Francesca Patrignani PhD

Francesca Patrignani is an Associate Professor of Food Microbiology at Alma Mater Studiorum, Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL). Her Teaching courses are Biology of Microorganisms and Laboratory of Applied Microbiology. Her research topics deal with i) high-pressure homogenization as an alternative to thermal treatment for microbial inactivation; ii) physiology and metabolism of lactic acid bacteria and non-conventional yeasts; iii) high-pressure homogenization, applied at a sub-lethal level, to improve functional features of lactic acid bacteria; iv) study of microbial cell responses to sub-lethal stresses; v) antimicrobial properties of essential oils against pathogenic and spoilage species and their use in food; vi) study of the effects of physicochemical and compositional parameters on the growth of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms in model and real systems. Since 2018 she has been in chief of one of the Units of the Inter-Department Centre of Food Industrial Research (CIRI), specifically dedicated to the technological transfer to the food industry.