Si avvisano gli studenti in occasione della lezione di lunedì di Market Research (13,30-15,30) sarà presentato il corso integrato in Food Design e il modulo di Consumer testing.
Seminario del Prof. Russell Keast, Direttore del Food Research Centre, Deakin University (Australia) mercoledì 24 settembre 2025, ore 10,30 edificio D4/ aula 0.06 Campus di Novoli
Su appuntamento (da accordare via email).
Sara Spinelli è professoressa associata (AGR 15 – Scienze e Tecnologie Alimentari) presso il Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agrarie, Alimentari, Ambientali e Forestali dell’Università degli Studi di Firenze. E' abilitata a ricoprire il ruolo di professore Ordinario dal 12/05/2021 al 12/05/2033 (art. 16, comma 1, Legge 240/10) Settore Concorsuale 07/F1 Scienze e Tecnologie Alimentari.
Ha conseguito il dottorato presso l'Università di Bologna, e ha poi proseguito i suoi studi postdottorali nel campo delle scienze sensoriali prima presso l’Università di Bologna e poi di Firenze, dove svolge attività di ricerca sulle differenze individuali nelle preferenze alimentari presso il SensoryLab.
Tra i suoi principali interessi di ricerca vi sono ruolo delle emozioni, dei tratti della personalità, del genere/sesso e della sensibilità ai gusti nelle preferenze alimentari, l’analisi del linguaggio nell'esperienza alimentare e l'innovazione di prodotto. Su questi temi è autrice di oltre 80 pubblicazioni su riviste peer-reviewed e in capitoli in volume su invito.
Dal 2022 è presidente della Società Italiana di Scienze Sensoriali e dal 2023 è chair della European Sensory Science Society. Dal 2016 è membro dell’Editorial Board della rivista Food Quality and Preference. Nel 2019 è stata premiata con il Food Quality and Preference Award - Contributions by a researcher of the future e nel 2023 è stata Visiting Researcher presso la Penn State University (USA) con una borsa Fulbright Research Scholar.
È/È stata membro del comitato organizzatore e scientifico di numerosi convegni internazionali (Eurosense 2018-2020-2022-2024; Pangborn 2019; Plotina 2020 "Regendering Science. For an inclusive research environment") e nazionali (Convegno della Società Italiana di Scienze Sensoriali).
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE AND POSITION HELD
Qualified as Associate Professor (AP) and Full Professor (FP) in Food Science and Technology 07/F1 (National Scientific Qualification | Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale: AP: valid from 07/01/2020 to 07/01/2029; FP: valid from 12/05/2021 to 12/05/2030).
Since November 2021
Research Fellow (Ricercatore RTD/b); AGR/15 - Food Science and Technology ERC LS9_5 Food sciences (including food technology, food safety, nutrition) Member of the SensoryLab, Laboratory of sensory analysis (DAGRI)
DAGRI, University of Florence
2019-2021
Research Fellow (Ricercatore RTD/a); AGR/15 - Food Science and Technology ERC LS9_5 Food sciences (including food technology, food safety, nutrition)
Member of the SensoryLab, Laboratory of sensory analysis (DAGRI)
May-December 2018
Research Fellowship (Post Doc) - University of Florence
The individual variability in food preferences between psychological and physiological factors: the role of personality and emotions
Research Grant - AGR/15 Sector – Food Science and Technology
2016-2018
Research Fellowship (Post Doc)
FARB research project "Rapid sensory and instrumental analysis of meat and meat products: an integrated approach to quality control and communication"
Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna
RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP
2022/23
Fulbright Research Scholar (Penn State University)
US-Italy Fulbright Commission
May 2016-May 2108
Research Scholarship (Postdoc) - Winner of the competitive grant "Young Researchers as Protagonists" – Theme: Food and Nutrition
Fondazione Ente Cassa di Risparmio, Florence (Italy)
Two-year research grant - Sector AGR/15 – Food Science and Technology
Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence
PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE
2012-2019
Freelance in Sensory & Consumer Science, SemioSensory Research & Consulting; Consultancies and advice for food and non-food companies (sensory & consumer studies) including Bonduelle (Lille, FR), L'Oreal (Paris, FR)
Prato, Italy
2011-2015
Research and Consulting, Collaboration with Adacta International S.p.A. – Marketing Research and Sensory Analysis; Developing new methods for the study of consumer preferences: emotions and global profiling of products
Naples, Italy
2008-2018
Research activities - Collaboration with the Sensory Analysis Laboratory of the University of Florence; Collaboration on research projects dedicated to the study of the perception of food products and of individual differences in food preferences
Florence, Italy
NOTABLE ACADEMIC PROJECTS
2023/27
Role in the project: Member of the research team. LIFE22-GOV-IT-LIFE EU SHARKS
European Union
2020/2021
