Irene Maria Zingale
Research Area:
🌿Microbiology 🌿Food Technology 🌿Biology 🌿Molecular Biology 🌿Biotechnology
About the mobility grant visit
Hosting Institution: Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Department of food engineering
📍 Hosting Period: 01 October 2025 – 01 February 2026
🎯 Project Objectives
- Assess nutraceutical potential of fermented OMWW and POC
- Develop and evaluate functional food and beverage prototypes
- Promote international collaboration in sustainable food biotechnology
🔬 Research Activities
- Controlled fermentation of OMWW and POC with selected LAB and yeasts
- Chemical, microbiological, and functional analysis (TPC, DPPH, HPLC, VOCs, qPCR)
- Sensory evaluation of prototypes enriched with fermented bioactive extracts
🌍 Why This Institution? Chosen for
- Strong expertise in food biotechnology, bioactive compounds & sustainability
- Use of advanced tools: metagenomics, in vitro bioactivity assays
- Ongoing collaboration through the international PRIMA–OLI4FOOD project (2023–2026)
✅ Expected Results & Impact
- Creation of clean-label, health-promoting ingredients from organic olive by-products
- Support for circular bioeconomy and low-impact innovation in the organic food sector
- Contribution to sustainable, functional food development
Irene Maria Zingale
PhD Candidate
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, Catania, Sicily, Italy
Academic Background (BA and MA degrees):
BA in Food Science and Technologies, Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, 2019
MA in Agricultural Biotechnology, Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, 2022