K.U. Leuven

Graduate Student, Department of Biosystems

Other Affiliations: Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Faculty of agriculture
Università degli Studi di Parma (Italy), Faculty of Agriculture

Thesis Title: Bitter Compounds of Belgian Endive

About

I am a PhD student at the Faculty of Bioengineering at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.

I work on the development of high throughput methods based on mass spectrometry for the quantification of aroma compounds in Belgian endive. Our goal is to discover how the chemical profile is correlated to phenotype, perceived flavour and hedonic judgements. We ultimately aim to perform a large scale screening on different hybrids and cultivars, and bring to the market new varieties that can meet the consumers' preference.

In the previous year, I was a fellow for the Davoli group at the institute for animal husbandry at the University of Bologna (in Italy). My work here involved identification of molecular markers related to stress response in pigs, using both association and expression studies. During my time here I refined my bioinformatic skills, enhancing my linux knowledge and learning the basics of R and Perl programming. I also learned to use many instruments such as RT-qPCR, Sanger sequencing and high resolution melting DNA analysis.

In 2009 I graduated in Food Science and Technology at the University of Parma.
My thesis work involved the study of sulfur metabolism in L. lactis and the characterization of a putative cystathionine lyase. I studied its sequence-structure-function relationship and then examined its reaction products through a fast and sensible gaschromatographic method developed by myself. I gained experience both in molecular biology and analytical chemistry, taking care of the whole process from gene cloning to protein expression, purification and analysis.

My scientific interests span over a wide range, including many fields such as informatics, metabolomics, molecular biology, biochemistry, analytical chemistry and biochemistry, food chemistry, organic chemistry and microbiology. While my education has been focused mainly on the last three subjects, my passion for science led me to autonomously explore other fields. I think my best skill is to be able to develop an inter-disciplinary approach to the research I am working on.

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