Presentation of the Staff Exchange Training Activities – Smart Crops Irrigation Technologies and Strategies
On 20 March, 2026, Professor and Coordinator of the ISOPlexis Centre, Miguel Ângelo Carvalho, the Invited Assistant Researcher, Nuno Nunes and the PhD student and associate member, Marcelo Gaspar presented the outcomes of the first isUP-AgrO Staff Exchange at the University of Parma (UNIPR) to the remaining group members.
The researchers shared their experience of a four-week training programme at UNIPR's Department of Food and Drug, hosted by the Food Chemistry group of Professor Gianni Galaverna, where they received hands-on training in omics methodologies such as proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS) applied to agri-food products. Department of Food and Drug da UNIPR, acolhido pelo grupo de Química Alimentar do Professor Gianni Galaverna, onde receberam formação prática em metodologias de “ómica”, como a ressonância magnética nuclear de protão (1H NMR) e a espectrometria de massa (MS) aplicadas a produtos agro-alimentares.
The group also presented the main facilities across the UNIPR campus, including the key departments and laboratories they visited, including the analytical infrastructure of the Centro di Servizi e Misure (CIM) and the new Food Project Area. The visit also included learning about microbiology and molecular biology techniques, with demonstrations of fermentation systems, microbial growth monitoring and next-generation sequencing platforms installed at UNIPR. Centro di Servizi e Misure (CIM) e a nova Food Project Area.
Additionally, the group attended an omics seminar featuring speakers from botany, microbiology and human nutrition, followed by a hands-on workshop on MS-based metabolomics. The group reproduced the analysis pipeline they learned, demonstrating how this type of data is processed, including feature detection and molecular networking using the mzmine software. workshop prático de metabolómica baseada em MS. O grupo reproduziu as análises efectuadas, demonstrando como se processam este tipo de dados, a deteção de características e o mapeamento molecular com recurso ao software mzmine.
The presentation concluded with the sharing of some photographs from the field trip to the Stuard Farm. Overall, this staff exchange offered a clearer understanding of integrated omics approaches in food chemistry and agricultural sciences. It was a highly valuable experience that will certainly strengthen the work carried out at the ISOPlexis Centre and further reinforce the collaboration with the partners of the isUP-AgrO project. omics em química alimentar e nas ciências agrícolas. Foi uma experiência de grande valor que certamente irá fortalecer o trabalho desenvolvido no Centro ISOPlexis e reforçar ainda mais a colaboração com os parceiros do projeto isUP-AgrO.
