Curriculum Vitae of Dr. Vincenzina Fusco

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1 Curriculum Vitae of Dr. Vincenzina Fusco Family name: Fusco First name: Vincenzina Date of birth: March 2, 1974 Phone: Fax: Nationality: Italian Present position: Permanent position as Researcher at the Institute of Sciences of Food Production - National Research Council (CNR - ISPA) (non-profit public body/governative research organization), Via Amendola 122/O, Bari, 70126, Italy. EDUCATION 2005: Ph.D. in Sciences and Technologies of Food Productions, Division of Microbiology, Department of Food Science, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055, Portici (Naples) Italy. Dissertation title: Study of the native microflora during the production of fermented foods, tutor Prof. Salvatore Coppola. 2001: Achievement of the Italian Official Licence for the profession of Food Technologist. 2001: Magna cum Laude Master Degree in Food Science and Technology, Division of Microbiology, Department of Food Science, University of Naples Federico II, Portici (Naples) Italy. Degree thesis in Microbiology, entitled: Microbiological aspects of Fior di Latte di Agerola cheese-making, tutor Prof. Salvatore Coppola. TRAINING 2010: Achievement of the Course of Statistics for the analysis of biological data, held by the Foundation for Biotechnology at the Molecular Biotechnology Center, Turin (Italy). 2010: Participation in the seminar Next generation Sequencing Technologies Enables New Applications by Applied Biosystems at the CNR-ISPA, Via Amendola 122/o, 70126, Bari, Italy. 2009: Achievement of the Gene Mapper training course, by Applied Biosystems, at the CNR-ISPA, Via Amendola 122/o, 70126, Bari, Italy. 18/01/2012 Pagina 1 di 9 Vincenzina Fusco

2 2008: Achievement of the 51st International Basic training Workshop on Bionumerics and Gel Compare II and Analysis Day, held by Applied Maths, at the Applied Maths NV, Keistraat 120, B-9830 Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium. 2008: Achievement of the Basic Real Time PCR Training Course, by Applied Biosystems, at the Mercure Hotel Roma Piazza Bologna, Via Reggio Calabria 54, 00161, Roma, Italy. 2005: Achievement of the 2005 CNF short course: Technology & characterization of the nanoscale at the Cornell Nanoscale Facility of the Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (USA). 2004: Achievement of the TOEFL at the American Study Centre of Naples. 2003: Achievement, with merit, of the KET (Key English Test). PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE RECORD December 2009-ongoing: Permanent position (achieved by winning a public competition) as Research Scientist at the Institute of Sciences of Food Production of the National Research Council (CNR-ISPA), Via Amendola 122/O, 70126, Bari, Italy. During this period the following tasks are being performed: Participating in drafting of several National and EU funded project proposals. Participating in the research activities of the EU Network of Excellence FOOD- CT MoniQA Towards the harmonisation of analytical methods for monitoring food quality and safety in the food supply chain as organizational data mantainer for ISPA and member of the moniqa s microbiological contaminants working group. Participating in the research activities of the MoniQA WP4 small project: Establishing justification for a new paradigm in standardising rapid methods - PCR re-validation for detecting microorganisms, using Campylobacter as model. Participating in the research activities of the FP7 EU large collaborative project, n , DREAM Design and development of realistic food models with wellcharacterised micro- and macro-structure and composition and in charge for the following research activities: Participating in the drafting of the project proposal and then in the research activities of the national research project PON SAFEMEAT- Process and product innovations to improve the safety and diversify the range of swine meat based products (fresh and cured)" ( ). 18/01/2012 Pagina 2 di 9 Vincenzina Fusco

