FTB Editorial Board
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FTB Editorial Board Members Info
Roberto Antolović | CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF CROATIA |
Roberto Antolović is Professor of Biochemistry currently working at the Catholic University of Croatia. He received his VMD degree in 1989 from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany. His PhD degree he received in 1990 from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Croatia. From 1994 to 1999 he was assistant professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Endocrinology of Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany. In 1995 he received FEBS fellowship and joined the research group of Prof Bernard Rossier at the Medical School in Lausanne, Switzerland, Department of clinical and experimental pharmacology and toxicology. In 1999 Prof Dr Antolović joined PLIVA Research Institute as a project leader in anti-inflammatory research and the director of the anti-infective research group. In 2004 he became the director of Biology department in PLIVA Research Institute and in 2006 the director of Biology department of GSK Research Centre Zagreb. From 2009 to 2016 he was a full professor at the Department of Biotechnology at the University of Rijeka. His research interests include the membrane transport focused on the biochemistry of the sodium pump, isolation and characterization of new cardiotonic hormones and drug development. Prof Dr Roberto Antolović is a member of Croatian Microbiological Society, Croatian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and German Society of Veterinary Medicine. He has published more than 30 scientific papers in leading international journals. He has been invited speaker at international and domestic scientific meetings and he is a reviewer for several international scientific journals. ↑Back to Top
Duška Ćurić | UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB |
Duška Ćurić, PhD is full professor at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology where she has been working since 1982. She is currently running undergraduate, graduate and PhD studies in food technology and human nutrition. The fields of her interests are: Criteria of cereals quality, Storing and milling of cereals, Rheology and chemistry of dough, Bread industry and processes, Pasta processing, Application and advantages of extrusion technology in the food industry and Organic food production. She has been teaching different subjects in that area more than 25 years as well as supervised students’ final works, masters and doctoral thesis. She is also the vice dean for science at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology and the head of the Laboratory for Cereals chemistry and technology. She has been active as main researcher in various scientific national and international projects. At the moment she is coordinator of the national project entitled 'Lignans in oil seeds, soybeans, cereals and wholemeal bakery product' and contractor for FP6 entitled 'Freshly Baked Breads with Improvement of Nutritional Quality and Low Energy Demanding for the Benefit Of the Consumer and of the Environment'. She is a member of the Governing Council in the Croatian Society of Food Technologists, Biotechnologist and Nutritionists, and a member of the scientific committee of Croatian Food Agency. Duška Ćurić, PhD continually collaborates with the food industry on various projects. ↑Back to Top
Verica Dragović-Uzelac| UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB |
Verica Dragović-Uzelac, full professor at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, was born in Gospić on January 15, 1970. She has published 38 scientific papers in the CC/WoS category mainly in the journals with high impact factor that were cited 420 times. The field of her scientific activity includes the research on the changes of physical and chemical parameters, pectin substances, vitamins, phenolic compounds and plant pigments, the plant hormone melatonin, aromatic compounds during the ripening of fruits and vegetables and during processing and storage. In recent years the main focus of her research has been the influence of conventional, microwave-, ultrasound-, high hydrostatic pressure- and cold atmospheric gas phase plasma-assisted extraction on the stability of biologically active compounds during isolation from natural sources (e.g. medicinal and aromatic herbs, fruit, vegetable and other). She has significant experience in applying various chromatographic techniques (HPLC, UV/VIS PDA, RI, FD, UPLC-MS/MS) for determination of different classes of natural bioactive compounds and in determination of antioxidant capacity in extracts of bioactive compounds. She has long-term experience in participating and leading the acknowledged national and international projects from the area of chemical properties, nutritional value and antioxidant activity of fruits, vegetables and their products. She received numerous awards and recognitions: Award of the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology for published papers in international journals and extraordinary success in research and educational work, 2014; The Annual Award for Popularization and Promotion of Science, 2012; Certificate for the most successful local EU project in the Republic of Croatia for the period from 2010 to 2013: Marasca sour cherry (Prunus cerasusvar. Marasca) as ingredients for functional foods, Ministry of regional development and EU funds of the Republic of Croatia; Gold Medal ARCA 2015, 8th International fair on innovation in agriculture, food industry and agricultural machinery, 2015; Medal ARCA 2007. ↑Back to Top
Krešimir Gjuračić | AbelaPharm |
