Dr. Roberto de Paula do Nascimento – Postdoctoral Researcher, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil.Nutritionist (2016) with a Master’s in Sciences (2018) and PhD in Food and Nutrition (2024). Roberto Nascimento has international experience, having completed a second sandwich doctorate (2022-2023) at Cardiff University, UK, with a scholarship from the São Paulo Research Foundation. In addition, he completed an undergraduate internship (2013) at Hanyang University, South Korea, and a sandwich doctorate (2021) at the University of Granada, Spain. The researcher has more than eight years of experience with natural plant products applied to animal experimentation. Roberto Nascimento mostly investigates the preventive and therapeutic effects of freeze-dried fruits, extracts, and vegetable oils in animal models of colitis, colorectal cancer, and obesity. The researcher has worked with food crops and Brazilian fruits, including açaí (Euterpe oleracea), extra-virgin olive oil, flaxseed oil, grape by-products, hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha), and jaboticaba (Plinia jaboticaba). Roberto Nascimento has published (2011-2024) 22 articles, 10 book chapters, and 1 edited book, which have contributed to more than 350 citations in literature (Google Scholar). Dr. Roberto Nascimento acts mainly on the following themes: animal experimentation, native Brazilian fruits, bioactive compounds, inflammatory bowel diseases, and colorectal cancer.Dr. Ana Paula da Fonseca Machado – Visiting Researcher, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Dourados, MS, Brazil. Food engineer with a Master’s (2014) and PhD (2018) in Food Engineering. Executed a Post-Doctorate (2018-2022) at the University of Campinas, Brazil, with a scholarship from the São Paulo Research Foundation. Ana Paula Machado has international experience as she accomplished a sandwich doctorate (2017) at the Universidad de Valladolid, Spain, and a research internship (2019-2021) at the Universidad de Cádiz, Spain. The researcher has more than 10 years of experience with the manipulation of plant products and polyphenol-rich extracts, mainly for industrial and technological purposes. Ana Paula has worked with many food crops and Brazilian fruits, including blackberry (Rubus fruticosus), blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), grape and orange by-products, hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha), jaboticaba (Plinia jaboticaba), and tucumã-do-Amazonas (Astrocaryum aculeatum). Additionally, the researcher has worked with animal experimentation by treating rats with colitis using plant extracts. Ana Paula Machado has published (2011-2024) 27 articles, 7 book chapters, and 1 edited book, which have contributed to around 1,400 citations in literature (Google Scholar). Dr. Ana Paula Machado acts mainly on the following themes: pressurized fluids, extraction and encapsulation of bioactive compounds, agro-industrial residues, and inflammatory bowel diseases.Prof. Dr. Ângela Giovana Batista – Adjunct Professor, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Governador Valadares, MG, Brazil.Nutritionist and and PhD in Food and Nutrition (2017). Ângela Batista was a visiting PhD student at Lund University, Sweden, where she studied the beneficial effects of jaboticaba berry and other functional foods in clinical trials. The professor has more than 16 years of experience on working with jaboticaba berry products applied to in vitro, animal, and human trials. The jaboticaba fruit has been her main focus of study, as more than 10 experimental articles have been published on its health effects. Additionally, Ângela Batista has worked with other native fruits, such as açaí (Euterpe oleracea), passion fruit (Passiflora edulis), and underutilized crops such as Malay apple (Syzygium malaccense). Ângela Batista’s research work mostly focuses on the agro-industrial beneficiation, chemical composition, and functional properties of undervalued fruit crops. In total, the professor has published (2010-2024) 53 articles, 3 book chapters, and 1 book, which have contributed to almost 2,050 citations in literature (Google Scholar). Prof. Dr. Ângela Batista works mainly with the following themes: experimental nutrition, food analysis, functional foods, native Brazilian fruits, bioactive compounds, and obesity and related diseases.Prof. Dr. Mario Roberto Marostica Junior – Full Professor, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil.Food engineer with a Ph.D. (2006) in Food Science. Prof. Marostica Junior has international experience as he accomplished a PhD stay (2004) at Leibniz Universitat Hannover, Germany, and a research stay (2009) at Lund University, Sweden. Currently, the professor holds strong international collaborations, including with Prof. Dr. Ulrich Krings (Germany), Prof. Dr. Juscelino Tovar (Sweden), and Prof. Dr. Karstens Kristiansen (Denmark). Since 2009, Prof. Marostica Junior has been supervising experimental studies (in vitro, in vivo) on the preventive and therapeutic effects of plant products on chronic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, inflammatory bowel diseases, and cancers. Mario Roberto Marostica Junior has worked with several native Brazilian fruits, including açaí (Euterpe oleracea), araticum (Annona crassiflora), jaboticaba (Myrciaria jaboticaba), juçara (Euterpe edulis), passion fruit (Passiflora edulis), tarumã-do-Cerrado (Vitex cymose), and tucum-do-Pantanal (Bactris setosa). The jaboticaba fruit has been his main focus of study, as more than 25 experimental articles have been published on its health effects and/or technological uses. In total, Mario Roberto Marostica Junior has published (2006-2024) more than 175 articles, in addition to 26 book chapters, and 6 books, which have contributed to around 10,000 citations in literature (Google Scholar). In 2022, the professor was awarded by Elsevier a “Top 2% scientist” in the Nutrition field for his articles’ citation impact. Prof. Dr. Marostica Junior acts mainly on the following themes: functional foods, native Brazilian fruits, polyphenols biotransformation, and neurodegenerative disorders.