Role in the project: Member of the research team. Smelltracker Consortium aimed at measuring smell-related alterations due to Covid-19 (https://smelltracker.org/)
-
Role in the project: Member of the research team. Global Consortium on Chemosensory Research (GCCR), aimed at defining and coordinating world-wide crowdsourced research to understand the reports of the chemosensory issues related to COVID-19. https://gcchemosensr.org/
2016/2019
Role in the project: Principal investigator/coordinator. Individual variability in food preferences between physiological and psychological factors: the role of personality traits and emotions. The project was funded by the Fondazione Ente Cassa di Risparmio – Food and Eating behaviors, AGR/15; Duration: 18 months
Cassa di Risparmio
Since 2018
Roles in the project: 1) Member of the Supervisory Board (SB); The SB, chaired by the Project Coordinator, takes full responsibility of the network management and isthe decision-making body"; 2) Task Leader "Development of an age and product specific method to measure emotions elicited by food in pre-adolescents" under WP3, Method development; 3) Responsible for UNIFI in WP8 Communication & Dissemination Horizon 2020 – Research and Innovation Framework Programme – H2020-MSCA-ITN-2017n – 764985 “Bringing Down Barriers to Children's Healthy Eating" (EDULIA) Principal Investigator – Dr. Paula Varela, Nofima (Norway)
2017/2018
Role in the project: collaboration in the research activities (WP 4 – Individual differences study); PRIN project 2015 prot.20158YJW3W (national project funded by the Ministry for Education, University and Research); Individual differences in the acceptability of healthy foods: focus on phenol and fat content; Principal Investigator/National Coordinator: Prof. Erminio Monteleone, University of Florence (Italy)
MIUR – national funding
2014/2017
Role in the project: Member of the Scientific Committee Coordinating the Working Group on Psychological Traits and member of the research team of UNIFI unit
Italian Taste project – A research project of the Italian Society of Sensory Sciences aimed at the study of individual differences in food preference and choice (http://www.it-taste.it/); National Coordinator: Prof. Erminio Monteleone, University of Florence (Italy)
Italian Sensory Science Society
2016/2017
Role in the project: Collaboration in research activities
Marie Curie Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathway (IAPP) – Call Identifier FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IAPP – code id 999862906; To critically evaluate vegetable acceptability through individual and environmental characteristics across the lifespan in institutional food service (VEGGIEAT) https://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/veggieat/; Principal Investigator: Prof. Heather Hartwell, University of Bornemouth (United Kingdom)
2015/2016
Role in the project:Collaboration in the research activities (WP2 and WP4)
FARB Project - Funding of the Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna to Basic Research "Rapid sensory and instrumental analyses of meat and meat products: an integrated approach to quality control and communication" – MEATING; Project coordinator: Prof. Tullia Gallina Toschi, University of Bologna – Alma Mater Studiorum (Italy)
2008/2009
Role in the project: Collaboration in the research activities:
"Perception of the quality and typicality of raw PDO hams by consumers".
PRIN 2007 project. Prot 2007HCW9HN_003 "Characters of suitability and perceived typicality in raw ham" (national project funded by the Ministry for Education, University and Research); National Coordinator: Prof. Edi Piasentier, University of Udine (Italy)
RESEARCH AT UNIVERSITIES AND FOREIGN RESEARCH INSTITUTES
2023
Visiting Scholar at Penn State University - Fulbright Research Scholar
State College (PA-USA)
2015/2017
Visiting scientist at Research Center – Institut Paul Bocuse Main contact: Dr Agnès Giboreau (duration: three periods for a total of 3,5 months)
Ecully, Lyon (France)
August 2016
Visiting scientist at CICAN (Centro de Investigationes en Comportamiento Alimentario y Nutricion),Universidad de Guadalajara; Main contact: Prof. Antonio Espinoza (duration: 15 days)
Guadalajara (Mexico)
Nov 2009/
Visiting Scholar at CeReS (Centre de Recherches Sémiotiques de l'Université de Limoges) – Université Paris IV ; Main contact: Francois Bordron (duration: 3 months)
Paris (France)
PARTICIPATION IN NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL WORKING GROUPS
since 2019
Coordination of the Working Group "Taste Sensitivity" – European Sensory Science Society
since 2018
Member of the MiMo (Mind in mouth) Working Group - Italian Sensory Science Society (collaboration between sensory science and cognitive psychology)
Member of the Working Group Sensory Analysis, Agri-Food Commission of UNI (Italian Unification Agency). Writing Standards for Certification of Sensory Project Manager Skills ("Unregulated Professional Activities - Sensory Project Manager - Knowledge, Skills and Competency Requirements," 11637:2016).