Krešimir Gjuračić received his PhD in biotechnical sciences from the University of Zagreb (Croatia), Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, Laboratory of Biology and Microbial Genetics, in 2002, a year after his four years’ stay as a post-doctoral fellow at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), AREA Science Park, Trieste (Italy). During both PhD and post-doctoral studies, he was actively involved in research activities of the PLIVA Research Institute, Zagreb (Croatia) where he held a position of the Head of Molecular Biology for several years, including the period after PLIVA Research Institute acquisition by Glaxo Smith Kline. His working experience could be described as being a scientific group leader with more than 20 years’ experience in setting up and conducting research projects at academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies, and university lecturer with more than 15 years of traceable experience in teaching Biology, Microbial Genetics, Genetic Engineering and Eukaryotic Genetics. He was a Vice R&D Biotech Director at Gnosis S.p.A., Desio (Italy) and an Assistant Professor at Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb (Croatia) with rather wide professional interest including Microbial strain improvement by standard genetic or targeted metabolic engineering approaches, Molecular biology for drug discovery, Monoclonal antibody production platforms setup, DNA recombination and repair, as well as Genomic manipulation methodologies based on artificial chromosome vectors and recombineering techniques. In 2008 he became a member of the Editorial Board of Food Technology and Biotechnology. ↑Back to Top
Daslav Hranueli | UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB |
Daslav Hranueli obtained his PhD from the University of Zagreb, Croatia, in the field of Biotechnical Sciences. He worked at the Research Institute of PLIVA Inc. for 30 years in breeding of industrial microorganisms of Bacillus and Streptomyces species. In addition to that he has been involved in numerous managerial positions from the Project leader, Head of the Department of Biosynthesis and Biotechnology to the Assistant director of the Research Institute. In 2002, Prof. Hranueli moved to the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, where he organised the Section for Bioinformatics and started teaching Bioinformatics courses. He also lectures at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia and the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany. His scientific interest is in the field of microbial and molecular genetics and bioinformatics in which he has published more than 45 scientific and review articles in national and national and international journals and seven book chapters. In PLIVA's Research Institute he and his research group developed several industrial microorganisms that have been used in the production of industrial enzymes and antibiotics. Prof. Hranueli has lead a number of national and international research projects founded by the Croatian Ministry of Science and Technology, the European Commission for Science and Research Development and the Wellcome Trust. Prof. Hranueli is a member of a number of Croatian and international scientific societies. At present he is a member of the American Academy of Microbiology, Croatian delegate in GIMIC - IUMS, Croatian delegate in the WP on Applied Genetics - EFBioTech, the president of the Croatian Society of Biotechnology, a member of the Croatian Genetic Society and the Croatian Microbiological Society. While working at PLIVA's Research Institute and the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology he was engaged in the organisation of various scientific national and international activities like workshops, seminars and scientific meetings. As an example, together with Prof. Marija Alačević he organised the Fifth International Symposium on the Genetics of Industrial Microorganisms, in Split in 1986. Prof. Hranueli was a member of the Editorial board of the journal Praxis veterinaria and has been a member of the Editorial board of the journal Food Technology and Biotechnology since 1986. ↑Back to Top
Damir Ježek | UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB |
Damir Ježek obtained a PhD degree in the area of biotechnology from the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb. From 1 March 1992 he has been employed at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb. Starting as a scientific assistant, in 2006 he became a scientific advisor and in 2009 full professor. He currently works as the Dean of the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology. In his up to date scientific work, most research was on the subject of extrusion in obtaining pregelatinised starch, various types of flour and dietary fibres. Other fields of research interest are filtration of yeast, heat exchange in food freezing processes, drying of foodstuff in fluidised bed, granulometric composition of particles and texture analysis for food control. Current work is focused on ultrasonic and high hydrostatic pressure processing of food. As a professor at home faculty and the University of Applied Helath Studies, he has lectured in a large number of undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate courses. Currently he is a member of Croatian Society of Biotechnology; Croatian Systems Society; Croatian Association of Chemical Engineers; Croatian Society of Food Technologists, Biotechnologists and Nutritionists, and the Society of University Teachers, Scholars and Other Scientists. He is a member of organisation committee and secretariat of the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Croatian Congress of Food Technologists, Biotechnologists and Nutritionists (with international participation). He is member of Scientific committee of the 6th Croatian Congress of Food Technologists, Biotechnologists and Nutritionists and also of the 4th CEFood congress. ↑Back to Top
