Ongoing funded projects

Ongoing projects funded through competitive international calls

	Project: SWITCHtoHEALTHY - Switching Mediterranean consumers to Mediterranean sustainable healthy dietary patterns Call: PRIMA - Initiative Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area, Section I, 2021 Duration: 2022-2025 PI: Francesca Scazzina HNU participants: Alice Rosi, Perla Degli Innocenti Other participants: Federico Bergenti (UNIPR), ENCO Consulting Srl (Italy, coordinator), Regione Campania (Italy), Confederation of Egyptian European Business Associations - CEEBA (Egypt), Fundació EURECAT (Spain), Centro Nacional de Tecnología y Seguridad Alimentaria – CNTA (Spa Spain gna), Centre de Recerca en Economia i Desenvolupament Agroalimentari UPC-IRTA - CREDA (Spain), Delafruit SLU (Spain), Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament d'Acció Climàtica, Alimentació i Agenda Rural - DACC – (Spain), Centre for Research and Technology Hellas – CERTH (Greece), Consumers Lebanon (Lebanon), Université Ibn Tofail - Kénitra, Unité Mixte de Recherche en Nutrition et Alimentation - CNESTEN-IUT (Morocco), University of Mohammed Premier – UMP (Morocco), Soconarjiss Sarl (Morocco), Association Slow Food Tebourba (Turkey), Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi - BUÜ (Turkey), Kocahan Şekerleme (Turkey), İzmir Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism (Turkey). Web site: www.switchtohealthy.eu		Description SWITCHtoHEALTHY project aims to generate a dietary behaviour change by demon- strating and reinforcing the role of the family in promoting a sustainable transition towards enhancing the adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern of the family members (adults, adolescents, and children). This will be done by making available to families a combination of hands-on educational material and digital tools and comple- menting the dietary and lifestyle recommendations with easy-to-eat healthier snacking products.
	Project: PROmedLIFE - Novel food products for the PROmotion of MEDiterranean LIFEstyle and healthy diet Call: PRIMA - Initiative Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area, Section I, 2021 Duration: 2022-2025 PI: Francesca Scazzina HNU participants: Alice Rosi, Beatrice Biasini, Cinzia Franchini Other participants: Davide Menozzi (UNIPR), Fondazione Edmund Mach (Italy, coordinator), Università di Trento (Italy), Jozef Stefan Institute (Slovenia), INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique Maroc (Morocco), University of Carthage (Tunisia), Association Tunisienne des Sciences de la Nutrition (Tunisia), Hortus Novus (Italy), ATLAS Safran (Morocco), Mlekarna Planika (Slovenia), Ellinogermaniki Agogi (Greece), Contento Trade SRL (Italy), ENEA - Agenzia nazionale per le nuove tecnologie, l'energia e lo sviluppo economico sostenibili (Italy). Web site: www.promedlife.com		Description PROMEDLIFE aims to increase adherence to the Mediterranean Diet through a multi-actor approach by encouraging the adoption of a healthy eating lifestyle while decreasing the environmental and economic impact of food production and processing. It also aims to attain optimal food communication and education through training programs that target students as well as their families, from children to older adults. PROMEDLIFE aims to reverse the decline in adherence to the Mediterranean Diet, adopting four lines of intervention: 1 - analysis of socio-economic, cultural and personal factors; 2 - promotion of tailored and country-specific educative actions; 3 - creation and acceptability test of new healthy snacks; 4 - valorization of local Mediterranean products.
