Current Role: Associate Professor of Food Chemistry, University of Messina, Italy
About: Francesco graduated in Pharmacy at the University of Messina in 2004. After graduating, from February 2005 to August 2006, he worked at the Department of Analytical Chemistry in the Faculty of Chemical Technology at the University of Pardubice (Czech Republic) for a period sponsored by an international project called “Training Young Researchers in Miniaturized Comprehensive Liquid Chromatography” under the supervision of Prof. Ing. Pavel Jandera. He developed innovative analytical methods for the two-dimensional separation of polyphenols in beverages and plant extracts. Francesco received his PhD in “Food and Safety Chemistry” at the University of Messina in 2009, defending a thesis entitled “Employment of High Resolution HPLC Techniques for the Analysis of Complex Matrices”. In 2009 he was awarded a scholarship to work for one year as visiting scientist at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), Food and Drug Administration in College Park, Maryland, USA, under the supervision of Dr. Jeanne Rader. During his research stay, he worked on the characterisation of bioactive compounds contained in Stevia rebaudiana extracts, by two-dimensional liquid chromatography.
Francesco currently teaches at the University of Messina for the Bachelor Degree in “Gastronomic Sciences” and “Nutraceutical Sciences and Functional Foods”. He is an author and co-author of 127 peer reviewed articles, 9 book chapters published by international editors, 5 abstracts “in extenso” and also author and co-author of over 250 congress contributions, including 13 invited speaker lectures at international symposia, in the field of separation science and food chemistry. He is also referee of 25 international journals in the field of analytical chemistry and food science.
Research/Area of interest: Characterisation of food bioactive molecules e.g. polyphenols by liquid chromatography, “comprehensive” multidimensional liquid chromatography and hyphenation to mass spectrometry.
Website: http://www.sepsci.unime.it/persona/dott-francesco-cacciola
Email: cacciolaf@unime.it