Draženka Komes | UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB |
Draženka Komes was born on September 28, 1974 in Varaždin. She graduated from the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, with BSc in 1998, and earned her PhD degree in 2003, in the field of Food Technology, also from the same Faculty. She was employed in 1998 as a scientific assistant at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, where she became full professor in 2013. Draženka is the head of the Laboratory for chemistry and technology of carbohydrates and confectionery products. Her research interests include the extraction and characterization of properties and biological activity of bioactive compounds (polyphenols, methylxanthines, vitamins) and carbohydrates derived from different plant and food products as well as immobilization and implementation of bioactive compounds in the production of functional food products (confectionery products, coffee, tea). She has published over 90 scientific papers and 50 of them are cited in CC database. The great number of published papers is the result of intensive scientific research and involvement in three European (FP7, COST, LdV), four national scientific, three bilateral projects and one developmental project in collaboration with the Croatian Ministry of Defense. Draženka Komes is the lead organizer and initiator of the national professional meeting Functional Food in Croatia and the national student competition Ecotrophelia. She was awarded the Vice-chancellor’s award of University of Zagreb, Annual award of the Society of the university teachers, scholars and other scientist of Zagreb, Annual award of Croatian Academy of Technical Sciences and National award for scientific achievements in the Biotechnical field. ↑Back to Top
Olivera Koprivnjak | UNIVERSITY OF RIJEKA |
Olivera Koprivnjak received her PhD in food biotechnology from The University of Udine (Italy), Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Food Sciences, in 1996. Her professional interests include methods of food quality determination and improvement, especially in the field of lipids. She is a full professor at the Study of Sanitary Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka and head of the Chair of Food Technology and Control. She is a member of Croatian Society of Food Technologists, Biotechnologist and Nutritionists, a member of Scientific Committee of Croatian Food Agency, and a head of Istria County Association of Sensory Analysts of Virgin Olive Oils. In 2008 she became a member of the Editorial Board of Food Technology and Biotechnology, and she is a grant reviewer for Croatian Ministry of Science and Technology from 2006. Prof. Olivera Koprivnjak has published nearly 30 papers in scientific literature. ↑Back to Top
Blaženka Kos | UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB |
Blaženka Kos, PhD graduated in 1992, she received MSc degree in 1996 and PhD in 2001 from the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb. In 1992 she started to work as a junior researcher, and currently holds a position of Associated Professor at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb. Her scientific work is focused on lactic acid bacteria metabolism and their application through probiotic, prebiotic (synbiotic) and starter culture technology, with a special interest in the cell surface properties and bacteriocinogenic activity of lactic acid bacteria. She has attended several seminars involved in the Research on Lactic Acid Bacteria organized by the Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS) and the Netherlands Society for Microbiology, workshop on Biomass Production and Utilization organized by the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy, and Bioprocess Engineering Course organized by the European Federation of Biotechnology and Croatian Biotechnological Society. She was a guest researcher (FEMS fellowship) in the Laboratory of Prof. Francesco Canganella, Department of Agrobiology and Agrochemisty, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy. As a researcher, she has taken part in 2 international and 7 national scientific projects, which resulted in the publication of scientific papers quoted over 280 times. ↑Back to Top
Karin Kovačević Ganić | UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB |
Karin Kovačević Ganić was born in Ogulin on August 8, 1972. She studied Food Technology at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb and graduated in 1997. She pursued her professional studies at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, where she obtained the Master’s degree in 2002. In 2005 she obtained her PhD degree in Food Technology at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb. In 2007 she was appointed assistant professor at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology in Zagreb. The research activity of Dr Karin Kovačević Ganić is focused on the chemistry of natural phytochemicals called phenolic compounds addressing two types of effects: those that are important to the taste of wine and those that are related to health effects on wine consumers. In the area of wine quality, her current interest is the effect of oxidation on wine chemistry and on important quality parameters of wine, such as taste and colour. Dr Karin Kovačević Ganić is author of over 25 scientific and professional papers. In 2008 she was honoured the National Science Award. ↑Back to Top
Branko Kozulić | GENTIUS LTD |
