TOPICS for XXXV Cycle
1) Research topic:
MICROALGAE FOR WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT COMBINED WITH ENERGY PRODUCTION SYSTEMS FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES
1 (one) position with grant funded by Regione Emilia Romagna “Alte competenze per la ricerca e il trasferimento tecnologico- POR FSE 2014/2020 obiettivo tematico 10”
Scientific tutor: dr. Laura Arru: co-Tutor: dr. ing. Giulio Allesina
The project concerns the management of water resources in the agro-industrial chain and related technologies for energy conversion from renewable sources.
It is required that the candidate has experience of microalgae culture techniques in lab or on industrial scale. It is preferable to have experience with nucleic acids, lipids and/or metabolites extraction techniques, experience within molecular biology, chemical and molecular analysis, and upscaling of algae production. The candidate should possess initiative and problem solving skills, he should be motivated and have a good attitude both to independent work and to teamwork in a highly cross disciplinary environment.
The successful candidate must have a Master degree in Biology, Biotechnology, Natural Sciences, Biological Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering or closely-related areas.
2) Research topic:
NOVEL BREEDING APPROACHES FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF PROFESSIONAL SEED PRODUCTION IN HORTICULTURAL CROPS
1 (one) position reserved for industrial doctorate (
employee of
ESASEM S.p.A.)
Scientific tutor: dr. Enrico Francia
Candidates should hold an MSc in Agricultural Sciences and demonstrate some experience in: organization and management of field trials, pre-breeding and breeding activities in horticultural crops. Data processing, reporting and data presentation in an international context is also recommended.
3) Research topic: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO IMPROVE THE STABILITY OF VINEGAR-BASED CONDIMENTS
1 (one) position reserved for industrial doctorate
(
employee of
Acetificio Carandini Emilio S.p.a)
Scientific tutor: dr. Maria Gullo
In this project, a robust knowledge on the microbiological and chemical-physical and parameters affecting the stability of vinegar-based condiments will be established by a multidisciplinary approach. To this aim the Candidate should have skills on process development with respect to chemistry, biological aspects and data management. The employee will face with the current industrial research needs with the aim to provide new tools to minimize instability risks of products.
4) Research topic: VINEGAR BIOTECHNOLOGY: NEW TOOLS TO SUPPORT THE INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH
1 (one) position reserved for industrial doctorate (
employee of
Modenaceti S.r.l.)
Scientific tutor: dr. Maria Gullo
Candidates should have a biotechnological background including, expertize in microbiology. The project aims at investigating vinegars from different raw materials with respect to fermentation processes, the composition, the functional properties and how to improve health attributes of the final products. The programme will enable the employee to develop autonomous applied research by identifying research needs, design and carry out experiments finalized to transfer research results to industrial scale. Knowledge of English language is mandatory.
5) Research topic: FOOD CERTIFICATION APPROACH: NEW PREVENTIVE FRAMEWORK DESIGNED TO IDENTIFY SPECIFIC HAZARDS IN ADDITION TO TRADITIONAL HACCP CRITICAL CONTROL POINTS (CCPS) FOR PROCESSING AND TAKE APPROPRIATE STEPS TO COUNTER THE HAZARD BEFORE A FOOD-SAFETY EVENT OCCURS.
1 (one) position reserved for industrial doctorate (
employee of
Pastificio Barbieri)
Scientific tutor: prof. Andrea Pulvirenti
6) Research topic:
ADVANCED APPROACH IN BACTERIAL CELLULOSE PRODUCTION: FROM THE ORGANISM TO THE PROCESS
1 (one) position with grant
Scientific tutor: dr. Maria Gullo
The production of high value-added biomaterials by microbial transformations is a current challenge. In this scenario, bacterial cellulose, as naturally produced biopolymer by bacteria, has industrial appeal for a number of applications including food, biomedical, cosmetics, and engineering fields.
The goal of this PhD project is to detect highly efficient acetic acid bacteria for bacterial cellulose production. The organisms will be studied with respect to their genetic and metabolic background in order to provide a basic platform for further improvements. From this step candidates organisms will be tested in different conditions to produce native and composite cellulose membranes.
