Funded Partner
UNIVPM
The Marche Polytechnic University is composed of 5 Faculties: Engineering, Medicine and Surgery, Economics, and Sciences. The structure is organized into 12 departments with more than 653 faculty members, including full and associate professors as well as permanent and fixed-term researchers. The technical and administrative staff includes 595 employees in total, 536 with permanent contracts and 59 with fixed-term contracts, providing support to teaching, technical-scientific activities, and the administrative-financial management of both the individual departments and the University as a whole.
The Department of Life and Environmental Sciences (DiSVA) integrates basic and applied research with strong interdisciplinarity, aligned with Horizon Europe, PNR and PNRR priorities. Between 2021–2023 it activated 141 projects worth €11M, with significant EU, national and third-party funding. Recognized as a Department of Excellence, DiSVA participates in major PNRR initiatives such as NBFC and EMBRC. Research quality is demonstrated by internationally recognized faculty (one Highly Cited Researcher, 22 with h-index 30–84), over 200 annual publications with increasing Q1 rates, and strong engagement in international societies and journals.
Over € 5M have been invested in advanced infrastructures including structural biology, aquaria, high-resolution microscopy, mass spectrometry, HPC, and a research vessel. Teaching is closely connected to research, with 2 BSc, 4 MSc (including an international Marine Biology program), and a PhD program.
Student enrollment and satisfaction are steadily growing, with graduate employability above 80%.The Developmental Biology, Reproduction, and Aquaculture research group/laboratory is composed of two Full Professors, two Associate Professors, o five PhD students and one pod-Doc.
Historically, the group has focused on aspects related to the growth, welfare, and nutrition of teleosts through a multidisciplinary approach, with particular attention to dietary effects. The laboratory is equipped with numerous instruments, including: BioRad IQ5 Real-Time PCR, ELISA Reader, HPLC, thermocyclers, NanoPhotometer P-Class, two-dimensional electrophoresis system, hybridizer, incubator, horizontal and vertical electrophoresis units for protein and nucleic acid analysis, laminar flow hood, chemical hood, infrared and Raman spectroscopy systems, and all the necessary equipment for histological analyses.
In recent years, the group has coordinated or participated in national and international projects related to the topics of this call, including an AGER2 Agro-food Research project, a Cariverona Scientific Excellence Research project (2017), and a regional project focused on circular economy in aquaculture (Marche Region – Rural Development Program 2014/2020 – M16.1.A.2 Operational Groups).In the last two years, three Horizon Europe projects have been funded: OneEarth (sustainable aquaculture feeds with emphasis on the lipid fraction), Folou (food waste assessment in aquaculture), and Cardimed (effects of wastewater treated with natural solutions on fish). In addition, the group received a Caritro Scientific Excellence grant for research on the use of chitin derived from insect farming in trout diets.
Personnel
Prof. Ike Olivotto
Team leader
Prof. Ike Olivotto is a Full Professor of Aquaculture, Cytology and Histology at the Marche Polytechnic University. He has over 20 years of experience in teleost nutrition, growth, and welfare, combining applied and basic research. He has coordinated and participated in numerous national and international projects, including Horizon Europe initiatives. His team focuses on sustainable aquaculture, fish physiology, and advanced biotechnologies. Prof. Olivotto has published extensively in high-impact journals (>120 papers) and is recognized internationally for his expertise in aquaculture science. Presently he has a h-index of 44 and 4931 citations (https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=7005289079; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0906-4225).
Other team members
Prof. Giorgia Gioacchini
Prof. Giorgia Gioacchini is an Associate Professor of Reproductive Biology of marine species at Marche Polytechnic University. He has over 20 years of experience in the reproduction, development and welfare of marine species (teleost, sharks, cephalopods and sea turtles) by applying a multidisciplinary approach that includes histological analysis, immunohistochemistry, molecular biology (transcriptomic by real time PCR and RNA-seq and genomic by WGS and ddRAD), enzymatic activity as well as FTIR microspectroscopy. She has coordinated and participated in numerous national and international projects, including Horizon Europe initiatives. Prof. Gioacchini published 105 papers in international peer-view journal and 3 book chapters. She has a h-index 41.
Author ID:23004112500 (SCOPUS); Web of Science Researcher ID: AAU-3581-2021; ORCID CODE: orcid.org/0000-0003-1187-7302.
Prof. Francesca Maradonna
Prof. Francesca Maradonna is an Associate Professor of Developmental Biology at Marche Polytechnic University. Her research focuses on ecotoxicology, on the role of nutrition to improve reproduction, metabolism, development and health status in fish models, using molecular and cellular approaches. She has published extensively in high-impact journals and is currently Principal Investigator of national and international projects. Prof. Maradonna has published 84 papers in international peer-view journals. She has a h-index of 37 and 3784 citations.
Prof. Elisabetta Giorgini
Prof. Elisabetta Giorgini is an Associate Professor of Inorganic and General Chemistry at Marche Polytechnic University. She is mainly focused on the application of IR and Raman spectroscopies to biological and biomedical topics. She has also applied her experience to identify the presence of microplastics in several animal and human matrices. She has published more than 140 scientific papers, and she has a h-index of 33 and 6324 citations.
Dr. Giulia Chemello
Dr. Giulia Chemello is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche (UNIVPM). Her research focuses on assessing welfare in aquaculture species using a multidisciplinary approach that integrates molecular, histological, and spectroscopic analyses. Over the years, she has actively contributed to multiple research projects investigating the effects of alternative protein sources in the diets of various teleost fish species, with a particular focus on their impact on immune function and reproductive performance. Her work has supported the advancement of more sustainable and innovative aquaculture practices.
Postdoc researcher to be hired in the next few months.
a young postdoc researchers will be specifically hired for the project and will actively participate in all the project initiatives of UNIVPM.