Branko Kozulić received his PhD in biochemistry from the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, in 1979. From 1983 until 1988 he worked at ETH-Zurich, Institute of Biotechnology. For about 15 years he was employed at a private Swiss biotech company of which he was a co-founder. Since 2005 he has been working at Gentius in his hometown Zadar. He also teaches at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology in Zagreb. Professional interests of Dr Kozulić are focused on the methodologies used for the analysis, detection, characterization and purification of biological macromolecules. He has published about 30 papers in scientific journals and is the inventor or co-inventor of 18 US Patents. He was a member of Editorial Board of Analytical Biochemistry for nine years. ↑Back to Top
Želimir Kurtanjek | UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB |
Želimir Kurtanjek received his PhD in chemical engineering from The University of Houston, Chemical Engineering Department, TX, USA, in 1979. His professional interests include mathematical modelling of chemical and biochemical reactors, process control, and optimisation. He is a member of Croatian Society of Chemical Engineers, Croatian Society of Biotechnology, and Croatian Technical Academy. He is chief editor of a scientific journal Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Quarterly, and a member of the Editorial Board of Food Technology and Biotechnology, and is a grant reviewer for Croatian Ministry of Science and Technology. At the University of Zagreb he is teaching subjects on process control and mathematical modelling at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He has been involved in research projects with Prof. Dan Luss at the University of Houston, USA, Prof. Gilbert Fromant from University of Gent, Belgium, and Prof. Roger Marchant, from Ulster University, UK. Prof. Želimir Kurtanjek has published more than 45 papers in scientific literature, and has more than 200 citations recorded at Web of Science. ↑Back to Top
Branka Levaj | UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB |
Branka Levaj, associate professor at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, received her PhD in the filed of biotechnical sciences from the University of Zagreb in 1998. She is the head of Laboratory for fruit and vegetable processing and preservation. Her professional interests include investigation of phytochemicals in different fruit and vegetable species and in their products (fruit juices, jams, etc.), changes of phytochemicals and aroma substances during processing of fresh material, changes of pectin substances during ripening and their influence on gel strength of jams, and investigation of authenticity of fruit juices and jams. She is a member of Croatian Society of Food Technologists, Biotechnologists and Nutritionists and a member of Institute of Food Technologists. Prof Branka Levaj has published more than 30 papers in scientific literature. ↑Back to Top
Roland Ludwig| Biocatalysis and Biosensors Group, BOKU | roland.ludwig@boku.ac.at
Roland Ludwig graduated from BOKU - University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria, with a master's degree in biotechnology and completed his doctoral studies under the supervision of Dietmar Haltrich in 2004. He worked as a senior and key researcher for the Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology until 2009, when he started a postdoctoral internship at Lund University with bioelectrochemist Lo Gorton. Since 2011, he has been permanently associated with BOKU and works on cofactor-dependent oxidoreductases such as laccases AA1, GMC-oxidoreductases AA3 and lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases AA9. The research focuses on the screening, production, and characterisation of oxidoreductases to understand their physiological roles and their engineering and application in biocatalysis and biosensors. He has published over 180 articles in peer reviewed SCI journals with over 5000 citations, has two patents in regionalisation/nationalisation process in the US and Europe and over 200 posters and proceeding articles at national and international conferences (h-index=40). ↑Back to Top
Ildikó Magyar | SZENT ISTVAN UNIVERSITY |
Ildikó Magyar graduated as an oenologist, and obtained a PhD degree in chemical sciences at the University of Horticulture and Food Science, Budapest in 1997. She joined the Faculty of Food Technology, Department of Oenology of UHFS in 1980 as a lecturer, then became an associate professor in 1998. The current name of the same department is Department of Oenology, Institute of Viticulture and Oenology, Faculty of Horticultural Science, Szent Istvan University. Ildikó Magyar’s research interest covers many aspects of wine microbiology, like using film-forming yeasts in wine ageing; immobilization of yeasts; control of malolactic fermentation; selection, characterization and application of Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces wine yeasts and making botrytized sweet wines. She deals with quality assurance and food safety items of winemaking as well. She is a member of the Hungarian Wine Academy, the Food Science Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Science, the Hungarian Society for Microbiology and the American Chemical Society. Professor Magyar published 5 books or book chapters, 37 scientific papers and about 50 international conference abstracts with more than 110 citations. ↑Back to Top
David Alexander Mitchell | UNIVERSITY OF PARANA |
David Alexander Mitchell received his BSc in Microbiology from the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia in 1983 and his Ph.D. in Biotechnology from the same university in 1990. From 1989 to 1998 he was a Lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland in Australia. After moving to Brazil, he was a Visiting Professor at the Federal University of Parana, Curitiba until 2000, when he became Adjunct Professor and later Full Professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Federal University of Parana, a position he still holds. David Mitchell's research interests are in fields of solid-state fermentation, fungal growth kinetics in submerged and solid-state fermentations and engineering of solid-state fermentation bioreactors. He has published 58 original scientific papers, 6 reviews, 16 book chapters and participated in editing books and scientific journals. ↑Back to Top
