Speakers

Adalberto Pessoa Jr is a Full Professor at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo (FCF/USP), where he has taught Pharmaceutical Biotechnology since 1998. He holds a degree in Food Engineering, a Master’s and Ph.D. in Biochemical-Pharmaceutical Technology (USP), with a sandwich Ph.D. in Germany (GBF) and postdoctoral training at MIT. He coordinated graduate programs, served in academic leadership roles at FCF/USP, and was Editor-in-Chief of the Brazilian Journal of Microbiology. He has advised over 70 graduate and postdoctoral researchers and has more than 318 publications, 13 patents, and 12,000 citations. He was listed among the world’s top 2% most influential scientists (Elsevier/Stanford). He is a consultant for Eurofarma, partner in biotech companies, and serves as a federal court expert. He has collaborated internationally with institutions in Italy, Chile, Mexico, and the UK, including a double Ph.D. program with King’s College London, where he is a senior visiting professor.

Professor Paul Long is a microbiologist by training and his research uses a combination of bioinformatics, laboratory and field studies to discover high value products from nature, particularly from aquatic environments. As well as working in academia both in the UK, Europe, Latin America and USA; Prof. Long has worked for the NHS, in global pharma and start-up biotechnology industries. Prof Long has been a Visiting Scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science bioprospecting extensively on the Great Barrier Reef; and is currently an International Visiting Research Professor at the University of São Paulo Brazil where his research explores the biological and chemical diversity of the Amazon River Basin for human healthcare applications. Prof. Long has successfully commercialised microbial derived natural sunscreen products and is Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer of Biotalife Healthcare Ltd, biotech spin-out commercialising patented microbiome rebalancing technology for improving women’s health.

Robert G. Brannan, Professor of Food and Nutrition Sciences at Ohio University (Athens, Ohio USA), leads a research program on Asimina triloba (North American pawpaw) that has described the fruit’s nutrients and phytochemicals and characterized other cellular components that contribute to its rapid post-harvest browning and softening. His group explores value-added processing strategies and screens A. triloba varieties for sensory quality and product development potential. Rob is the Director of Education for the yearly Ohio Pawpaw Festival, the world’s largest such festival.

Robert Kourist is Full Professor of Molecular Biotechnology and head of the institute with the same name at Graz University of Technology, Graz.  After the study of Biochemistry at the University of Greifswald, he obtained his PhD on the Enzymatic Synthesis of Optically Pure Tertiary Alcohols in 2008 under the supervision of Prof. Uwe Bornscheuer at the same university. After this, he went for one year as postdoctoral fellow to the Keio University in Yokohama, Japan, and for another year to the Technical University Munich.. In 2009, he received the DSM Science and Technology Award North and a 1st prize in the VentureCup Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. From 2012 to 2016, he was Junior Professor for Microbial Biotechnology at the Ruhr-University Bochum. Prof. Kourist’s expertise lies in the field of biocatalysis with a special focus on enzyme engineering and photobiocatalysis.

Prof. Sanja Milanović Musić, PhD, MD, is a physician, specialist in epidemiology, scientist, and university professor. She heads the Health Promotion Division at the Croatian Institute of Public Health, the Ministry of Health’s Reference Centre for Health Promotion, and leads the national health promotion program “Healthy Living”. Her scientific interests include the epidemiology of non-communicable diseases, particularly obesity, and health promotion. She is the national coordinator for the implementation of the WHO Regional Office for Europe’s cross-sectional study in Croatia, the Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (CroCOSI). She also represents Croatia in various international bodies related to health promotion, including the WHO and European Commission Working Group on Health-Enhancing Physical Activity, the WHO Working Group on Lifelong Health Promotion and Maintenance, and the WHO Working Group on Obesity and Nutrition. She is the author of numerous scientific papers and book chapters focused on obesity and health promotion.

