Maria Marco

Dr. Marco's research group is interested in food- and gut-associated bacteria which improve food quality, safety, and human health. Their work on gut health aims to establish the influence of diet on the composition of the intestinal gut microbiota and to direct the activity of the gut colonists by application of prebiotic ingredients and probiotic bacteria in foods and beverages. For this research, Dr. Marco's group is applying molecular genetic and (meta)genomics methods to elucidate the mechanisms of dietary changes on host-microbe interactions in the mammalian intestine. Their study of food-associated bacteria is focused on identifying the microbial communities associated with plants to understand the roles of these microbes in promoting microbial food safety.  In particular, Dr. Marco is interested in lactic acid bacteria and their functions in food safety and in the production of fermented foods.