	Project: PREDICT-CARE - Developing tools for the PREDICTion, at individual level, of the CArdiometabolic REsponse to the consumption of dietary (poly)phenols Call: ERC Starting Grant 2020 (cordis.europa.eu/project/id/950050) Duration: 2021-2025 PI: Pedro Mena HNU participants: Cristiana Mignogna, Maria Sole Morandini, Cristiano Negro, Joana Maria Santos Rebelo, Claudia Favari, Vicente Agulló, José Rinaldi De Alvarenga, Letizia Bresciani, Laila Guimaraes Zeraik Cardoso, Elisa Monica, Nicola Bragazzi, Alice Rosi, Nicole Tosi, Francesca Scazzina, Sara Dobani, Elisabetta Viale, Costanza Michelini, Furio Brighenti, Daniele Del Rio. Other participants: Other Participants: Ruggero Bettini, Annalisa Bianchera, Ilaria Zanotti, Chiara Dall’Asta, Valeria Barili, Riccardo Bonadonna, Alessandra Dei Cas, Valentina Spigoni, Raffaella Aldigeri, Massimo Corradi, Silvia Ranzieri, Alessandro Barbarese, Marco Ventura, Francesca Turroni (UNIPR), Davide Martorana (AOUPR), Rosalia Aloe (Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Parma), Ruggero Bettini, Federica Bergenti, Giulia Frigeri, Patrizia Riso, Cristian del Bo', Monica Laureati, Camilla Cattaneo (University of Milano), Michele Vacca (Roger Williams Institute of Hepatology), Raúl Domínguez-Perles (CEBAS-CSIC). Web site: hnu.unipr.it/en/predict-care/		The ERC PREDICT-CARE project aims at implementing integrative tools for the prediction, at individual level, of the cardiometabolic response to the consumption of dietary (poly)phenols, taking into account inter -individual differences in both metabolism and health effects of these plant food bioactives. The project consists of two intervention studies, one in acute and one under chronic conditions, and the development of an integrative, high-throughput platform. A top-research project on personalised nutrition with plant bioactives. Click here for further info.
	Project: FOODPHYT - Food phytochemicals matter for cardiometabolic health Call: JPI HDHL-INTIMIC (2019): METADIS - Impact of Diet, Food Components and Food Processing on Body Weight Regulation and Overweight Related Metabolic Diseases, co-funded by the Italian MiPAAF Duration: 2020-2024 PI: Daniele Del Rio HNU participants: Giuseppe Di Pede, Claudia Favari, Nicole Tosi, Letizia Bresciani, Pedro Mena Other participants: INRAE (France, coordinator), Max Rubner-Institut (Germany), IDIBAPS & University of Barcelona (Spain), Chalmers University (Sweden), King’s College London (UK) & University of Alberta (Canada). Web site: www6.inrae.fr/foodphyt		The ambition of FOODPHYT is to raise awareness and better understanding of the enormous potential of food phytochemicals to support the global fight against obesity and associated cardiometabolic diseases. A key objective is critically reviewing the existing knowledge on the metabolism, health effects, and mechanisms of action of plant food phytochemicals, making the information available to all in the open-access database PhytoHub. Another crucial lever is to improve our assessment of individuals' exposure to phytochemicals. Beyond these scientific objectives, the project fosters the capacity building of Early Career Scientists in the fields of food phytochemicals, metabolomics, dietary assessment, databases, and the prevention of obesity and cardiometabolic diseases.
	Project: SAFFROMFOOD - Valorisation of saffron and its floral by-products as sustainable innovative sources for the development of high added-value food products Call: PRIMA - Initiative Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area, Section II, 2018 Duration: 2021-2024 PI: Daniele Del Rio HNU participants: Letizia Bresciani, Pedro Mena, Alice Rosi, Federica Bergamo, Lorena Sánchez Martínez, Milena Scauso Other participants: Camilla Lazzi, Valentina Bernini, Erasmo Neviani, and Annalisa Ricci (UNIPR), Universidad Miguel Hernández (Spain, coordinator), Universidad de Murcia (Spain), Centre de Recherche Scientifique et Technique sur les Régions Arides (Algeria), Université Abderrahmane Mira de Béjaia (Algeria), Max Rubner-Institut (Germany), INRA-Nutri NeurO University de Bordeaux (France), Activ’Inside (France) e Instituto de Biología Experimental e Tecnológica (Portugal). Web site: mel.cgiar.org/projects/saffromfood		The project aims at developing new innovative and added-value products from saffron and its floral by-products, improving the saffron quality in the Mediterranean area and turning it into a highly profitable botanical source. The project will develop new functional foods from the traditional Mediterranean diet, and saffron production will become more sustainable, by cultivation and processing condition optimization, and more profitable, taking advantage of a high-value biomass. Finally, the bioactivity of new developed functional products, rich in bioactive compounds, will be investigated in vitro and in vivo.

