published proceedings). She has also reviewed 21 manuscripts for the journals Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies, LWT-Food Science and Technology, International Dairy Journal, Journal of Food Processing, Preservation and Food Control, Animals and Processes.


Dr. Mauricio Balensiefer

 

Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil

 

 

Forest Engineer with postgraduate degree in Silviculture, having worked at IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of Environment) in Brasilia and Curitiba-PR and at the Environmental Institute of Paraná (IAP - now IAT - Instituto Água y Tierra). Since 1982, professor at the Department of Forestry Sciences at UFPR, where he teaches Silviculture and Recovery of Degraded Areas in Agronomy and Forestry Engineering. Creator and President of the Brazilian Society for the Recovery of Degraded Areas, he is a pioneer in the topic in Latin America, through which he has taught more than 100 courses on the topic in the main cities of Brazil and the world. It organized and coordinated seminars on the subject, as well as the national symposiums on the Recovery of Degraded Areas (SINRADS), in which more than 1,600 technical and scientific works were published. At the moment, he is coordinating and preparing the XIV edition of SINRAD in which he will deal with themes such as non-conventional food plants.


Dr. Érica Resende Oliveira

 

Federal University of Goiás, Brazil

 

Dr. Erica Oliveira is an Assistant Professor of Food Science and Technology at the School of Agronomy, Federal University of Goias (UFG), Brazil. She teaches graduate courses in Food Science as a faculty member. Moreover, Dr. Oliveira teaches undergraduate courses in Food Engineering. Her research focuses on developing new products from agricultural and industrial waste. Her professional experience in the industry includes ten years as a Food Engineer where she navigated between Quality Assurance and Product Development (California, USA). Before joining UFG, she was a PhD student at the Food Science Faculty, Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), where she received the Best Thesis Award for her extensive study on different types of extraction of oil and bioactives from green coffee beans waste. While completing her masters (UFG) and doctoral program in Food Science and Technology, she taught several courses at both institutions and at the Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology (IFG). Before that, she received a scholarship to study at the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, Czech Republic. And, received her BSc. in Food Engineering from the Federal University of Goias, Brazil.

 


Dr. María Elsa Pando San Martin

 

University of Chile

 

Transdisciplinary approach in the revaluation of agro-industrial by-products: The importance of biological validation in cell and animal models.

 

Dr. María Elsa Pando San Martin is a Biochemist from the Universidad de Chile with Master´s degree in Biochemistry from the Universidad de Chile. She obtained a national doctoral scholarship from ANID, that allowed her to do a doctorate in Nutrition and Food, obtaining the title of Doctor in Nutrition and Food from the same university in 2018. Currently she is an assistant professor in the Nutrition Department of the Medicine Faculty of the Universidad de Chile, level coordinator of the Basic Nutrition unit in the Nutrition Department of the of the same Faculty, and principal investigator in the projects “IBEROAMERICAN RESEARCH NETWORK FOR THE REVALUATION AND BIOLOGICAL VALIDATION OF RAW MATERIALS AND AGROINDUSTRIAL WASTE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUNCTIONAL INGREDIENTS” REVALIF financed by the FORCYT program of the OEI (organization of iberoamerican states) and the EU (European Union) and “Effect of obesity induced by a high-fat diet on the expression of neurodegeneration markers in C57BL/6J mice” financed by HEALTH RESEARCH PROJECTS OF MEDICINE FACULTY 2018. She also participates as co-investigator in the Regular FONDECYT Project N°: 1221633 | 2022 - 2025, “Synthesis and characterization of novel EPA/DHA-rich biologically-active antioxidant lipid from (O. mykiss) and (A. chilensis) oils via enzymatic interesterification under supercritical CO2. Effect on immune and anti-inflammatory response in obesity model” and as a consulting researcher in the startup science project N°: SUC220067 | 2022 – 2023, "Marine lipids: Lysophospholipids, phospholipids, rich in DHA and EPA, with therapeutic Nutraceutical value to prevent neurodegenerative diseases and metabolic syndrome associated with aging". Other projects in which she has participated: as co-investigator “Microparticles of pomegranate peel extract in the prevention of hepatic steatosis and oxidative stress in mice with obesity induced by a high-fat diet Funding source: SOCHINUT-NESTLE. Start Year: 2021 End Year: 2022. As a doctoral thesis student of the Regular FONDECYT N°: N- 1120627 | 2012 – 2015, Process optimization of structured triacylglycerols by enzymatic transesterification of caprylic acid and omega-3 PUFA concentrate salmon oil under supercritical carbon dioxide: Effect on physical and chemical properties and stability of food systems, and as a master's ad undergraduate thesis student of the regular FONDECYT N°: N- 1080396 | 2008 – 2011, ROLE OF THE TAX VIRAL PROTEIN IN THE PROGRESSION OF HTLV-I-LINKED PARAPARESIA AND ITS EXTRACELLULAR ACTION IN A NEURONAL MODEL”. Dr. María Elsa Pando has developed her research in basic neuroscience that allowed her to learned neurodegeneration mechanism and techniques to detect protein post-translational modifications, protein purification, molecular biology techniques, neuronal cell culture and the management of obese mice model. She also has study applied food technology science in oils, and triacylglycerol’s purification, gas chromatography and HPLC- mass spectrometry identification of fatty acids and triacylglycerol with EPA or DHA, and the applications of innovative enzymatic systems for the synthesis of bioactive oil molecules rich in EPA and DHA fatty acids from by-products derived from the food industry that can be used for the development and formulation of functional foods and nutraceuticals.


