Dr. Barbara Franco Lucas

Responsibilities

Journal reviewer: Food Quality and Preference; Trends in Food Science & Technology; Journal of Applied Phycology; Journal of Functional Foods; LWT - Food Science and Technology; Journal of Food Process Engineering; Journal of Food Processing and Preservation (On-Line); Brazilian Journal of Food Technology; Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture & Society

I have an undergraduate degree in food engineering (2008–2013), a Master’s (2015–2017) and PhD (2017–2021) in engineering and food science, with more than 10 years of experience in food science and technology. I have a background in novel food development, sensory and physicochemical evaluations, bioactive compounds analysis, extrusion processes and consumer studies. I have published articles in high-impact journals and provided expert advice to several food manufacturers. I also have experience as a quality supervisor in a poultry slaughterhouse and as a quality and laboratory head at a soybean crushing plant. Furthermore, I have been involved in several activities to promote public engagement in science, besides being a reviewer for several scientific journals (e.g.: Food Quality and Preference, Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, LWT-Food Science and Technology, Journal of Applied Phycology and Journal of Functional Foods). During one year (2022-2023) I worked as a Postdoc Researcher at the Bern University of Applied Sciences, with a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship. Currently, I am a scientific collaborator at the same institution.

09/2023 – Current Scientific Collaborator Bern University of Applied Sciences
09/2022 – 08/2023 Postdoctoral Researcher Bern University of Applied Sciences
11/2021 – 08/2022 Laboratory head / Quality Manager Louis Dreyfus Company
03/2015 – 10/2021 Researcher Federal University of Rio Grande
12/2013 – 12/2014 Quality Supervisor JBS
08/2013 – 02/2014 Instructor/Lecturer National Industrial Apprenticeship Service - SENAI

2017 – 2021 PhD in Food Science and Engineering Federal University of Rio Grande
2016 – 2018 Specialization in Food Science Federal University of Pelotas
2015 – 2017 Master’s Degree in Food Science and Engineering Federal University of Rio Grande
2008 – 2013 Bachelor’s Degree in Food Engineering Federal University of Grande Dourados

Complementary studies: Project Risk Management (1h), Cultivated meat: opportunities and challenges (8h), Nanobiotechnology and Bioengineering (40h), Cultivated meat: trends and benefits for food systems (8h), Innovation in the Food Industry (2h), Bioactive Compounds and Functional Foods (2h), Strategies in applied Algal Biotechnology (2h).

09/2022 – 08/2023: Microalgae as an alternative protein and a sustainable option to improve nutrition worldwide: Swiss consumer perceptions and attitudes.
03/2017 – 10/2021: Centres of Technological Vocation (CVTs) of the Agrobiodiversities Bailique - Rio Grande.
09/2017 – 11/2018: Tutorial Working Group on Biochemical Engineering (GTTEB).
03/2015 – 10/2021: Microalgae culture in Brazil: Food Security, Sustainable Development and Alternative Work.
03/2024 – 10/2024: Bentomo circular
2024 – 2027: HORIZON EUROPE: SUSTAIN-A-BITE (BFH)

BARRA DE CEREAIS COM MICROALGA(S), 2018. Category: Product. Institution where it was deposited: INPI - National Institute of Industrial Property. Country: Brazil. Type: Patent of Invention. Number of the registration: BR1020180111493. Date of deposit: 30/05/2018. Inventors: Jorge Alberto Vieira Costa, Michele Greque de Morais, Ana Priscila Centeno da Rosa, Thaisa
Duarte Santos, Bárbara Franco Lucas, Lisiane Fernandes de Carvalho,. Depositor/Owner: Federal University of Rio Grande.
SNACK ENRIQUECIDO COM Spirulina E/OU OUTRA(S) CIANOBACTÉRIA(S) E/OU OUTRA(S) MICROALGA(S), 2017. Category: Product. Institution where it was deposited: INPI - National Institute of Industrial Property. Country: Brazil. Type: Patent of Invention. Number of the registration: BR1020170137899. Date of deposit: 26/06/2017. Inventors: Jorge Alberto Vieira Costa Bárbara Franco Lucas, Michele Greque de Morais, Thaisa Duarte Santos. Depositor/Owner: Federal University of Rio Grande.