Area of activity : Biotechnological and molecular characterization of microorganisms of agro-food interest She coordinates research activities carried out at CNR-ISPA for improving the quality and shelf-life of foods through innovation of production technology, application of pro-technological and/or probiotic bacteria or autochthonous microorganisms endowed with antimicrobial activity towards pathogens in fermented foods. The research activities are also directed to set up molecular techniques for monitoring pro-technological, probiotic, and/or pathogenic microorganisms involved in food productions; moreover, research activities are aimed at analysing microbial genes useful for taxonomic identification of strains involved in fermentation and/or spoilage and toxic infections of foods. These researches are carried out in cooperation with national and international RTD performers and SMEs. Recently she has been responsible for the EU funded Co-operative Research Project of the VIFP “Improving the Processing of Four Fermented Beverages from Eastern European Countries – FERBEV” , coordinated by ISPA, involving 7 SMEs and six RTD public bodies and institutes from six Countries. Among national projects, she has been responsible for the research activities carried out by ISPA within the MURST project QUALI-TECH-PASTA, involving one SME of Apulia (Italy), and coordinated the MURST project on “Exploitation of two typical cheeses of Salento through the application of new Lactobacillus strains endowed with promising probiotic properties” (CASEO-PRO-BIO), involving one Apulian SME, too. She was also responsible for several national projects, among which the MURST project on “Microbiological and enzymatic characterization of Apulian cheeses”, and the Coordinated-CNR project on “Enterococci in foods: application of molecular techniques for quantitative microbiological risk assessment”. She published over 100 papers (or book chapters) in several scientific journals.