My research concerns biotechnologies applied to agriculture and food environment, with a special focus on the use of microbial metabolism to achieve nutritional and technological improvement of different food matrices, including, but not limited to, grains, vegetables and agricultural by-products. My activities encompass the study of food microbiota and selection of starters for the production of typical or innovative foods with enhanced nutritional and functional properties, synthesis of biogenic compounds, and degradation of anti-nutritional factors. Sustainable bio-production and sustainable use of natural resources have a strong impact on the direction of my research.