Dr. Javier Germán Rodríguez Carpena

 

Autonomous University of Nayarit, Mexico

 

 

Professor-Researcher at the Autonomous University of Nayarit, attached to the Academic Unit of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics. Coordinator of the Specialized Unit in Food Quality and Natural Products of the CENiTT-UAN. Zootechnician Veterinarian, with Master of Science studies in the area of Molecular Genetics, Master's Degree in Meat Science and Technology and Doctorate in Strategies for the improvement and quality control of foods of animal origin. Research lines 'Management of biotechnological strategies to improve the nutritional and sensory quality and oxidative stability of meat and meat products' and 'Rescue and genetic conservation of Creole pigs from the state of Nayarit and evaluation of the aptitude to produce meat with differentiated quality'. Member of the Consolidated Academic Group in Nutrition and Agricultural Biotechnologies. Leader of a network of researchers 'Livestock biotechnologies for meat production'. Academic production: two international patents, 13 book chapters on swine, meat quality and food. 47 articles published in scientific journals. Four popular articles in Porcicultura.com and Abanico Veterinario. Participation in student training: Twenty-five Bachelor theses completed and six in process. Twelve Master of Science theses completed and five in progress. Five doctoral theses completed and five in progress. In addition to continuously participating as a speaker at National and International Congresses. Reviewer of scientific manuscripts for the MDPI platform and other Journals. Twice winner of the Nayarit Medal for Scientific and Technological Research, in the area of Agricultural Technologies and Sciences (2003 and 2017).


Dr.Halima EL Hatmi

 

University of Gabes, Tunisia

 

 

Mrs Halima EL HATMI (born in 1970) is a Engineering Associate Professor in food science and technology and a Head of of agri-food Department: Biological Engineering specialty, at the Higher Institute of Applied Biology of Medenine (ISBAM), University of Gabes-Tunisia. Researcher at the Laboratory of Livestock and Wildlife at the Arid Land Institute (IRA), Medenine, Tunisia. She has 26 years experience in research, teaching and community services. She specializes in food technology especially camel and goat milk are the main area of his research interest. Halima EL HATMI highlighted that camel milk possesses biological activities such as strong antioxidant power or regulation ability of arterial blood pressure mainly due to peptide sequences encrypted in the milk proteins. Besides, Halima EL HATMI developed products enriched in bioactive peptides based on camel milk fermentation by proteolytic lactic acid bacteria. She published several scientific papers in national and international journals and communication papers (over 50). She is also reviewer for several international journals. She organized several scientific events at a national and International level. She is co-inventor of a patent related to camel milk. Since 2018, Dr Halima EL HATMI is involved in ARIMNET2 AROMATIC “Natural bioactive molecules for safe and substainable dairy products” transnational project together with our research group and University of Zagazig in Egypt. The goal of this ambitious project is to exploit the antimicrobial activity of natural antimicrobial molecules/extracts from diverse plant resources to improve the hygienic safety of raw milk and raw milk products. 2018-2022: Tunisian project coordinator ARIMNET (Coordination of Agricultural Research in the Mediterranean) between France Egypt and Tunisia whose theme is: AROMATIC Natural bioactive molecules for safe and sustainable dairy products. 2019-2022: Member of the project PRIMA: Innovative Bio-interventions and Risk Modelling Approaches for Ensuring Microbial Safety and Quality of Mediterranean Artisanal Fermented Foods (ArtiSaneFood). Algeria Spain USA France Greece Italy Morocco Tunisia, Portugal (coordination). 2012-2015: Member of the European Project. PROCAMED (PROCAMED European project IB/1.1/493): Promotion of technical innovations in camel industries for the sustainable development of Saharan territories in the Mediterranean Basin. KHITTA-IRA-2018. Coordinator of project 5: Diversification and promotion of milk products from camels Proposal for an applied research program within the framework of the national strategy for the development of Camelin breeding (SNDEC).


