Our Collaborators
Prodigest collaborators
Tel: +34 963 900 022
E-mail: amparo.lopez@iata.csic.es
Amparo López
Senior scientist
Amparo López-Rubio is a tenured scientist at IATA-CSIC since 2014 and director of the institute since 2023. She received her Ph.D. in Food Science (2006) at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV, Spain) on food packaging, awarded with the “Premio Extraordinario de Tesis Doctoral” from UPV and with the second prize to the best doctoral thesis by the “Specialized Polymer Group” from the Spanish Royal Society of Physics (SRSP).
After several pre- and postdoctoral stays in top research institutions around the world (KTH, Sweden; ANSTO, Australia; Hasylab, Germany; ANL, USA) where she broadened her knowledge about advanced materials characterization tools, she returned to IATA to open up innovative research lines, being pioneer in the use of X-ray and neutron scattering techniques to understand food structure and its links to functionality, as well as on the use of nanotechnologies in the food area (being an internationally recognized expert on nanoencapsulation for food applications).
Role in the project
Given her expertise on structural characterization of polysaccharides and strategies to valorise biomass, Amparo will provide support for the development of approaches to generate protein-rich products from different biomass sources through zero-waste and minimal processing protocols. She will also be involved on the structural and functional characterization of the generated food products.
E-mail: anna.ström@chalmers.se
Anna Ström
Senior scientist
Anna Ström is professor at Applied Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden.
She holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from Chalmers, and a PhD in Food and Nutritional Science from University College Cork, Ireland. After obtaining her PhD, Anna joined Unilever R&D in the Netherlands as research manager and later project leader where she worked on questions related to satiety and physical changes of food within the gastro intestinal tract, as well as protein and polysaccharide interactions.
After seven years in industrial R&D, she took up a position at Chalmers University of Technology as senior scientist, and has since then pursued an academic career. Ström has a wide experience on food structure outside and inside the body, focusing particularly on proteins (specifically oat, pea and soya) and polysaccharides (specifically alginate, pectin, pea fibres, etc).
Common techniques used in her work include chemical analysis of polysaccharides, coupled with colloidal approach to food related questions using rheology, microscopy and scattering in order to access a range of length-scales and textures. Her scientific insights have resulted in several granted patents related to protein and polysaccharide interaction as well as physical understanding of food and sport drinks within the gastro-intestinal tract.
She has also obtained Chalmers award for Societal impact. Her current research focus on digestion and colonic fermentation (in collaboration) of protein–polysaccharide structures, protein–polysaccharide interaction as well as molecular transport in soft matter and material development from side-streams.
Role in the project
Thanks to her knowledge in advanced rheological characterization, Anna’s contribution to the project will be very valuable to understand the impact of rheological properties (e.g. viscosity, viscoelasticity and gelling behaviour) on the gastrointestinal digestion process and evaluate the role of different dietary fibres.
Tel: +34 963 900 022
E-mail: amparo.lopez@iata.csic.es
Elliot Gilbert
Senior principal scientist
Elliot Gilbert led the small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) instrument (QUOKKA) project at the OPAL reactor and for which he is now senior principal scientist. He also leads ANSTO’s research activities in food materials science and initiated the international ‘Neutrons and Food’ conference.
In addition, Elliot has developed unique and specialised sample environments during which SANS can be simultaneously measured including a differential scanning calorimeter and a Rapid ViscoAnalyser, the latter emulating a food process. He received the 2021 ANBUG Neutron Award for outstanding research in neutron science and leadership promoting the Australian neutron scattering community.
He is a vice-chair of the IUCr Commission on Small-Angle Scattering, chaired the 2012 international conference on small-angle scattering and is an Honorary Professor at the University of Queensland. He serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Applied Crystallography and Food Structure.
Role in the project
Elliot will be key in the project, as he will be involved in the small angle neutron scattering experiments, which will be performed at ANSTO and also in European facilities. Neutron scattering will allow us to generate contrast between the different components (e.g. polysaccharides and proteins) in more complex samples, hence enabling the scattering signal from individual components to be resolved.
Given his wide expertise on the application of scattering techniques to food systems, he will also advise on the set up of SAXS experiments and any other neutron or X-ray techniques which may be valuable to the project (e.g. tomography, reflectometry, etc.)
Tel: +34 910 017 900
E-mail: i.recio@csic.es
Isidra Recio
Research Professor
Isidra Recio is BSc. in Pharmacy by the University of Salamanca and PhD in Pharmacy by the Complutense University of Madrid. Isidra is Research Professor at the Institute of Food Science Research, CIAL (CSIC-UAM) in Madrid, Spain.
She is co-author of more than 160 publications in indexed scientific journals in the areas of Food Science and Nutrition, Agriculture, and Analytical Chemistry. These articles have been cited over 10,000 times and she has an h-index of 54 (Web of Knowledge).