since 2014
Member of the Scientific Committee of the Italian Taste Project – Italian Sensory Science Society
2013
Member of the Working Group "SISS Seeds" – SISS Young Researchers Multidisciplinary Group
MEMBERSHIP AND ACTIVITIES IN SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATIONS
Since 2023
Chair of the European Sensory Science Society
Since 2022
Chair of the Italian Sensory Science Society and member of the board of the European Sensory Science Society
Since 2009
Collaboration with the Italian Sensory Science Society (SISS), scientific no profit organization; (www.scienzesensoriali.it) Communication and event organization (conferences, courses, workshops); Organizing secretariat
Italian Society of Sensory Sciences (SISS), Florence, Italy
Since 2011
Collaboration with the European Sensory Science Society (E3S); www.e3sensory.eu) Event organization and activity coordination (working groups; symposium)
European Sensory Science Society (E3S)
CERTIFICATIONS
Since January 2021
qualified as Full Professor in Food Science and Technology 07/F1 (National Scientific Qualification|Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale
Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research
Since January 2020
qualified as Associate Professor in Food Science and Technology 07/F1 (National Scientific Qualification|Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale
Since 2014
Certificate of quality and professional qualification of services provided as Sensory Project Manager
Italian Sensory Science Society (under Law 4/2013)
2021
English (TOEFL)
ETS
AWARDS
2019
Food Quality and Preference Award - Contributions from a researcher of the future
2015
Young Scientist Award – Award for Contribution presented at the 11thPangborn Sensory Science Symposium, Gotheborg (Sweden). Presentation Title: Preferred context and consumer perception of coffee. An approach to open-ended question analysis
2014
EmotiContext - Rethinking the communication of Tuscan extra virgin olive oil from emotions and uses in the kitchen; Proposal mentioned among the "Good Practices" selected for publication in the information materials of the Tuscany Region – EXPO 2015
TEACHING IN PHD COURSES
Since 2020
“Gender Equality”(1 ECTS)
University of Florence
“Innovation and new product development. Incremental, radical and disruptive food products” 0.5/1 ECTS
Since 2018/2019
Soft and complementary skills: “Writing, publishing, presenting and searching scientific literature: how to write a PhD thesis”, 0.5 ECTS
TEACHING IN MA AND BA (AS LECTURER)
Since 2020/2021
Analysis of Consumer Preferences (2 ECTS) Master's degree: Food Science and Technology
Since 2019/2020
Process Quality Design and Management (1/2 ECTS)
Master's degree: Food Science and Technology
Food Science and Technology (3 ECTS) Bachelor’s degree in Dietetics
Triadic elicitation techniques; Post-Graduate Certificate in Sensory Science
University of Nottingham
TEACHING AT UNIVERSITY (AS TEACHING ASSISTANT)
2016/19
Analysis of Consumer Preferences; Master's degree in Food Science and Technology
Since 2016/17
Perception and acceptability of food products; Master's degree in Food Science
Sensory Analysis; Bachelor’s degree in Food Technology
Principali temi di ricerca:
STUDIO DELLE PREFERENZE ALIMENTARI:
PERCEZIONE SENSORIALE E ACCETTABILITÀ DEI PRODOTTI ALIMENTARI:
INNOVAZIONE DI PRODOTTO:
SVILUPPO E OTTIMIZZAZIONE DI METODI:
Legenda
Sara Spinelli is associate professor in sensory science (AGR 15 - Food Science and Technology) at the Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Forestry of the University of Florence. She is qualified as Full Professor in Food Science and Technology 07/F1 (National Scientific Qualification|Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale: valid from 12/05/2021 to 12/05/2031).
She received her doctorate at the University of Bologna, and then continued her post-doctoral studies in the field of sensory sciences, first at the University of Bologna and then in Florence, where she carried out research on individual differences in food preferences at SensoryLab.
Her main research interests include the role of emotions, personality traits, gender/sex and sensitivity to tastes in food preferences, the analysis of language in food experience and product innovation (especially tailor-made/personalised). On these topics she authored over 80 scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals and invited book chapters.
From 2022 she is chair of the Italian Society of Sensory Sciences and from 2023 she is the chair of the European Sensory Science Society. Since 2016 she is a member of the Editorial Board of the journal Food Quality and Preference.
She is/has been a member of the organizing and scientific committee of numerous international conferences (Eurosense 2018; Pangborn 2019; Eurosense 2020, Plotina "Regendering Science. For an inclusive research environment") and national (National Conference of the Italian Sensory Science Society).
In 2019 she was awarded with the Food Quality and Preference Award - Contributions from a researcher of the future and in 2022 she got a Fulbright Research Scholarship.
Scopus ID
Research Schlat at Penn State University - Fulbright Research Scholar
Main research topics:
STUDY OF FOOD PREFERENCES:
• individual variability in food preferences
• role of psychological attitudes and traits, physiological variables and sensitivity to tastes in food preferences
• gender and age differences
• food preferences in specific age groups: children, adolescents, adults, the elderly
• food preferences for specific dietary regimes: celiacs, vegetarians, flexitarians, omnivores
SENSORY PERCEPTION AND ACCEPTABILITY OF FOOD PRODUCTS:
• sensory properties and liking
• taste/smell alterations in chemotherapy patients
• relationships between emotions, liking and sensory properties
• contexts of use
• expectations and evaluation of products in blinds and in an informed condition
• sensory functionality and in cooking of products used as ingredients
PRODUCT INNOVATION:
• incremental and disruptive product innovation
• product optimization (sense-hedonic and sense-emotional)
METHOD DEVELOPMENT AND OPTIMIZATION:
• explicit and implicit methods for the study of satisfaction and emotions (in adults and children)
• text analysis applied to sensory sciences (context studies)