Dr. Rita Rahmeh

 

Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait

 

 

Rita Rahmeh is a research scientist at Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait. She holds a Ph.D. in biology from the Faculty of Medicine, France. She is specialized in biochemistry, pharmacology, molecular biology, and biophysics. Her research interest is to reveal camel milk microbiome and to study the association of the microbial population with camel health and disease. Her research also focuses on the discovery and application of natural antimicrobials as alternative to antibiotics and as food preservatives along with studying the resistome in food microbiota and evaluating the risk of resistance gene transmission.


Prof. Eva Voslarova

 

University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Czech Republic

 

Findings on the heart in food animals from the perspective of veterinary supervision of food safety

 


Prof. Vladimir Vecerek

 

University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Czech Republic

 

The occurrence of parasitic findings on the heart detected during the veterinary inspection of animals at slaughterhouses from the perspective of human health protection

 


Dr. Pedro Rodríguez López

 

Autonomous University of Barcelona ,Spain

 

 

Dr. Rodríguez-López holds a BSc degree in Biology, Major: Microbiology, from the UAB and a BSc (Hons) in Biological Sciences from Coventry University (Coventry, England), both obtained in 2008. He obtained his MSc in Applied Microbiology (UAB) in 2009 and his PhD in Microbiology in 2017 with a thesis entitled “Enzyme-benzalkonium chloride combined strategies to remove Listeria monocytogenes mixed-species biofilms” under the supervision of Dr. Marta López Cabo. He worked in the Marine Research Institute (IIM-CSIC) investigating on the ecological and species interactions that take place in mixed biofilms harbouring L. monocytogenes combining culture-dependent (e.g. plate count) and -independent techniques (e.g. microscopy and high-throughput sequencing; HTS) and in the University of Parma (Parma, Italy) studying the level of antimicrobial resistance found in the pork food chain as well as the assessment of the resistome present in heavy swine abattoirs. From 2022 he works in the UAB together with Prof. José Juan Rodríguez-Jerez and Dr. Carolina Ripollés-Ávila, investigating about the specific factors that model the composition of polymicrobial biofilms in historically pathogen-free and historically pathogen-harbouring locations, intended to develop novel, target-specific antimicrobial strategies and lower the antimicrobial resistance.


Dr. Hien Thi Dieu Truong

 

Massey University & AgResearch, New Zealand

 

 

I am a food scientist with six years of experience using near Infrared, fluorescence, and Raman technologies for real-time monitoring of food quality in the industry. My expertise encompasses exploratory data analysis and modeling with chemometrics and machine learning. I am eager to leverage data analytic skills to build robust models for industrial usage and provide meaningful insights from big data for bolstering decision-making and optimizing overall outcomes.


Dr. Rafael Pinheiro Amantea

 

University of Florence, Italy

 

Evaluation of corn breakage levels under tempering and recirculation strategies by system dynamics modeling

 

Dr. Amantea started his life in academy in 2003 when was invited to work with drying theories and modeling in Professor Fortes's laboratory developing his Master's (2008) and Ph.D. (2012) thesis in the Agricultural and Biological Department of Federal University of Viçosa – Brazil. In 2023, Dr. Amantea completed 20 years of developing solutions in projects of industrial dryers and drying theories involving computational methods, irreversible thermodynamics, and drying quality analysis. Recently, in 2019, mentioned together with his colleagues in Professor Fortes's laboratory for Outstanding Achievement and Excellence in Drying R&D at the Nordic-Baltic Drying Conference. For 11 years (2011-2022) worked as a researcher at IETEC- Institute of Technological Education conducting research and lecturing to undergraduate students in Industrial Engineering and graduate students at IBMEC – Brazil. Besides his academic activities has Founded Cienciar, a specialized company in solutions based on data analysis in industrial and biological fields. Presently, have been working as a researcher at the Agrismart Lab of the University of Florence – School of Agriculture (Unifi) – Italy developing solutions in agricultural, food production, and forestry sectors.