Bernd Nidetzky | UNIVERSITY OF GRAZ |
Bernd Nidetzky graduated in the area of technical chemistry from Graz University of Technology, where he also obtained his PhD in biotechnology in 1992. In the period from 1992 to 1999 he was a research assistant at the Institute of Food Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Vienna, Austria, specializing in biotechnology and enzymology. He became an associate professor at the same University in 1999, and in 2002 he was appointed full professorship of biotechnology at the Institute of Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering, Graz University of Technology, Austria. Among many activities, he was a project leader and key researcher at the Research Centre Applied Biocatalysis in Graz, Austria (2002), head of Institute of Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering also in Graz (2004), Austrian representative in the Working Group on Applied Biocatalysis within the European Federation of Biotechnology (2007), and project leader and key researcher at the Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering in Graz, Austria (2008). The main areas of his research include applied enzymology and enzyme technology, metabolic and reaction engineering for biocatalysis (fine chemical synthesis) and renewable resource utilization, glycobiotechnology, heterogeneous enzyme catalysis, and interactions of enzymes with solid surfaces. Prof Nidetzky is also a winner of several awards. ↑Back to Top
Ashok Pandey | CSIR - INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TOXICOLOGY RESEARCH |
Ashok Pandey obtained his Master's degree in chemistry in 1976 and PhD in 1979in microbiology from the University of Allahabad, India. He was a scientist at National Sugar Institute, Kanpur, India, from 1982 to 1985. During 1985 and 1986, he worked as a research scientist in Suddeutsche Zucker AG in Germany. In 1987, he joined the CSIR's National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology at Lucknow as a scientist, and since then has continued working there. Professor Pandey's current main research focus is on bioprocess and product development, mainly on agro-industrial solid waste utilization for the production of biofuels, biopolymers, industrial enzymes, etc. He has about 990 publications/communications, which include 14 patents and design copyright, 34 books, 97 book chapters, 374 original and review papers, etc, with h index of 60 and more than 75 100 citations (Google scholar). Professor Pandey is the recipient of many national and international awards and fellowships, which include Fellow of International Society for Energy, Environment and Sustainability; National Academy of Science (India); Biotech Research Society (India); International Organization of Biotechnology and Bioengineering and Association of Microbiologists of India; Honorary Doctorate degree from Blaise Pascal University (France); Thomson Scientific India Citation Laureate Award (USA); Lupin Visiting Fellowship, visiting professor at the Blaise Pascal University (France), Federal University of Parana (Brazil) and EPFL (Switzerland); Best Scientific Work Achievement award (Government of Cuba); UNESCO Professor; Raman Research Fellowship Award, CSIR (India); GBF (Germany) and CNRS Fellowship (France); Young Scientist Award (1989), etc. He was Chairman of the International Society of Food, Agriculture and Environment, Finland (Food and Health) during 2003 and 2004 He is Founder President of the Biotech Research Society, India (www.brsi.in); International Coordinator and General SEcretary of International Forum on Industrial Bioprocesses, France (www.ifibiop.org), and Vice-President of the International Society for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (www.isees.org) and All India Biotech Association (www.aibaonline.com). Professor Pandey is Editor-in-Chief of Bioresource Technology, Honorary Executive Advisor of Journal of Water Sustainability and Journal of Energy and Environmental Sustainability, and editorial board member of several intrenational and Indian journals. ↑Back to Top
Harald Pichler | GRAZ UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY |
Harald Pichler obtained his PhD from Graz University of Technology for research on lipid synthesis and transport in yeast under the guidance of Guenther Daum at the Institute of Biochemistry in 2000. Supported by a Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) long-term fellowship, he undertook postdoctoral studies with Howard Riezman at both the Biozentrum of the University of Basel and the University of Geneva dealing with the roles of sterols in endocytosis. Returning to Graz University of Technology during the winter term 2003/04, Harald Pichler joined the newly founded Institute of Molecular Biotechnology headed by Helmut Schwab and extended his research interests to recombinant protein expression and enzyme engineering in bacteria and diverse yeasts. In 2010, he was promoted to assistant professor at Graz University of Technology and established his own research team working on the biotechnology of cellular membranes. Harald Pichler has been tenured as associate professor in 2015. Focus of his current work at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology is on recombinant protein secretion from the yeast Pichia pastoris, on membrane protein expression and function in yeasts, on biosynthesis and bioconversion of hydrophobic compounds especially terpenoids and sterols, and on expression and engineering of industrially relevant enzymes. Harald Pichler is, moreover, a key researcher and project leader at the Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (acib).↑Back to Top
