In
brief
The Institute of Food
Sciences (ISA) of the National Research Council
(CNR) is hosted in Avellino and develops the
following research lines:
- studies on the
composition and nutritional quality of
foods;
- evaluation of the
effects of nutrition on human
health;
- characterization and
enhancement of foods typical of the
- mediterranean
diet;
- genomics, proteomics
and bioinformatics of food
sciences.
ISA is a multidisciplinar
research institute, with competences in different
fields of the nutritional sciences. Its mission is
to deep the knowledge in food sciences, and to use
it for industrial application. Its natural research
targets are studies on the typical, local food
products and the validation of the nutritional
model of the mediterranean diet &endash; a
demonstrated model for health maintenance &endash;
with the aim to improve with new technological and
scientific findings the productive procedures of
the agriculture and food industry. These researches
have high impact both on public health and economy;
a very important role is the support to small
companies in the South of Italy, often
characterized by "traditional" work procedures
which limit their possibilities to enter in larger
markets. In this perspective, studies are present
in the Institute aimed to develop quality controls
assays to obtain internationally recognized labels
for the local food products and to develop
certified national food containers.Several research
activities are present in ISA, like the
characterization of the mediterranean model of
diet, studies on the genetic of population and
their nutritional habits, advances in food
technologies and quality controls. These studies
are performed using traditional as well as very
innovative biotechnological and bioinformatic
approaches. A facility of mass spectrometry, one of
the most advanced in Europe with competences in
functional genomics and proteomics, actively
interacts with the different research lines present
in the Institute. Various international
collaborations and research projects bridge the
research activities in the Institute with similar
projects developed in other EU or american
countries. It is to underline that many of the
scientific competences in food science present in
the Institute are unique in respect to other CNR
Institutes or other national scientific
Institutions.ISA also develops training and
innovative knowledge in the field of nutrition;
several courses have been organized on different
topics: "Health and Nutrition", technological
innovation in the food industry, environmental
control of food industry, the Master on Food
Sciences and Biotechnology, the Master of high
education in the field of biotechnology, etc. In
the last years a project on nutritional education
(ARCA project), have been developed with the
collaboration of Regione Campania, pediatricians of
the local Hospitals (ASL) and teachers of the
Educational Committee. This is the first program in
Italy devoted to create a culture in the field of
nutrition in primary school students to prevent
diseases like obesity or diabete. Junior high
schools frequently visit the laboratories of the
Institute for stages and pratical courses. The ISA
also has exchange programs with Universities and
Research Institutions in the surrounding Regione
Campania.The ISA is located in the center of the
town, at the corner between Via Roma and Via
Rubilli and is hosted in a modern and functional
building , with eight levels and a total surface
area of 10.000 square meters. The first two levels
are underground and host the general technological
facilities, the animal house and the garage. At the
ground floor there are the laboratories for the
screening of patients, a meeting room, the
bioinformatic laboratory and the center for
proteome and biomolecular mass spectrometry
(CESMA-PROBIO). The CESMA-PROBIO derives from the
International Center of Mass Spectrometry
(CISESMA), which moved from Naples to Avellino with
CNR order n. 15422 on 13.12.1999. The CISESMA was
in the period 1991-1999 the unique CNR structure
recognized as "large-scale facility" in Europe and
presently is the largest italian laboratory of mass
spectrometry, equivalent to similar International
facilities. Between the first and second floor
there are thirty well equipped research
laboratories, including an experimental kitchen,
the panel test room, the fermentation laboratory,
mammalian cell culture rooms, a microscopy room,
the room for the use of radioactive isotopes, a
dark room and cold rooms. Between the fourth and
fifth floor there are offices for the research
personnel and the administration and the direction,
while at the fifth floor there are also two rooms
for guests.
At the moment the personnel
of the Institute has a total of 54
units,
divided in:
n. 38
researchers
n. 16 administrative and
technicians
n. 15 research
guests
There is also a total of
n.16 units of non structured personnel (doctorate,
students, post-doctoral fellows) and n.48 students
reparing their graduate thesis.
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