Dr. Ben Salah Riadh

 

Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax, Tunisia

 

 

Pr. Riadh BEN SALAH is a permanent professor and holds a first class engineer degree in Biotechnology; a Master’s degree in biological engineering; and has a doctorate and habilitation to dirige researcher from National School of Engineer of Sfax University. He has over twenty three-years’ experience of Biochemistry, microbiological research and food formulation. This includes experience of designing, validating and operating a range of microbiological tests including sterility testing, bacterial exopolysaccharide testing, microbial enumeration, extraction and purification of exopolysaccharide, probiotic characterization and formulation in agro feed and food. In addition, he is experienced in testing antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities. He is a tutor with the Faculty of Sciences of Sfax and Gabès, University for technology of food M.Sc course. In addition, he is member of several national committees relating to purchasing material. He is a committee member of the Biotechnology Interest Group (ATSB); and is a member of several editorials boards for scientific journals. He acted as a consultant, expert witness and technical advisor for lactic acid bacteria in food formulation. He has also undertaken several technical writing and review projects. He has written over 70 publications, peer reviewed papers and technical articles relating to food and biotechnology. Pr. Riadh BEN SALAH has also twenty years of teaching in university and 60 Projects of End of Studies (engineers), 6 Masters + 3 PhD theses.


Dr. Roberta Hilsdorf Piccoli

 

Federal University of Lavras, Brazil

 

Use essential oils as preservatives in food

 

professor of Food Microbiology at the Federal University of Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Master's degree in Agriculture Microbiology and a doctorate in Food Science and Technology both, from the Federal University of Viçosa. My expertise is in the area of ​​Food Science and Technology, with an emphasis on Food Microbiology, working mainly on the following topics: microbiological quality control, microbial biofilms, control of microorganisms that cause food poisoning by natural compounds, especially with essential oils.


Dr. Irene Dini

 

University of Naples Federico II, Italy

 

An Overview of the Potentialities of Antimicrobial Peptides Derived from Natural Sources in the Food Field

 

Dr. Irene Dini is a researcher in Food Chemistry at the Department of Pharmacy -University "Federico II" - Napoli, a Specialist in 'Food Science,' and PhD in 'Natural Compounds Pharmacologically Active.'  She is a Associate Professor in "Food Chemistry," "Spectroscopic Methods in Food Analysis," and "Science of Dietary Supplements of Plant Origin" at Federico II University.  The scientific activity of Prof. Irene Dini is aimed at the study of natural substances and has mainly developed on seven themes: a) Isolation (by chromatography methods such as DCCC, HPLC, TLC, and column chromatography), characterization (by UV, IR, RI, and NMR spectroscopies), and dosage of primary and secondary metabolites in food plants b) Development and validation of analytical methods for the dosage of metabolites and phytochemicals c) In vitro determination of the bioaccessibility, bioavailability, and antioxidant activity of metabolites present in food matrices d) Evaluation and design of nutraceuticals and nutricosmetic e) Study of environmentally friendly agronomic techniques capable of improving the nutraceutical interest of food products f) Development and validation of analytical methods for the dosage of toxins in foods. g) Recovery of secondary metabolites biologically active from agro-industrial waste. She has served on some Editorial Boards:  "E-Journal of Chemistry" (Hindawi) as an academic editor,   Antioxidants (MDPI)as a guest editor  Molecules (MDPI) as a guest editor  Antibiotics (MDPI) as a guest editor  Antioxidants (MDPI) as topic editor.  She has served on the board of directors of CIRANAD (Interuniversity Centres of Excellence on food, nutrition, and digestive system).  The results of her studies have been published in the most prestigious food chemistry journals and discussed at national and international conferences as oral communications and posters.  She is inserted in World's Top 2% Scientists List 2021 https://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/5)


Prof. Iddo Kan

 

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

 

Food Self-Sufficiency under Limited Resources: Economic Analysis for the Case of Israel

 

Iddo Kan's scientific interests incorporate water and agricultural economics, environmental and resource economics, regional and political economics. Owing to his background in the scientific disciplines of soil and water and agricultural and environmental economics, his expertise is in integrating natural processes into economic analyses with the objective of characterizing management strategies and policies under optimal and/or equilibrium conditions. His analytical approaches employ programming models used for theoretical analyses and empirical applications, and applications of econometric methods.