Vlasta Piližota | UNIVERSITY OF OSIJEK |
Vlasta Piližota received her PhD in Food Technology from the Faculty of Agronomy and Food Technology in Osijek in 1976. She worked for three years at High school as a teacher of physics and chemistry. She joined the Faculty of Food Technology at the University of Josip Juraj Strossmayer in Osijek in 1979, first as an asistant and in 1997 as a full professor. She has conducted research on fruit and vegetable processing and preservation, thermophysical, rheological and sensorial properties of different foodstuffs, control of enzymatic browning in minimally processed fruits and vegetables, stability and antioxidant activity of natural pigments, and microbiological safety of fresh food products. She has a long-time scientific cooperation with USDA-ERRC, Philadelphia, PA, USA, Faculty of Biotechnology in Ljubljana, Slovenija, and Stazione Sperimentale in Angri (SA), Italy. She is a supervisor of the Department of Food Technologies at the Faculty of Food Technology. She has published 55 scientific and professional papers, 1 book, 5 book chapters, and 18 projects for food processing industry. She was a Vice Dean (1991-1994), and a Dean (1994-1998, 2002-2004) of the Faculty of Food Technology, University of Osijek. She was a mentor to 28 bachelor degree papers, 4 master's and 4 PhD theses. She is a member of the Institute of Food Technologists, International Fresh-Cut Produce Association, and the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. ↑Back to Top
Peter Raspor | LJUBLJANA |
Peter Raspor received his PhD in Biotechnology from the Faculty of Food and Biotechnology of the University of Zagreb, Croatia in 1987. He joined the Biotechnical Faculty, Food Science and Technology Department in 1985 as an Assistant in Industrial Microbiology and after 10 years he became a Full Professor of Biotechnology and Industrial Microbiology, University of Ljubljana. He has established Post graduate studies in biotechnology and a full program for biotechnology for which he is now responsible. His activity has been focused on physiology, biochemistry and genetics of yeast strains, with particular interest in biomass production, ethanol production, extracellular enzyme synthesis, metal accumulation and flocculation. He ran research on various aspects of food and beverage fermentation technology and particularly on starter culture production for food biotechnology from the point of view of biotechnology. His work also included research on food safety and processing waste from foods. After 40 years of service and official retirement from the University of Ljubljana, he had a post as vice dean for research and international cooperation at the University of Primorska, Faculty of Health Sciences, and head of Institute for Food and Health. Professor Raspor has received Doctorem Honoris Causa Universitatis de Sancto Stephano, Hungary and Doctorem Honoris Causa University of Pecs and many awards. He has published 70 scientific papers, 27 book chapters and several patents and he edited 15 books and his bibliography counts more than 600 items. Besides, he is an active member of many scientific and professional societies and secretary general of FEMS. ↑Back to Top
Mauro Serafini | UNIVERSITY OF TERAMO |
Mauro Serafini is a full professor of human nutrition at the University of Teramo. In 2012 and 2013 he was Head of the Functional Foods and Metabolic Stress Prevention Laboratory at Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Centre of Nutrition (CRA-NUT) in Rome, Italy. He is visiting Professor at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology of Zagreb University where he teaches ‘Food, Nutrition and Health’. He teaches also at the Master of Phytotherapy, Siena University, Italy; Master in Obesity prevention, Faculty of Medicine, University La Sapienza, Italy, on topics related to functional food and health. He got his degree in Nutrition in 1992 and received his PhD in Experimental Physiopathology from the University of Pavia, Italy. He spent two years as postdoc at the Nutritional Immunology Lab at HNRC at Tufts University, MA, USA, working on the role of vitamin E in immune function during ageing. He received two grants from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science at Kyoto Medical University, Department of inflammation and in 2015 at Kyoto Women University. Mauro is Editor of JFCA, Nutrition and Aging, and two journals in Frontiers in Nutrition: Nutrition and Environmental Sustainability, and Nutritional Immunology. Referee for many scientific journals and for Croatia, Portuguese and Italian Ministry of Science and holder of research grants from public bodies and industries. Prof. Serafini has published more than 100 IF research papers in the field of the dietary modulation of oxidative and inflammatory stress by plant foods. Mauro was the author of highly cited papers on the antioxidant role of tea, plant food and chocolate published in Lancet, Gastroenterology and Nature. Recently, Prof. Serafini has been included by Thomson Reuters in the list of international researchers displaying the greatest numbers of reports designated by Essential Science Indicators as Highly Cited Papers, ranking among the top 1 % most cited in their subject field and year of publication (2002-2013). He was awarded the Prize ‘Gusto’ for better communication in Nutrition by the Foreign Press in 2015. Serafini’s research mission is unravelling the mechanism of body’s resistance to dietary-induced stressors and to understand the role of plant foods in modulating antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cell-mediated immune response in humans. Recently, Mauro has become a FAO consultant for a novel aspect of his research related to food loss and waste. ↑Back to Top
