Rank/Position: Associate Professor, University of Thessaly

Scientific Field: Molecular Microbiology and Quality of Fishery Products and Food

Faculty/Department/Research Institution: Department of Agriculture, Ichthyology and Aquatic Environment, University of Thessaly

Dr. Fotini F. Parlapani is Associate Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Quality of Fishery Products – Food at the Department of Agriculture, Ichthyology and Aquatic Environment, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Thessaly. Before her advancement to the rank of Associate Professor, she served for five years as Assistant Professor (2021–2025), while previously she had carried out several years of postdoctoral research (2014–2021) as a fellow and research associate. In parallel, she had gained significant teaching experience, as well as experience as a visiting researcher at international academic and research centers, including Oregon State University in the USA and the University of Torino in Italy.

Her scientific work focuses on the microbial quality and safety of fishery products and foods, the use of modern molecular and -omics technologies, the study of microbial spoilage, foodborne pathogens and antibiotic resistance, as well as the development of innovative risk monitoring systems along the production chain. In this context, she has developed new approaches to tracking and monitoring microbial and chemical risks throughout the production chain of fishery products, in fish farming, mussel farming and fisheries, with the aim of supporting stakeholders in the prevention and timely response to problems related to food quality and safety, thus contributing to One Health.

Dr. Parlapani is Scientific Manager in four competitive research programs, including one HORIZON-IA, a project under the call of the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) Food and two ELIDEK research programs, while in the last three years she has submitted four HORIZON-RIA proposals as Coordinator and three more as a partner. She is also Deputy Scientific Director and member of the research team in a PRIMA project and a Norwegian project, which has been recognized and included in the UN Ocean Decade for Sustainable Development 2021–2030.

In addition, she has supervised or participated in examination committees of more than 100 theses, including five doctoral theses, contributing substantially to the education of young scientists. Her published work includes more than 100 scientific papers in international journals, conferences and collective volumes, while her international impact is reflected in more than 2,300 citations and an h-index of 24. For her work, Dr. Parlapani has been included three times in the “World’s Top 2% Scientists List” for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024, in the field of Food Science–Microbiology, according to a study by Stanford University, USA, based on Scopus data.

In 2023, she was invited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to participate as a speaker in a webinar as part of the IAFP Annual Meeting 2023 in the USA. Her scientific recognition includes, among others, a role as Editor in the journal The Microbe of the publishing house Elsevier and in the Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology of Taylor & Francis, participation in editorial boards and guest editorships, evaluation of more than 150 articles in international journals, evaluation of research proposals in Greece and abroad, as well as participation in scientific and organizational committees of international conferences. At the same time, she has contributed to innovation and education actions with social impact, which have received international and national distinctions.