Bio
Marta Laranjo holds a Ph.D. in Biology and is a senior researcher at MED - Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development (Food Science and Technology Group), Universidade de Évora, Portugal. She is also the executive director of the UNIMED Subnetwork on Food and Water. An expert on microbiology and molecular biology, her main interests include food microbiology, with a special emphasis on starter cultures and the dynamics of food microbiota. She has published several book chapters and numerous research papers in international peer-reviewed journals. She is also a frequent reviewer for several journals in the areas of microbiology and molecular biology. Dr. Laranjo has supervised several Ph.D., Master, and undergraduate students.

Bio
My previous and current scientific activities have been mainly developed in the interface between Food and Clinical Microbiology. In July 2009 I assumed a Ciencia2008 position at Faculty of Veterinarian Medicine (FMV) and established my own Microbiology research lab, working with bacteria found in food and assessing for their pathogenicity potential, by comparison with human and veterinarian clinical isolates.Regarding microbial pathogenesis, the majority of the studies being performed worldwide are centered on clinical isolates. The innovative nature of my research is its main subject “food isolates” and how the so-called safe strains became pathogenic, if given the right conditions. Bacteria, although considered among the most simple living organisms, are in fact rather complex. In order to characterize and understand the underlying pathogenicity mechanisms that enable the switch between safety and pathogenicity and integrative approach directed towards gene and protein expression. Using OMICs platforms is the best way to achieve a wider image of the organism under study. Following this idea I aim to use whole-transcriptome and differential proteome profiling to study pathogenicity. The natural evolution of scientific knowledge led me to the optimization of metagenomic analysis to the microbial characterization of Portuguese Traditional cheeses with Protected Designation of Origin. Over the years the establishment of several national and international collaborations with distinct institutions enriched my scientific and personal accomplishments that I intend to maintain and expand.

Bio
Born in 1986; Degree in Biology, 2009, University of Extremadura, Spain; PhD in Biology, 2017, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain; Researcher at University of Extremadura, Spain; INURA- University Institute for Agricultural Resources Research and School of Agricultural Engineering of the University of Extremadura (Food Quality and Microbiology group, CAMIALI); h-index=7; 15 full research papers in international peer-review journals

Bio
Christophe Chassard holds a PhD in microbial ecology and nutrition (2005) and a post graduate degree in business administration (2014) in France. After two postdoctoral positions in gut microbiology (France and UK) , he joined ETH Zurich and the Laboratory of Food Biotechnology (Switzerland) to lead the Gut Health program of the group for 7 years. In 2015, he has been appointed as INRAE Researcher Director to lead a research group of Food Biotechnology, mainly working on cheese in the field microbiology, technology and human nutrition. He's especially interested in fermented foods and in developing new microbial solutions for the food and the health industries.