3 Participating in the drafting of the project proposal and then in the research activities of the national research project LAIFF Laboratory Network for the Innovation on Functional Foods" ( ). Participating, as member, in the activities of the teaching board of the Ph.D course in Microbiology, Health and Food Chemistry, University of Bari, Italy. Coordinating, as tutor, the research activities of two undergraduate (master degree theses in Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology, and Biotechnologies for the human food quality and safety of the University of Bari, Italy), Ph.D. student (Ph.D course in Microbiology, Health and Food Chemistry, University of Bari, Italy) and a research fellow. Participating as speaker with a lecture on the Contamination of milk and dairy products in the professional course Food safety: operational procedures and regulations, organised by the Dipartimento di Prevenzione, Servizio di Igiene degli Alimenti e della Nutrizione, S.I.A.N. (Department of Prevention of the Food Hygiene and Nutrition Service, SIAN) at the S. Nicola Pellegrino s hospital, Trani, Bari, Italy. Participating, as a member, in the activities of the scientific committee for two public competitions to grant two temporary research fellowships. Acting as reviewer for several international scientific peer reviewed journals. September 2007-November 2009: Position as temporary researcher with a grant (achieved trough public competition) of the CNR-ISPA (Bari), for research activity on the FP6 EU project N. COOP-CT Ferbev - Improving the processing of four fermented beverages from Eastern European Countries and for the research activities on the genotypic and phenotypic characterization of complex microbial florae in food matrices, as concerns the agreement between CNR-ISPA and l Aia Vecchia s.r.l. June 2006-August 2007: Grant (achieved by a public competition of the National Research Council (CNR) Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA), Bari, Italy, for research activity on the MUR project Panti - Improving the organoleptic, nutritional and health properties of Italian typical breads -. June : Apart from the research activities above reported, the following tasks were performed: Participating in drafting of several National and EU funded project proposals. 18/01/2012 Pagina 3 di 9 Vincenzina Fusco

4 Participating in the research activities of the MIUR project SABIPAM Advanced systems for the biosafety of the Southern Italy s food productions. Participating to the research activities of the Regione Lombardia Project METADISTRETTO - Innovations in the fermentation processes of typical Italian foodstuffs -. Participating in the research activities of the MAP Project AgriBIT Transfer of biotechnological innovations to the Apulian agrofood system. Participating in the research activities of the Project MIUR Caseo ProBIO Exploitation of two typical cheeses of the Salento by employing Lactobacillus strains with promising probiotic properties. Participating in the research activities of the EU Network of Excellence FOOD- CT MoniQA Towards the harmonisation of analytical methods for monitoring food quality and safety in the food supply chain Participating in the drafting of the proposal and then in the research activities of the FP7 EU large collaborative project, n , DREAM Design and development of realistic food models with well-characterised micro- and macrostructure and composition Coordinating, as tutor, the research activities of undergraduate and Ph.D. students. December 2005-May 2006: Grant of the Department of Food Science of the University of Naples Federico II for research on the selection of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts for the production of cow buffalo milk products. November 2004-October 2005: Grant of the Department of Food Science of the University of Naples Federico II for the research activity on the Real-time PCR detection of Staphylococcus aureus using an integrated microfluidic platform, (as part of a project on Food Safety and Security Research Rapid methods Development, supported by the FDA Grant # A) carried out at the Food Science Department of the Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (USA), under supervision of Prof. Carl A. Batt. July 2002-January 2003: Grant of the Department of Food Science of the University of Naples Federico II for the MUR project SIFORTI Hygiene Assurance for Typical Italian Cheeses on the behaviour of pathogens (Salmonella spp, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli O157:H7) in Italian raw milk cheeses (Grana Padano and Pecorino Romano). 18/01/2012 Pagina 4 di 9 Vincenzina Fusco