Tamara Smokvina | ORSAY, FRANCE |
Tamara Smokvina is a microbiologist specialized in microbial genetics and probiotic science. She worked in Danone Nutricia Research as a senior scientist and project leader of the Life Science Department. After graduate and post-graduate studies of Biotechnology and Molecular Biology at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, Tamara Smokvina obtained her PhD in 1990 and her HDR (Habilitation for research supervision) in 2012 at University Paris-Sud in Orsay, France. Her scientific expertise centres on genetics, genomics and physiology of lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria as well as their interaction with host intestinal environment. In her research she focuses on the study of molecular mechanisms in the cross-talk between the probiotic bacteria, host cells and gut microbiota in animal models and in human. Tamara’s work consists in building and leading scientific projects and clinical studies in collaborations with academic laboratories and hospitals, supervising PhD students and post-doctoral fellows and translating scientific achievements into industrial valorization and application. ↑Back to Top
Sonja Smole Možina | UNIVERSITY OF LJUBLJANA |
Sonja Smole Možina received her PhD in microbiology from the University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, in 1996. Her professional interests include food-related bacteria and microbiological and molecular-genetic methods for their identification and characterization of their stress response and resistance in food-related environment. From 2008 she has been a full professor of microbiology, food microbiology and food safety and also a coordinator of doctoral study of food science and technology at Biotechnical Faculty, Ljubljana. She became a member of the Editorial Board of Food Technology and Biotechnology in 2009. Professor Sonja Smole Možina has published alone or as a co-author more than 30 original scientific papers and nearly 50 conference presentations. ↑Back to Top
Ivan-Krešimir Svetec | UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB |
Ivan-Krešimir Svetec, associate professor at University of Zagreb, Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, was born in 1971 in Split, Croatia. He received his BSc in Biotechnology form the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, MSc in Molecular and Cellular biology form the Faculty of Science and PhD in Molecular Biotechnology from the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb. He was visiting researcher in the Mediterranean Institute for Life Sciences (MedILS), Split, Croatia and French Institute of Health and Medical Research (TaMaRa’s lab, INSERM U1001, ex U571), Paris, France. Prof. Svetec has published nearly 20 papers indexed in WoS database and has been cited more than 200 times. In the focus of his scientific interest are molecular genetics and genome stability, targeted genetic modification of Saccahromyces cerevisiae and non-Saccahromyces yeasts and application of molecular genetic methods in various fields of microbiology. Prof. Svetec received several awards such as ‘Annual award of The Society of Professors and Scientists in Zagreb for young scientists and artists’. He is a member of Committee for contained use of genetically modified organisms (Ministry of Health of the Republic of Croatia) and Scientific Committee for GMO Food and Feed. Prof. Svetec is an active member of several scientific societies as well as founder and president (2011-2015) of Croatian Association of Genetic Engineers. ↑Back to Top
Božidar Šantek | UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB |
Božidar Šantek, PhD, graduated in 1990 from the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb in the area of biotechnology. He won MSc degree in 1994 and PhD in 1996 at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, where he has been promoted from Assistant to Full Professor. His scientific work covers different fields of bioprocess enginering and biotechnology, with special interest in the construction of bioreactors and scale-up, mahtematical modelling of bioprocesses as well as malting and brewing technology. He was guest researcher at the Faculty of Technology, University of Bielefeld, Germany, during 2001 and 2002. He leads research group that works on the integrated hybrid bioprocesses and sustainability of organic solvent production. He acts in the capacity of reviewer for Food Technology and Biotechnology. ↑Back to Top
Jagoda Šušković | UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB |
Jagoda Šušković, PhD, graduated in 1980 at the Faculty of Technology, University of Zagreb. She obtained MSc degree in 1989 and PhD in 1996 at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, where she has been promoted from Research Assistant to Full Professor. Her scientific work covers different fields of biotechnology, biochemical engineering and industrial microbiology, with special interest in optimization of microbial metabolites biosynthesis (antibiotics, alkaloids, enzymes, lactic acid), probiotic concept and functional starter culture production. She attended on several occations (in 1987, 1990, 1996, 1999, 2002 and 2005) seminars on 'Lactic Acid Bacteria: Genetics, Metabolism and Applications' (Wageningen University, Federation of European Microbiological Societies and Netherlands Institute for Microbiology). She has organized and, as of now, leads the research group investigates probiotic concept and functional starter culture production. She is a member of the Editorial Board of Food Technology and Biotechnology and acts in the capacity of a reviewer in charge of contributions made from the field of Biotechnology. ↑Back to Top
