Biography

Ricardo Pereira graduated in Food Engineering in 2003 by the Portuguese Catholic University, in Porto, Portugal and finished his PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering in 2011 by the University of Minho, in Braga, Portugal.
During his early career as young researcher he has participated in several research projects, both national and international, in the food industry. He has worked as consultant for a number of private and public sector clients (professional and educational) related with food technology. Before finishing his PhD he also obtained his MSc degree in Biotechnology – Bioprocess in 2007 by the University of Minho, in Braga, Portugal.
His main research interests at the moment are:
- thermal food processing by ohmic heating (namely the study of the effects of electric currents on biomolecules, cells and microorganisms);
- extraction of value-added compounds from food;
- nanotechnology applied to food technology (development of nanoparticles and nanogels, all from food-grade materials);
- novel food processing technologies (i.e. pulsed electric fields and high pressure processing);
- food packaging technology, food safety and quality control.

He has published more than 20 research articles in international peer-reviewed journals, 5 book chapters in international books and was also Editor of the book "Edible Food Packaging: Materials and Processing Technologies" .Presently is Post-Doctoral researcher and Associate Diretor of Industry and Processes Laboratory, at the Centre for Biological Engineering (CEB) in Biological Engineering Department of the University of Minho, in Braga, Portugal.