Maria Anastasiadi

Dr. Maria Anastasiadi is a Lecturer in Bioinformatics at the Centre for Soil, Agrifood and Biosciences, Cranfield University. Her research bridges Plant Science, Food Quality, and Machine Learning to enhance food supply chain sustainability. Current projects integrate multi-omics and sensor technology for real-time food safety monitoring, supported by grants from UKRI-BBSRC, STFC Food Network+, and OCP Group.

• Education:
  • PhD in Plant Science & Analytical Chemistry (Agricultural University of Athens)
  • PGCert in Statistics (University of Sheffield)
  • MSc in Applied Bioinformatics (Cranfield University)
  • MSc in Food Science & Technology (Agricultural University of Athens)
  • BSc in Chemistry (University of Crete)

Research Interests: Focus on food sustainability and health-promoting food properties. Key areas include:

• Multimodal sensing (Raman spectroscopy, electrochemical sensors)
• Climate change impacts on crop quality (glucosinolates, sugars metabolism)
• Novel biostimulants from African medicinal plants
• Nutrient bioavailability modeling using AI/ML
• Pollinator monitoring via deep learning
• Food fraud detection (DNA markers, metabolic fingerprinting)

Publication Trends show expertise in honey authentication (fluorescence, SORS), postharvest physiology (asparagus, celery), and phytohormone regulation (ethylene-ABA crosstalk). Key Subfields: Foodomics, Chemometrics, Climate Resilience, Bioactive Compounds, Precision Agriculture, Computational Biology.

Scientific Collaborations: Partnerships with AAKTP, Unilever, FSA, and Greenyard Fresh UK drive applied research. Current work involves developing non-invasive food testing systems and automated pollinator monitoring for environmental policy support.

Research Students: Mentoring Sophie Dodd (Contaminant Detection), Zahra Karimi (Pollinator Monitoring), and Sapphire Milligan (Bioproducts Development).