Grant Campbell, Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Huddersfield, leads the chemical engineering activities at the University of Huddersfield, and undertakes research on food process engineering and biorefineries.  Originally from New Zealand, he came to the UK in 1987 to undertake his PhD at the University of Cambridge.  He taught chemical engineering at the University of Manchester for 19 years before joining the University of Huddersfield in 2014 to lead the new chemical engineering programmes. Prof. Campbell was awarded the Institution of Chemical Engineers’ 2007 Morton Medal for Excellence in Chemical Engineering Education, the 2016 Hutchison Medal for the most stimulating paper published in an IChemE journal, and the 2020 Davidson Medal for Outstanding Mentoring of Young Chemical Engineers.

Azzurra Stefanucci received her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2012 at the University “G. D’Annunzio” Chieti (IT), working on opioid peptide analogues and natural bioactive compounds. She held a junior specialist fellowship at the University of California-Irvine (US), working on β-sheet analogues of ARC repressor in collaboration with the University of Santiago De Compostela-Spain (ES). After her Ph.D., she served as a Postdoc at the Department of Pharmacy of the University “G. D’Annunzio” and then in the Department of Chemistry of “La Sapienza” University of Rome. In 2016, she got a three-year Postdoc fellowship at the Department of Pharmacy of the University “G. D’Annunzio”, studying biphalin analogues and bioactive peptides from natural sources. Her research spans molecular modelling of small molecules of pharmaceutical interest, natural product synthesis and characterization using HPLC, LRMS and 1H, 2H-NMR techniques. She has received awards, contributed to funded projects, and is CEO of the spin-off “SCM Nutraceutici Universitari srl,” focused on nutraceuticals and functional foods. Currently, she is an Associate Professor in Food Chemistry, specializing in peptide chemistry and phytochemical analysis of plant extracts, with an emphasis on food waste valorization and their effects on human health.

Dr. Sanja Babić Brčić is a Senior Research Associate at the Laboratory for Biotechnology in Aquaculture at the Ruđer Bošković Institute. She earned her PhD in biology from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Science, and completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Ljubljana. Her scientific interests focus on the study of bioactive molecules derived from marine macroalgae, with particular emphasis on their neuroprotective and antitumor effects in in vivo models. In her research, she uses the zebrafish (Danio rerio) as an experimental organism for evaluating the toxicity and biological activity of natural compounds. She is the principal investigator of two scientific projects funded by the Croatian Science Foundation and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO). She is the author of more than 40 scientific papers and has received multiple awards for her scientific contributions and work.

Assist. Prof. Tena Niseteo, born in 1984 in Zadar. In 2008, she graduated, and in 2017 earned her PhD from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, obtaining the academic title of Doctor of Science in the field of Biotechnical Sciences, specializing in Nutrition. Since 2009, she has been working at the Children’s Hospital Zagreb within the Reference Centre for Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition as a pediatric nutritionist. She lectures as an associate at the School of Medicine and the University of Zagreb Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology. She is the co-editor and co-author of the university textbook Nutrition in General and Clinical Pediatrics, and co-author of a chapter in the university textbook Obesity – A Clinical Approach as well as of a scientific book. She has co-mentored several undergraduate and graduate theses at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology. She is involved in both international and national research projects and has published more than 30 scientific papers in high-impact journals. As an invited speaker, she has participated in more than 10 international conferences. She is a member of numerous domestic and international associations and is an active member of the Allied Health Professionals Committee of the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN). She currently serves as the secretary of the Croatian Nutritionists’ Association.

Vali Marszalek, Sustainability/ESG Director and CEE Regional Leader at Forvis Mazars, has 10 years experience in sustainability. At Forvis Mazars, she leads the sustainability services in the Adria and CEE region, helping companies respond to EU regulations. Many of her projects include climate related services like carbon emissions calculations, climate risk assessments and net zero strategies. Her clients come from different sectors, including Food & Beverage and Agriculture. From 2016 to 2022, she held the position of Executive Director of Global Compact Network Croatia and today she is actively involved in the initiative, holding the position of President of the Board of Directors of Global Compact Network Croatia. In her role as ED, she ran different accelerator programmes for businesses including two climate focused accelerator programmes for setting climate goals in accordance with SBTi requirements. Vali is a Certified Impact Auditor for ISO26000 verification and has a certificate in Circular Economy and Sustainability Strategies from Cambridge Judge Business School. Since 2023, she teaches Business Ethics and CSR at the Rochester Institute of Technology – RIT Croatia.