Short interview with Programme Director Federico Gomez

Do you have any experience from industry?

"After I finished my studies, I worked for one and half years in the R&D of the company 'Inaexpo' in Ecuador. I finished my employment when I was accepted to do a PhD at Lund University. Here in Sweden, I co-founded the company Optifreeze. I am in the board and provide technical advice."
 
What drew you to a career in academia?

"I like to do research and I was fortunate to get the opportunity to do PhD and continue my career from there"
 
What are your research interests?

"Emerging technologies for food processing – specifically pulsed electric field as aid for improving the quality of dried and frozen plant-based products. Stress physiology associated with cell responses to the electric field is also of great interest."
 
What are your most recent publications?

Grant Thamkaew, Ingegerd Sjöholm and Federico Gómez. 2020. A review of drying methods for improving the quality of dried herbs. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. In press.

Anna Telfser and Federico Gómez. 2019. Effect of reversible permeabilization in combination with different drying methods on the structure and sensorial quality of dried basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) leaves. LWT – Food Science and Technology, 99, 148-155.

Eda Demir, Katarzyna Dymek and Federico Gómez. 2018. Technology allowing baby spinach leaves to acquire freezing tolerance. Food and Bioprocess Technology 11: 809-817.

See more of Federico's publications in the Lund University Research Portal
 
What is your driving force as a teacher?

"Student learning."
 
Is there any cutting-edge research going on in the department that the students benefit from? If yes, how?

"All research in our department is cutting edge. Firstly, students benefit as all teachers are active researchers and include aspects of their research in the courses. Secondly, students integrate into research teams during their master thesis work."