info@valorish.eu
VALORISH Advisory Board
The Advisory Board is a group of appointed external experts, with the role of providing objective guidance and complement the consortium's industrial and technical expertise.
Every 6 months, the VALORISH Advisory Board will receive a comprehensive summary highlighting the project’s progress, key findings, and upcoming challenges. Each member will evaluate these developments based on their expertise and provide strategic recommendations to strengthen project outcomes.
Members of the Advisory Board
Luis Diaz Allegue
Position: FWO Postdoctoral Researcher
Organisation: University of Antwerp
Country: Belgium
Link to profile for more information:
Luis Diaz Allegue is an FWO Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Antwerp, specializing in anaerobic and phototrophic microbial processes to advance circular resource recovery and industrial biotechnology. His research focuses on the use of purple bacteria and other microbial systems to develop sustainable biorefinery concepts, with a particular emphasis on food applications, including the production of microbial proteins and pigments.
Dr. Diaz Allegue actively leads and contributes to both national and European projects, applying microbial biotechnology to real-world challenges. His experience bridges academic research, industry collaboration, and science-policy engagement, reflecting a strong commitment to practical, scalable innovation.
Lorenzo Bertin
Position: Full Professor
Organisation: Università di Parma
Country: Italy
Link to profile for more information:
Lorenzo Bertin is a Full Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry of Fermentations in the Department of Food and Drug, University of Parma. He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering and a PhD in Industrial Chemistry from the University of Bologna.
Professor Bertin is a recognized expert in fermentation chemistry and biotechnological processes, with a strong academic and research background. He has authored 69 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact international journals, contributed to 10 book chapters, and presented extensively at scientific conferences through extended abstracts and proceedings. Currently, Professor Bertini serves as the Scientific Coordinator of ONE-EARTH (EU-HORIZON-CL6-2023-CIRCBIO-02), a Horizon Europe project and sister initiative to VALORISH.
Sandra Balsells Claramunt
Position: Senior Researcher
Organisation: LEITAT Technological Center. Bioresources & Agrifood Technologies unit. Area Circular Economy & Decarbonization
Country: Italy
Link to profile for more information:
Sandra Balsells holds a Degree in Biology (1998) from the University of Barcelona (UB). She also studied Industrial Biotechnology and Proteomics (IUCT), Food Safety Management, and Insects as Food and Feed (Wageningen University). She is currently working at Leitat Technological Center, as Senior Researcher in the Bio-esources and Agrifood Technologies unit, in the execution of research projects and the preparation of several national and European proposals.
Sandra brings more than 20 years of expertise in R&D projects. She has participated in many different research lines to valorise animal and agricultural by-products by applying physical, chemical and enzymatic treatments for the recovery of proteins, production of protein hydrolysates and bioactive compounds (polyphenols, oligosaccharides, peptides, fatty acids, chitin) for food, feed and agriculture sectors.