She was awarded as Highly Cited Resercher in 2019, 2020 and 2021 by this scientific platform. Isidra has coordinated more than 30 national and international projects and numerous contracts and technology transfer projects with the industrial sector.
Her main research interests aim to study health implications of the protein fraction of foods, focused on the intestinal signaling of food protein digestion products.
She has worked at different foreign Institutes: NIZO food research (The Netherlands, 1997-2000) and AgroParisTech (France, 2013-2015). Her research has been also oriented to the industry with 10 patent applications; two of them have been licensed to the industry.
She was awarded by the Royal Spanish Society of Chemistry and the Institute of Egg Studies for her developments. She is member of the Editorial Board of different scientific journals.
Role in the project
Isidra will be highly involved in the intestinal transport experiments and signalling of digestion products, using in vitro cellular models and in vivo animal models. In particular, she is interested on the secretagogue effect of digests on anorexigenic hormones such as glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and cholecystokinin (CCK), which are related to glucose metabolism and satiety.
Laura Gómez-Mascaraque
Senior research officer
Laura G. Gómez-Mascaraque is a senior research officer leading the National Food Imaging Centre at Teagasc, the Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Ireland).
She is a Chemical Engineer (Complutense University of Madrid) and holds a PhD in Food Science, Technology and Management (Polytechnical University of Valencia). She has extensive experience in the characterization of food microstructure using microscopy and spectroscopy techniques, including confocal laser scanning microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, confocal Raman micro-spectroscopy and X-ray computed micro-tomography.
Her current research interests include the application of alternative proteins and carbohydrates to develop novel food structures, understanding the impact of food formulation and processing on food structure, and establishing structure-function relationships in food.
She is one of the Associate Editors of the journal Food Structure.
Role in the project
Given her experience with advanced microscopy techniques, Laura will be involved in the characterization of the cell wall structure in the different biomass sources contemplated in the project for the production of alternative proteins. To that end, different techniques, such as confocal laser scanning microscopy, confocal Raman imaging and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) microscopy will be applied.
Mar Villamiel
Director of CIAL (CSIC-UAM)
Mar Villamiel is PhD in Pharmacy from the Complutense University of Madrid, Scientific Researcher at the CSIC and Director of the Institute of Food Science Research (CIAL, CSIC-UAM). She is expert in obtaining bioactive carbohydrates by enzymatic synthesis or by green chemical or physical (power ultrasound) extraction, paying special attention to pectin among other polysaccharides, from vegetable agri-food by-products.
This research line includes the structural characterization by advanced chromatographic (GC-FID, HPSEC-ELSD, HPLC-UV, HPLC-RID) and spectrometric methods as well as the assessment of techno-functional and bioactive properties of carbohydrates. Functional carbohydrates are investigated in terms of their stability and interaction with other compounds during processing and storage of actual foods in which they are added.
Of particular interest is the development of in vitro models for the evaluation of carbohydrate digestibility including a combination of INFOGEST method with the addition of one-step intestinal digestion by rat small intestinal extract.
Role in the project
Due to her expertise on the molecular structural analysis of polysaccharides, Mar will contribute to the structural characterisation of dietary fibres by chromatography techniques (e.g. GC-FID and HPLC-SEC), both in protein-polysaccharide blends and in the alternative biomass sources selected for protein extraction.
E-mail: patricialopez.sanchez@usc.es
Patricia López-Sanchez
Ramón y Cajal senior researcher
Patricia Lopez-Sanchez is a Ramón y Cajal senior researcher at the Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain).
Trained as a chemist, she holds an industrial PhD in Food Science from Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden), achieved in collaboration with Unilever R&D (The Netherlands).
Dr. Lopez-Sanchez has developed her career as a corporate researcher in industry and in R&D centers across Europe and Australia. Lopez-Sanchez’s main expertise lies at the intersection of structure (at different scales) and function, particularly in elucidating the intricate relationship between molecular architecture and the technofunctional and nutritional properties of plant- and algae-derived compounds, including polysaccharides (dietary fibre) and proteins.
The knowledge generated about structural properties is utilized to design food ingredients and products with improved sensory (texture, taste) and nutritional quality, as well as to develop novel biomaterials. Her field of research involves the application of spectroscopic, microscopic, and rheological analyses.
As Food Material Science Area Leader at the Research Institutes of Sweden, she initiated a research line aimed at understanding the impact of food processing on micro- and macroalgae cell walls and the implications for rheological properties, which remains one of her primary scientific interests.
Role in the project
Patricia’s expertise in plant-based systems will be extremely valuable to conduct an in-depth analysis of the techno-functional and microstructural properties of alternative protein sources, such as seaweeds. She will be involved in the rheological and structural characterization experiments of protein-polysaccharide blends and protein-rich biomass sources.