Sotirios Oikonomou

Dr Sotirios Oikonomou is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) in the Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, specializing in Sustainable Agri-Food Safety and Quality with expertise spanning food microbiology, non-thermal processing, and biosensor development.

His academic credentials include:

• BSc with first-class honours from the School of Agricultural Sciences (2013)
• MSc in Public Health and Food Safety (2016)
• PhD in Food Microbiology and Safety from the University of Thessaly (2020), funded by the Onassis Foundation

His research pioneers nano-liposome delivery systems for antimicrobial compounds, 3D-printed antimicrobial structures targeting pathogens, and Cold Plasma optimization for food processing. He investigates oral-gut microbiome interactions and develops screen-printed electrochemical biosensors for real-time food safety monitoring, with applications in glycerol, triglyceride, and antioxidant detection.

Key recognitions:

• Onassis Foundation PhD Scholarship for academic excellence
• ERASMUS+ scholarship for research at University of Reading

He contributes to EFSA-funded projects including ciguatera food poisoning risk characterization and 3D-printed dysphagia foods, serves on the AgriFood4NetZero Network+ Early Career Researchers Board, and collaborates with industry partners to commercialize biosensing technologies for food safety applications.