Ongoing projects funded through competitive national calls

	Project: COFFEAT - Role of coffee circulating metabolites in the regulation of the epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) pro-atherogenic properties: a fat-depot specific approach to reduce coronary atherosclerosis Call: PNRR-M4C2- I1.1 – MUR Call for proposals n.104 of 02-02-2022 - PRIN 2022 - ERC sector LS4 - Project Code 2022NZNZH8 - CUP Code D53D23014440006 - Funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU Duration: 2023-2025 PI: Daniele Del Rio HNU partecipants : Pedro Mena, Lorena Sánchez Martinez, Cristina Del Burgo Other partecipants: University of Padova (Italy, Coordinator), National Research Council (CNR), Università "Magna Graecia" di Catanzaro (Italy)		The overall objective of COFFEAT project is to determine whether and how coffee circulating metabolites affect the physiopathology of human epicardial adipose tissue and whether they inhibit the epicardial adipose tissue-related pro-atherosclerotic effects. The properties of selected coffee circulating metabolites will be directly tested and characterized in cultures of human epicardial adipose tissue and monocytes samples collected from CAD patients and in cell cultures of adipocytes and monocytes.
	Project: NOVELTY - AcorN: a forgotten resource to be rediscOVered and valorizEd in the production of good and heaLThY foods Call: PNRR-M4C2- I1.1 – MUR Call for proposals n. 1409 del 14-09-2022 - Bando PRIN 2022 PNRR - ERC sector LS9- Project Code P2022N57PN- CUP Code D53D23022000001- Funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. Duration: 2023-2025 PI: Letizia Bresciani HNU partecipants : Daniele Del Rio Other partecipants: University of Camerino (Italy, Coordinator), University of Milan (Italy) Social media: NOVELTY		NOVELTY project aims to promote the recovery of acorn for the production of food products for human consumption through a few main activities: a) Characterization of commercial acorn flour from a nutritional and technological point of view; b) production of acorn flour based-food products; c) nutritional composition, bioactive compounds and contaminants analysis as well as technological quality and sensory acceptability of derived acorn products; d) validation of acorn flour and related products as food with potential health benefits through in vivo test in the model of Drosophila melanogaster (both wild type and engineered to develop Alzheimer disease).
	Project: 4-SEASOMed - Discovering the role of SEASOnal dietary choices on Mediterranean diet adherence and effect on human microbiota Call: PNRR-M4C2- I1.1 – MUR Call for proposals n.104 of 02-02-2022 - PRIN 2022 - ERC sector LS4- Project Code 2022A34JY8 - CUP Code D53D23014160001 - Funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU Duration: 2023-2025 PI: Letizia Bresciani HNU partecipants: Alice Rosi, Nicole Tosi, Federica Bergamo, Arianna Gallina Other participants: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Italia, Coordinatore), Università di Catania (Italia), Neuromed (Italia) Social media: 4SEASOMed		4-SEASOMed is a multi-center observational study which aims to assess the adherence to a seasonal diet, mainly for fresh fruit and vegetables, in a cohort of Italian adults involving 3 different areas (North-Centre, Centre-South and South Italy), monitoring the dietary habits across the seasons, to establish the association between the adherence to a seasonal diet, the Mediterranean Diet, and lifestyle habits. Moreover, the impact of adhering to a seasonal diet will be evaluated for its ability to modulate microbiota composition and microbiota derived metabolites.
	Project: CARE-DIET - CArdiometabolic REsponse to plant-based DIETs at individual level: deciphering the complexity of plant bioactives Call: FARE Ricerca in Italia: Framework per l’attrazione ed il rafforzamento delle eccellenze per la Ricerca in Italia - III edizione (2020) Duration: 2022-2026 PI: Pedro Mena HNU participants: Maria Sole Morandini, Cristiano Negro, Joana Maria Santos Rebelo, Cristiana Mignogna, Claudia Favari, José Rinaldi De Alvarenga, Costanza Michelini, Vicente Agulló, Letizia Bresciani, Laila Guimaraes Zeraik Cardoso, Elisa Monica, Nicola Bragazzi, Alice Rosi, Nicole Tosi, Francesca Scazzina, Sara Dobani, Elisabetta Viale, Furio Brighenti, Daniele Del Rio. Other participants: Riccardo Bonadonna, Alessandra Dei Cas, Valentina Spigoni, Raffaella Aldigeri, Marco Ventura, Francesca Turroni (UNIPR), Rosalia Aloe (University Hospital of Parma), Raúl Domínguez-Perles (CEBAS-CSIC).		CARE-DIET aims to develop a holistic framework to unravel the effect of plant bioactives on cardiometabolic response at individual level, deciphering the complexity of the interactions among different dietary components, the gut microbiome, and host physiology. CARE-DIET adds an improved, more complete dimension to the ERC PREDICT-CARE project, beyond (poly)phenols, considering also carotenoids, phytosterols, glucosinolates, alkaloids, thiosulfinates, and alkylresorcinols and other dietary components able to modulate the gut microbiome and interact with the host physiology.

OnFoods

Project funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3 - Call for tender No. 341 of 15 March 2022 of Italian Ministry of University and Research funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU; Project code PE00000003, Concession Decree No. 1550 of 11 October 2022 adopted by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, Project title “ON Foods - Research and innovation network on food and nutrition Sustainability, Safety and Security – Working ON Foods”.

