Research units

The three research units (Rus) participating in the project can provide balanced expertise in the field of consumer’s behaviour sciences, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) functional genomics, dairy products sensorial analysis and management of statistical data.

Besides, all the research units can provide suitable location to perform sensorial analysis with ONAF’s qualified tasters.

Each RU will perform “omics” and sensorial analysis of the PDO and non-PDO cheese variety produced in the respective local area (Parmigiano Reggiano for University of Parma, Robiola di Roccaverano/Roccaverano for University of Torino and Caciocavallo Silano for University of Bari).

For each variety of cheese, a total of 40 samples will be analysed by the respective RU. Furthermore, forty Grana Padano cheese samples will be divided among all RUs.

University

The University of Parma (UNIPR, www.unipr.it), whose origins date back to 962 AD, is one of the oldest universities in the world and one of the best-known in Italy. Today it has 1,300 employees and more than 30,000 students who work and study on three campuses. UNIPR has 98 degree courses (11 in English), 21 research doctorates, and 39 masters coordinated in 9 departments. UNIPR comprises 9 academic departments that are located in different parts of the city.

In the city center, there are departments in the areas of social sciences and humanities, medicine and surgery, and veterinary sciences. The other departments (agri-food areas, pharmacy, engineering and architecture, mathematical, physical, and natural sciences) are located in the Scientific and Technological Campus, an area of 77 hectares in the southern part of the city, which also holds facilities for staff and students, for sports and recreational activities.

The campus also houses the Technology Transfer office, which plays a valuable role in the protection and commercialization of intellectual property developed by UNIPR researchers. Within the campus, there is also an important Industrial Technopole, an infrastructure that houses innovative research centers and laboratories for industrial research and technological development.

The technopole favors the meeting between companies and researchers by reducing the distance between supply and demand for innovation. UNIPR brings together a strong interdisciplinary team involving agricultural sciences. In the Science and Technology Campus, there is also “The Food Project Area” (https://www.foodproject.unipr.it/). The Food Project is a project promoted by the University of Parma to establish and strengthen the already existing skills of excellence in the field of research and teaching in the agri-food sector.

The Department of Food and Drug Sciences (https://saf.unipr.it/it), through consistent high-quality scientific production, is placed on the national and international scene as a center of excellence in research and training in fields related to the pharmaceutical and biomedical world, focusing attention on the discovery of new drugs, nutraceuticals, supplements, cosmetics, medical devices, and their correct use and access for efficient pharmaceutical assistance; to the agri-food world, focusing attention on quality, safety, typicality of foods, technological and formulation innovation, design of new foods, design of new production processes, assessment of product sustainability.

The University of Turin (UNITO www.en.unito.it | www.unito.it) ranks as one of the most prestigious academics in the Italian university scenario. Due to its 27 departments it plays a key role in contributing to the social, economic, technological and cultural innovation of Italian scientific community.

Within this context, the Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA) (https://www.disafa.unito.it/do/home.pl) is a leading academic institution that undertakes strategic research at the forefront of tackling the most pressing challenges in agricultural, forest and food systems. Particular emphasis is on applying cutting-edge strategies in sustainability, quality and innovation.

The strength of DISAFA’s research lies in its multidisciplinary approach to the most relevant and critical aspects of sustainable development. DISAFA brings together scientific expertise and consider agricultural, food and natural systems as one. This holistic approach allows to evaluate current and future scenarios thus identifying and developing sustainable solutions able to safeguard natural resources.

DISAFA has a wide variety of acclaimed research facilities, such as well-equipped laboratories and greenhouses as well as a network of experimental farms and field research sites. These facilities support DISAFA’s excellence both in basic and applied research, as well as the capability to effectively tackle the environment’s most important challenges. The Campus includes cutting-edge research labs equipped with advanced instruments for the analysis of complex and structured matrices for specific topics (e.g. Microbiology, Food Technologies, Physiology and Plant Genetics, Plant pathology, Soil, Wood technology, etc.). The multidisciplinary approach is pivotal to study the complexity of the production and transformation processes and to enriches the perspectives of the individual disciplines.

Several are the research themes characterizing activities of DISAFA as Crop and Horticultural Sciences, Animal Science, Forest and Wood Science, Food Technology, Food Microbiology, Viticulture and Enology, Plant Genetics, Plant Health, Soil Resource, Engineering and Bioenergy. The Department, takes into account also the economic and the environmental aspects linked to biotechnological industry, forest ecosystems and the agri-food chains, in a technological, ecological, engineering and management perspective.

Actually DISAFA holds four Undergraduate degrees Courses (Agricultural Science and Technology, Forestry and Environmental Science, Food Technology, Viticulture and Enology), five Postgraduate degrees Courses (Agricultural Science, Forest Land and Systems Science and Technologies, Food Science and Technology, Viticulture and Enology Sciences, Plant Biotechnology, Animal Science), a Doctoral School (PhD in Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences) and several inter-university Master Programmes and international PhDs.

The University of Bari Aldo Moro (UniBA) (https://www.uniba.it/it) was founded in 1925 and is attended today by about 60,000 students, across the Bari, Brindisi, and Taranto campuses. The University was named after one of its most famous students, the statesman Aldo Moro. Moro taught Criminal Law at the University of Bari for several years. The university offers various courses for undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students. Aside from teaching, the university is also focused on scientific research at the doctorate level. The University of Bari research centres are highly interactive, having connections among different departments, universities, and other research centres.

The Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences (DISSPA) (https://www.uniba.it/it/ricerca/dipartimenti/disspa) has more than 100 members, a constantly growing number of researchers, and more than 100 non-academic staff members. They teach and carry out innovative research related to plant biology, agricultural and food sciences, in collaboration with private businesses and institutions, at a local, national, and international level, showed by numerous research projects.

Transversal, interdisciplinary, and integrated skills identify the starting point for an innovative and competitive research and didactic. More than 585 scientific publications have been produced in the last three years, almost all published in the first rank positions in the metrics for International scientific journals and indexed by ISI / SCOPUS (source Iris-Uniba); more than a third of the scientific publications were in collaboration with foreign institution.

The high-level research is assured by effective and efficient labs, instruments and experimental farms. DiSSPA holds 3 Bachelor (First Cycle Degree Courses), and 5 Master of Science courses (Second Cycle Degree Courses) (one of which entirely held in English), as well as several Teacher Training courses, Master Programmes and two PhDs. The students are hosted on an ideal study context thanks to direct and constant interaction with their teachers and good facilities (labs, classrooms, library).

Students can take part in exchange and cooperation programmes thanks to a number of agreements with international universities, undergraduate and postgraduate traineeships, on-the-job training in different companies and guidance for a better integration into the professional world

Research Unit 1 - University of Parma

Research Unit 2 - University of Torino

Research Unit 3 - University of Bari

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