Nikolina Udiković Kolić | RUĐER BOŠKOVIĆ INSTITUTE |
Nikolina Udiković Kolić was born in Ogulin on March 20, 1978. She studied Biotechnology at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb and graduated in 2001. She received her PhD in Biotechnology from the same institution in 2008. From 2001 she has been employed at the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb, Division for Marine and Environmental Research, first as Research Assistant and then as Research Associate since 2011. Research interests of Dr Udiković Kolić include biodegradation of environmental organic pollutants, bioremediation, soil and water microbial ecology as well as antibiotic resistance in the environment. She was trained in the field of metagenomics in several institutions abroad including Yale University in the USA. She leads a research group that is focused on understanding the role of pharmaceutical wastewaters in the development and spread of antibiotic resistance genes in receiving aquatic environment. Dr Udiković Kolić published 19 scientific papers cited in the WOS database. She is a member of Editorial Boards of the Journal of Environmental Quality, Frontiers in Microbiology and Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. Dr Udiković Kolić is also a winner of several awards. ↑Back to Top
Nada Vahčić| UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB |
Nada Vahčić was born in 1959 in Zagreb, Croatia. She obtained her master's degree in 1988 and her PhD degree in 1996 from the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, Zagreb. Since 2003 she has been a full professor in courses of Food quality control in the food industry, and of Sensory analysis. She is the head of Laboratory for food quality control, a member of a few committees, a coordinator of several courses at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology in Zagreb, at the college in Karlovac, at Health Polytechnic in Zagreb, and at the Faculty of Food Technology in Osijek. Also, she is the supervisor of the professional study of Food Analysis and Microbiology at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology. Within the Technical Committee 34 of the State Office for Standardization and Metrology she is the president of the subcommittee 10, and a member of the Council for the consumers protection at the Ministry of Economy, Labour and Enterpreneurship, of Scientific committee for health validity of food at the Croatian Food Agency, and many other professional and scientific associations. She partipicates in the work of the Commision for sensoric judgment of lipids and honey. Prof. Vahčić has published 36 original scientific papers, 13 professional papers, and has also participated at 43 scientific meetings with 55 works. ↑Back to Top
Joachim Venus | LEIBNIZ INSTITUTE FOR AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING AND BIOECONOMY (ATB) |
Joachim Venus was born in 1959. He obtained his Diploma in Biotechnology from the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Köthen (1984) and his PhD in Bioengineering from the TU Dresden (1989). Since 2003 he has been a Senior Scientist “Industrial Biotechnology” at ATB Potsdam and since 2014 he is coordinating the insti-tute’s research program “Material and energetic use of biomass”. His scientific focus is on the development of continuous processes for the production of basic chemicals from biogenic resources. Besides that, the development of biorefinery concepts, scale-up of bioprocesses and downstream processing are further research areas. At the same time, he is the scientific manager of a multi-functional pilot plant, which was built at the site of ATB (2006) to investigate different feedstocks and bio-based products. He has published a great deal of papers in well-known journals in the above-mentioned research fields. Morever, he has taken part in numerous presentations and proceedings, is also a member of the Editorial Board of Biotechnology Letters and works as a reviewer for more than 70 scientific journals. ↑Back to Top
Bruno Zelić | UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB | bzelic@fkit.hr
Bruno Zelić was born in 1973 in Osijek, Croatia. He is a full professor at Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Zagreb. From 2000-2002 he worked as young researcher at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Institute für Biotechnologie, Germany. In 2003 he received his PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Zagreb. From 2009 to 2013 he was a vice dean and from 2013 to 2017 he was a dean of Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Zagreb. His research interests are in the fields of application of microreactors in biotechnology and development of processes for biofuel production (biogas and biodiesel). More than 80 scientific and professional publications (53 in journals cited in Web of Science), text book Environmental Engineering – Basic Principles, 4 book chapters, 2 patent applications, and more than 10 plenary and invited talks at the international conferences present his scientific work. He was a co-founder of the first spin-off company at University of Zagreb and initiator of the start-up based on the results of a PhD thesis that he mentored. From 2018 he is Editor-in-Chief of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Quarterly journal. He is a member of Croatian Society of Chemical Engineers and Technologists, European Federation of Chemical Engineering, EFCE (from 2016 to 2017 he was member of EFCE Executive Board) and Croatian Academy of Engineering. ↑Back to Top
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