	Project: EDSUSDIETS - Curriculum application of EDucational and empowering models aimed at promoting healthy and SUStainable DIETS in University canteens Duration: 2023-2025 PI: Francesca Scazzina HNU participants: Alice Rosi, Beatrice Biasini, Cinzia Franchini, Damiano Callegaro, Lorenzo Stella Other participants: University of Bologna (Italy), Council for research in agriculture and the analysis of the agrarian economy (CREA, Italy), University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy) Web site: EDSUSDIETS		The EDSUSDIET project aims to promote healthy and sustainable eating habits among Parma University students. Through collaboration with the food service operator, a reorganization of cafeteria premises and optimization of menus from both nutritional and environmental perspectives will be implemented. Additionally, the development of a mobile application and a communication campaign is intended to raise student awareness of environmental issues and encourage conscious food choices. The expected results include a renovated and inclusive cafeteria, a decreased environmental impact in menus, and reduced food waste.
	Project: ENDOPHENOL - Investigation of in vivo endogenous and/or exogenous production of phenolic metabolites using (un)target metabolomics Duration: 2023-2025 PI: Pedro Mena, Letizia Bresciani, Daniele Del Rio HNU participants: Laila Zeraik, Claudia Favari, Nicola Bragazzi, Maria Sole Morandini Other participants: Marco Ventura, Francesca Turroni, Valeria Barili (UNIPR), Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Parma (Italy), De’Longhi Group (Italy), Bolton Group (Italy) Web site: ENDOPHENOL		When (poly)phenols are ingested, they are broken down into smaller molecules. However, the same smaller compounds can come from the metabolism of amino acids and catecholamines. To understand the presence of small phenolics that originate from the dietary (poly)phenols and the other sources, the Endophenol study is designed as randomized crossover trial with healthy volunteers following a (poly)phenol-free diet for 4 days, having coffee (known source of phenolics) or a control on the 3rd day. Urine and feces are collected at selected time points for (un)targeted LC-MS metabolomics analyses. A saliva sample is collected for genetic analysis and, together with the gut microbiota characterization, will be used to understand interindividual variability in production of these metabolites.
	Project: NEW PRACTICE - Development of new approaches to elucidate the metabolism of nutritionally relevant bioactive compounds Duration: 2023-2025 PI: Pedro Mena, Letizia Bresciani, Daniele Del Rio HNU participants: Marta Berzaghi, Elisabetta Viale, Claudia Favari Other participants: University of Bari (Italy), Roger Williams Institute of Hepatology (United Kingdom) Web site: NEW PRACTICE		Frozen organs will be sectioned transversely and analyzed by desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) mass spectrometry imaging (MSI). With this approach the aim is to map the production and absorption of native and colonic metabolites in tissues, deepening the understanding of the in vivo metabolism of the bioactive compounds under investigation. The objective includes the development of an innovative MSI analytical method applied to (poly)phenolic metabolites to shed light on their potential bioactivity in situ.
	Project: OBI-WAN-DIET - A multi-omics approach to tackle obesity at individual level with plant-based diet Duration: 2023-25 PI: Pedro Mena HNU participants: Daniele Del Rio, Maria Sole Morandini, Cristiano Negro, Joana Maria Santos Rebelo, Cristiana Mignogna, Claudia Favari, José Rinaldi De Alvarenga, Costanza Michelini, Vicente Agulló, Letizia Bresciani, Laila Guimaraes Zeraik Cardoso, Elisa Monica, Nicola Bragazzi, Alice Rosi, Nicole Tosi, Francesca Scazzina, Sara Dobani, Elisabetta Viale Other participants: Marco Ventura, Ruggero Bettini, Annalisa Bianchera, Ilaria Zanotti, Chiara Dall’Asta, Valeria Barili, Riccardo Bonadonna, Alessandra Dei Cas, Valentina Spigoni, Raffaella Aldigeri, Massimo Corradi, Silvia Ranzieri, Alessandro Barbarese, Francesca Turroni (UNIPR), Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Parma (Italy), Università di Milano (Italy), Roger Williams Institute of Hepatology (United Kingdom), CEBAS-CSIC (Spain) Web site: OBI-WAN-DIET		The project aims to understand the role of sustainable, personalized, plant-based dietary interventions, as well as the contribution of the interplay oral microbiome – genetic polymorphisms – hormonal regulation on obesity prevention. It will shed light on the development of translatable predictive models to manage weight control in overweight/obese adults. This study will help to build a new paradigm in the management of chronic diseases, focused on individuals and using multi-omics approaches, predictive tools, and plant-based diets with demonstrated health effects.