Alessia Levante

Prof. Alessia Levante is a Researcher at the Department of Food and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Parma. Her academic roles include teaching courses such as Food Microbiology, Industrial Microbiology for Food Quality Improvement, and Microbiological Methods across multiple academic years. Her research focuses on microbial ecology in food systems, particularly cheese ecosystems, soil-plant interactions, and innovative preservation techniques using natural antimicrobials derived from agri-food byproducts.

Levante's work addresses both traditional food production (e.g., Parmigiano Reggiano cheese microbiota) and modern challenges like sustainable agriculture and food safety. She explores applications of microbial communities in enhancing food quality and developing eco-friendly solutions. Her studies often involve interdisciplinary approaches combining microbiology, genomics, and food chemistry.

Her teaching spans undergraduate and graduate programs in Food Science and Technology, Dairy Enterprise Technologies, and Food Sciences for Innovation. She has contributed to over 30 peer-reviewed articles since 2015, focusing on topics like microbial community dynamics, food processing effects on bacteria, and waste valorization strategies.

Levante collaborates with interdisciplinary teams to advance knowledge in biopreservation, starter culture development, and microbial adaptation. Her lab's recent projects include optimizing fermentation processes for aroma recovery and evaluating biochar impacts on crop resilience under water stress conditions.