Maria Alexandri

    Alexandri Maria: Curriculum Vitae
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Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Maria-Alexandri-3

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.gr/citations?user=1ZSY2LQAAAAJ&hl=en

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2683-8111

Dr Maria Alexandri is an Agronomist (diploma in Agriculture with expertise in Food Science and Human Nutrition, 2012), with a PhD in Agricultural Sciences (AUA, 2017). During her PhD studies, she carried out research on valorization of industrial by-product streams (spent sulphite liquor and sugar beet pulp) via their fractionation into value-added compounds (phenolic compounds, lignosulphonates, pectins etc) and their biotechnological conversion into succinic acid. She has also investigated different separation and purification techniques for the efficient separation of succinic acid from fermentation broths. She worked for two years (2017-2019) as research scientist at Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB, Potsdam, Germany), where she focused on the biotechnological conversion of defatted rice bran into lactic acid in lab and pilot scales. Aiming to utilize the biotechnologically produced lactic acid into poly(lactic acid), she also worked on downstream separation and purification using modern techniques (ultra- and nano-filtration, biopolar electrodialysis, ion exchange chromatography) in lab and pilot scales. She has also worked as a research scientist at the Agricultural University of Athens (Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition) (2019-2021) and at the Ionian University (Department of Food Science and Technology) (2021). Her research was mainly directed in the valorization of various agro-industrial waste streams (such as winery wastes and cheese whey) via microbial conversion into value-added products as well as the recovery and characterization of functional compounds. From August 2021 until March of 2024, she served as Assistant Professor at the Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Oenology at Democritus University of Thrace. Since 2012, she has participated in 9 research programs, more than 20 international conferences.

Research interests

• Recovery and analysis of functional components from side streams of the agro-food sector
• Biotechnological production of added value products through the utilization of waste or side streams of the agro-food sector (organic acids, bio-dyes, bacterial cellulose, PHAs, ethanol)
• Development of appropriate methodologies for the recovery and purification of biotechnological products
• Holistic utilization of waste and by-products in the context of the circular economy.