5 October July 2002: Carrying out research activity as volunteer under the supervison of Professor Salvatore Coppola at the Division of Microbiology, Department of Food Science, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055, Portici (Naples) Italy. October 2001-May 2006: Apart from the research activities above reported, the following tasks were performed: Participating in the research activities of the Project MIUR-CNR: SETTORE 2 Agrobiotecnologie: Quality, health and safety of food productions. Processing, packaging and logistics of fresh and/or processed products. Project SIFORTI Hygiene Assurance for Typical Italian Cheeses. Research Unit of Naples, Faculty of Agriculture, Division of Microbiology, Department of Food Science, University of Naples Federico II. Research title: Molecular detection of pathogenic microorganisms in Grana Padano and Pecorino Romano cheeses. Participating in the research activities of the Project MIPAF (D.M. 348/7303/ ) Exploitation and safeguarding of the authocthonous microflora of Italian dairy productions. Research Unit of Naples, Faculty, of Agriculture, Division of Microbiology, Department of Food Science, University of Naples Federico II. Research title: Exploitation and safeguarding of the authocthonous microflorae of Mozzarella di bufala campana, Fior di Latte di Agerola and Provolone del Monaco cheese of Penisola Sorrentina. Participating in the research activities of a research project co-funded by MIUR (PRIN 2001) entitled: Defining, by molecular methods, the structure of microbial communities occurring in fermented foods. Research Unit of Naples, Faculty of Agriculture, Division of Microbiology, Department of Food Science, University of Naples Federico II. Research title: Studying, by molecular and conventional methods, the microbial diversity, at species and strain level, occurring during the production of fermented foods. Coordinating the research activities of undergraduate students. Participating in the activities of the teaching board for the tutorial exercises (theoretical and practical) of the Prof. Coppola s course in General Microbiology, held at the University of Naples Federico II, Faculty of Agriculture, Portici. 18/01/2012 Pagina 5 di 9 Vincenzina Fusco

6 COMMITTEE AND ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP Member of the Italian Society for Agricultural, Food and Environmental Microbiology (Soc. Italiana di Microbiologia Agro-Alimentare e Ambientale (SIMTREA) Member of the European Association for Food Safety (SAFE consortium ) Member of Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS) Member of the teaching board of the Ph.D course in Microbiology, Health and Food Chemistry, University of Bari, Italy. Member of two scientific committees for two public competitions to grant two temporary research fellowships. OTHER APPOINTMENTS Reviewer for several international scientific peer reviewed journals Supervisor of several Ph.D and master degree theses Invited lecture at national and international congresses KEY QUALIFICATIONS FIELDS OF SPECIALIZATION Food microbiology, technology, biochemistry, and biotechnology; molecular biology relevant to microbial food safety and quality; micro/nanotechnology, DNA and RNA based biosensing. SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE Microbiological safety and quality of food; microbiological and technological aspects of food processing (dairy, meat and bakery products). Assessment of the technological performances of lactic acid bacteria and Micrococcaceae/Staphylococcaceae for their use as starter in meat, bakery and dairy products. Development, validation and/or utilization of rapid and reliable molecular methods for detecting food pathogens, assessment of their response to the stresses occurring during fermented foods-making and in vitro or in vivo digestion of foods, also distinguishing among viable, dead and injured cells. 18/01/2012 Pagina 6 di 9 Vincenzina Fusco

7 Development, validation and/or utilization of molecular methods for typing (and monitoring during food productions) pro-technological, spoilage and pathogenic bacteria occurring in foods. Fabricating monolithic DNA purification/real-time PCR silicon chips and using them on an automated microfluidic detection platform to purify and quantitatively detect Staphylococcus aureus by TaqMan real-time PCR. Transfer of molecular methods to detect food microorganisms to micro/nanotechnological platforms. TECHNIQUES USED Conventional microbiological methods (plating, microscopy, etc.) DNA, RNA and total protein isolation and purification from biological tissues Spectrophotometric quantification of nucleic acids Electrophoretic analyses of protein and nucleic acids Southern and Northern Blotting Automatic DNA sequencing (capillary electrophoresis) PCR and its applications (such as: inverse PCR, multiplex PCR, Rep-PCR, RAPD-PCR, PCR-RFLP, etc.) Real-time PCR REA-PFGE PCR-DGGE PCR-SSCP faflp (and conversion of AFLP fragments into SCAR markers) MLST LANGUAGE SKILLS English, written and spoken. COMPUTER SKILLS Operative systems: Microsoft Windows Applications: MS Word, MS Excel, MS Powerpoint, MS Publisher Internet Browsers Software for image processing: Adobe Photoshop, Paint etc. Specific software for data processing: Bionumerics, Gene Mapper, Primer Express, Applied Biosystems Sequence Detection System, ClustalX2, Finch TV, Sequencing etc. 18/01/2012 Pagina 7 di 9 Vincenzina Fusco

