Partner No 3: UNIVERSITA’ CATTOLICA del SACRO CUORE (UCSC)

Pier Sandro Cocconcelli, is Professor of Food Microbiology at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and he is Rector’s delegate for internationalization of the same university. He is director of TROFIC (the Transdisciplinary Research on Food Issues Center) and President of CHEI, Centre for Higher Education Internationalization of the Università Cattolica. Since 2017 is member of the scientific committee of Pontifical Foundation Gravissimum Educationis of the Holy See. Since 2003, he is scientific expert of the European Authority of Food Safety (EFSA) as Panel and Working Group member focusing on the microbiological risk assessment and on the assessment of genetically modified microorganisms. His research activities focus on food and agricultural microbiology, food safety, bacterial genomics, risk analysis of food pathogenic bacteria and of antibiotic resistance in the food chain. He is the author of more than 250 publications (Web of Sciences) that relate to microbiology and risk assessment and author of book chapters on microbiology.

Daniela Bassi is a researcher in Food Microbiology at the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. She has a University degree in Molecular Biology, a Diploma of Specialization School in Applied Genetics and a PhD in molecular biotechnologies. In the last 10 years, her main research activity has been focused on the molecular and genetic study of Clostridium and Bacillus species, the gene expression and protein identification in their cell cycle and the study of sporulation and germination processes. Her work activity spaces also on the study of lactic acid bacteria and fermented products, on genome analysis and typing of bacteria in food products, virology, food additives, antibiotic resistance, food health and safety and food hygiene. She coordinates a research group made up of PhD students and master degree candidates. She has authored 18 ISI publications, 4 book chapters, 40 among abstracts, posters and publications on non-peer-reviewed journals.