Effie Tsakalidou

Effie Tsakalidou is a Professor of Food Biochemistry at the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), Greece, and Director of the ACA-DC microorganism collection. Her research focuses on lactic acid bacteria (LAB), including taxonomy, probiotics, genomics, and technological applications. She holds a BSc in Chemistry from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (1980) and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Cologne (1986). She has authored over 400 publications and led numerous research projects, including 20 EU-funded initiatives. Her administrative roles include Deputy President of the AUA Council of Administration (2012–2017) and leadership of the AUA’s Laboratory of Dairy Research (2010–2022).

Her research spans LAB metabolism, bacteriocins, and microbiome analysis in traditional Greek foods like feta cheese and Cretan staka. She uses advanced techniques such as metagenomics and MALDI-TOF MS to study microbial diversity. Her work bridges food science, functional foods, and probiotic applications, with a focus on probiotic strain selection and their health benefits.

• Key Projects: 20 EU-funded projects, 41 national projects, and 10 third-party projects as PI/Co-PI.
• Editorial Roles: Member of the Editorial Board of International Dairy Journal and other journals.

Dr. Tsakalidou’s contributions include advancing understanding of LAB in food systems, developing probiotic strains, and preserving microbial diversity through ACA-DC’s collection. Her research emphasizes the intersection of traditional food practices and modern omics technologies.