The applicant should have strong biological background, motivation to work in national and international research teams, ability to process acquired data and presenting written and oral scientific reports.
7) Research topic:
TARGETED TOOLS TO EXPLOIT MICROORGANISMS OF THE UNIMORE MICROBIAL CULTURE COLLECTION (UMCC)
1 (one) position with grant
Scientific tutor: prof. Andrea Pulvirenti
Efficient preservation and availability of polyphasic data of microorganisms in culture collections is mandatory both for academic and industrial purposes. This PhD project aims at developing targeted procedures to map strains features of industrial interest. The candidate should have microbiology and bioinformatics skills; ability in using MS Access or PostgreSQL or MySQL for the implementation of biological Databases and good English language knowledge.
8) Research topic:
BIOACCESSIBILITY, BIOACTIVITY AND CELL METABOLISM OF PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS FROM VEGETABLE FOODS
1 (one) position with grant
Scientific tutor: dr. Davide Tagliazucchi; Co-Tutor: prof. Angela Conte
The project will focus on the investigation of the release and stability of phenolic compounds from vegetable foods during in vitro gastro-intestinal digestion and on the evaluation of their biological activities (such as antioxidant and anti-proliferative activities and the ability to modulate the activity of enzymes involved in the onset of chronic diseases). The metabolism of bioaccessible phenolic compounds will be also studied using human cell lines.
The candidate should have knowledge on the in vitro gastro-intestinal digestion models, mass spectrometry analysis of phenolic compounds and cell culture techniques.
9) Research topic:
INNOVATIVE MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS METHODS OF SPECTRAL AND IMAGE DATA FOR NON-DESTRUCTIVE CHARACTERIZATION OF FOOD MATRICES
1 (one) position with grant
Scientific tutor: prof. Alessandro Ulrici
The implementation of fast, economic, sustainable and non-destructive methods for the analytical characterization of food matrices based on the analysis of spectral and image data is a key step for the increase of advanced technologies in the agri-food sectors, both in the frame of Industry 4.0 and of Precision Agriculture. In this context, the goal of this PhD research project consists in the development of advanced analytical methods based on the synergistic use of multivariate statistical algorithms for the analysis of spectroscopic and image data measured on agricultural and food samples. The research will be focused both on the standardization of the acquired data in order to improve measurement reproducibility and on the development of efficient algorithms able to maximize predictive performances and to minimize computational effort at the same time, thus allowing to manage effectively also Big Data, such as in real time monitoring contexts. The candidate must have knowledge of chemometrics and its application to spectra and image analysis. Good skills in English are highly valued, as well.
10) Research topic:
INVESTIGATION ON THE DIFFUSION OF THE ARCOBACTER SPP. IN LIVING BIVALVE MULLUSCS/SHELLFISH BREEDING AND ITS MARKET IN FACILITIES DEDICATED TO HOUSING MUSSELS.
1 (one) position without grant
Scientific tutor: prof. Andrea Pulvirenti
The aim of the present study is to evaluate the state of aquaculture in the production of molluscs and to identify the Arcobacter spp. in samples of bivalve molluscs.
11) Research topic: CHARACTERISATION OF MICROBIAL ENDOPHYTES, THEIR APPLICATION IN SYMBIOTIC AGRICULTURE AND THEIR USE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF FUNCTIONAL FOOD
1 (one) position without grant
Scientific tutor: Prof. Emilio Stefani; Co-Tutor: prof. Mauro Mandrioli
Research is aimed at following goals: to find, identify and characterise microbial endophytes from selected crops and their use in the development and implementation of innovative production systems (vegetables) in the framework of symbiotic agriculture. A selection of such microorganisms will be studied for their possible use during the production of functional food: therefore, studies will focus on molecular plant-microbe interactions, microbial gene expression and description of the related biosynthetic pathways. Experiments in planta and in vivo are planned. Additionally, in vitro expression of selected gene sequences will be correlated to the description of amino acids metabolism, production of vitamins and cofactors. The prospective candidate has skills in Molecular Microbiology, Microbial Genetics, DNA Analysis, Genomics and Transcriptomic Technologies. English language proficiency should be at B1 level or above.