8 PUBLICATIONS Co-author of 34 publications. Articles in International peer reviewed journals: 12. Articles in National journals: 1. Proceedings of International Congresses: 11. Invited lectures to International Congresses: 2. Proceedings of National Congresses: 6. Invited lectures to National Congresses: 2. SAMPLER OF PAPERS Fusco V. *, Quero G.M., Stea G., Morea M., Visconti A. (2011). Novel PCRbased identification of Weissella confusa using an AFLP-derived marker. International Journal of Food Microbiology. 145, Fusco V. *, Quero G.M., Morea M., Blaiotta G., Visconti A. (2011). Rapid and reliable identification of Staphylococcus aureus harbouring the enterotoxin gene cluster (egc) and quantitative detection in raw milk by real time PCR. International Journal of Food Microbiology. 144, Blaiotta, G.*, Fusco, V., Ercolini, D., Pepe, O., Coppola, S., Diversity of Staphylococcus strains based on partial kat (catalase) gene sequences and designs of a PCR-RFLP assay for identification and differentiation of coagulase positive species (S. aureus, S. delphini, S. hyicus, S. intermedius, S. pseudintermedius, and S. schleiferi subsp. coagulans). Clin. Microbiol. 48: Aponte, M.*, Fusco, V., Andolfi, R., Coppola, S., Lactic acid bacteria occurring during manufacture and ripening of Provolone del Monaco cheese: Detection by different analytical approaches. International Dairy Journal. 18: Blaiotta, G.*, Fusco, V., Ercolini, D., Aponte, M., Pepe, O., Villani, F., Diversity of Lactobacillus strains based on partial HSP60 gene sequences and design of PCR-RFLP assays for species identification and differentiation. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: Blaiotta, G.*, Fusco, V., von Eiff, C., Villani F., Becker, K., Biotyping of enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus by enterotoxin gene cluster (egc) 18/01/2012 Pagina 8 di 9 Vincenzina Fusco

9 polymorphism and spa-typing analyses. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 29: Lechiancole, T., Blaiotta, G., Messina, D., Fusco, V., Villani F., Salzano, G.*, Evaluation of intra-specific diversities in Oenococcus oeni through analysis of genomic and expressed DNA. Systematic Applied Microbiology 29: Coppola, S., Fusco, V., Andolfi, R., Aponte, M., Blaiotta, G., Ercolini, D., Moschetti, G.*, Evaluating microbial diversity during the manufacture of fior di latte di agerola, a traditional raw milk cheese of Naples area. Journal of Dairy Research 73 (3): Ercolini, D.*, Fusco, V., Blaiotta, G., Sarghini F., Coppola, S., Response of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella thyphimurium, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus to the stresses occurring in model manufactures of Grana Padano cheese. Journal of Dairy Science 88: Ercolini, D., Fusco, V., Blaiotta, G., Coppola, S.*, Sequence heterogeneity in the lacsz operon of Streptococcus thermophilus and its use in PCR systems for strain differentiation. Research in Microbiology, 156: Blaiotta, G., Ercolini, D., Pennacchia, C., Fusco, V., Casaburi, A., Pepe, O., Villani, F.*, PCR detection of staphylococcal enterotoxin genes in Staphylococcus spp. strains isolated from meat and dairy products. Evidence for new variants of seg and sei in S. aureus AB Journal of Applied Microbiology 97: Ercolini, D., Blaiotta, G., Fusco, V., Coppola, S.*, PCR-based detection of enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus in the early stages of raw milk cheese making. Journal of Applied Microbiology 96: *corresponding author 18/01/2012 Pagina 9 di 9 Vincenzina Fusco