Francesca Scazzina is full professor of human nutrition at the University of Parma, where she is the president of the master’s degree in Human Nutrition Sciences. She is a senior collaborator of The Need for Nutrition. Education/Innovation Programme (NNEdPro), Global Centre for Nutrition and Health, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cambridge, UK. She is a board member of the Italian Society of Human Nutrition (SINU).
Her research work started in 2005 with a main focus on complex carbohydrates, dietary fibre, prebiotics, and phytochemicals in foods, and their effects on metabolism and intestinal functions. During her Ph.D. studies, she was a visiting scientist at the School of Food Biosciences, Food Microbial Sciences Unit, University of Reading (UK). She was also involved in population surveys in the Italian section of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Since 2009, being involved in food educational projects implemented in primary schools of the Parma area, she has acquired a deep experience in educational health learning programs and children’s population surveys. She was the co-founder of MADEGUS, a spin-off of the University of Parma (founded in 2013), focused on developing specific strategies and educational tools to improve nutritional knowledge, dietary habits, and lifestyle. On this topic, she has been and is involved in the European Union's Horizon 2020 Projects and PRIMA Projects. Since 2012, she has been working on the “Pappa di Parma” project, consisting of the optimization of several recipes developed according to food availability, nutritional needs, technological accessibility, and sensory acceptance, in countries where chronic malnutrition is the main cause of death among children. In this framework, she has been involved in cooperation projects in African countries. From 2016, she has been working in the framework of diet sustainability, being a partner in the European Union's Horizon 2020 Projects. In this field, I also participated in the European Food Risk Assessment (EU-FORA) Fellowship Programme (EFSA). She has been appointed by the University of Parma as a contact person for the "Territorial Food Policy" project promoted by the Municipality of Parma for food security, food education, healthy and sustainable diet. Moreover, she is the reference person for the University of Parma for the Spoke 7 (Policy, behaviour, and education: smarter behaviours for healthier diets) of the ONFoods PNRR Project.
In the research fields mentioned above, she is co-author of several publications in international peer reviewed journals. About the studies promoted in the above fields, she has participated as a speaker and as a member of the scientific committee in numerous national and international congresses. Moreover, on the same topics, she is a member of scientific committees of research institutions as well as public and private institutions dealing with science dissemination.
Google scholar citations: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=g_X1-EgAAAAJ&hl
Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57195937224
ResearcherId:http://www.researcherid.com/rid/B-8466-2011
ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5372-8658
Her other roles within and for the University are as follows:
She is the chair of the Master’s Degree Program in Human Nutrition Sciences.
On the Departmental Council, he serves as the representative for the Public Engagement.
At the University, she is the contact person for the Food subgroup of the Sustainable University Group; she is the contact person for the “Challenge 6” subgroup of WP8 of EU GREEN – “Promote Healthy and Sustainable Diets”; she is part of the Working Group on the “Regulations for the Use of the University of Parma Logo”; she is a member of the Third Mission Quality Commission.
She is the UNIPR delegate on the Board of Directors of the UNESCO Parma City of Gastronomy Foundation.
She is the UNIPR delegate on the Steering Committee of Giocampus.
She is the UNIPR delegate on the Board of Directors of the Food Museums of the Province of Parma.
She is the UNIPR faculty liaison for the Territorial Food Policy project promoted by the Municipality of Parma.
