Resuming PhD research work after lockdown – Rodney J. Feliciano

By PROTECT ITNNo Comments

It’s been several months now after the quarantine ended here in France and much has happened after it. Looking back, I was relieved that the regular face-to-face work at ONIRIS resumed after more than 3 months of quarantine or confinement in France. However, as of the time of writing, other ESRs are still in the process of resuming their face-to-face work.  Emerging from the quarantine was a relief and a nice experience for it allowed me to move outside again and get in touch with acquaintances again. In a way it’s regaining life again and the recovery of my regular working hours. Living in quarantine blurred the day and night for me, perhaps it is one of the side effects of the uncertainty that surrounded the COVID-19 situation. The resumption of work was done gradually and was at first limited to certain researchers only. Moreover, the university face-to-face instruction only came after the summer vacation.

Relocating Ph.D. work from my dorm workspace to the office seemed a little bit fulfilling because the things that I have faced before seemed over for now and I have been facing new issues and topics to be incorporated in the next chapter of my thesis. Resuming my work at the office made me realize that I am now at the next stage of my Ph.D. research and was able to continue to work despite the setbacks caused by the quarantine lockdown period. Nevertheless, I still don’t consider what I have previously finished as a closed work as it is still part of my new ongoing activities and will be considered as I progress with my Ph.D. work. Indeed, the adage in academia that work never really ends still looms at the back of my mind. But I know that with the help of my supervisors, I can finish these with their inputs and guidance.

It’s been several months now since the resumption of face-to-face work but the COVID-19 situation is far from over and my fellow ESRs know it and is reflected in our discussions on our upcoming deliverables and collaborations. Much uncertainty still surrounds our secondment and training if we will be able to physically attend them as restrictions for inter-country movement within the EU still exist. Nevertheless, we still hope that when the epidemic is over, a considerable time still remains for us to pursue these programs as originally envisioned in the project or we might have to continue implementing our contingency plans along the way.  For my part, we have already been doing some of these contingency plans since the resumption of face-to-face work. As of the moment, we are collaborating remotely with our partner institution, Al Safi Danone. I was supposed to do my secondment during the third quarter this year but given the current situation, we have decided to conduct regular meetings and correspondence with our partner and process data remotely. This situation might not be the best condition for working but in a way, this is our own way of living under the new-normal conditions as we try to live with the virus.

FOODSIM20/Protect Workshop 1 in the time of COVID-19 – Rodney J. Feliciano

By PROTECT ITNNo Comments

The PROTECT project is not only about training and seminars but also scientific conferences. Events such as these lie at the heart of scientific activity and serves as a venue for communicating initial scientific results and networking. Being an ESR, a neophyte in academia it serves an introduction of sorts to the “greater” subset of the academic sphere. One might even say that it is a sort of plunge into the deeper part of the pool or the acclimatization step prior to the challenge testing. Nevertheless, one cannot underestimate the brevity and simplicity of our presentations for experiences such as these will be part of our treasure trove of learnings. On top of this is the current COVID-19 pandemic and the current rising infections that added a constraint to intercountry movement.  As such, most of my fellow ESRs were not able to physically attend the conference and give our talks. For this part of the blog, I will be presenting the part of being present physically in the unique session of the FOODSIM conference. 

Out of the 8 ESRs, only two were able to attend and I was the only one from outside Belgium that was able to attend the conference, the other was Lydia the ESR in Belgium. Making it to the conference was not easy because of the uncertainty of the situation. With rising cases several days prior to the events, the restriction of travel from certain areas of France to Belgium also started to occur. If not for the push given to me by my supervisor, I would have decided to cancel attending. I managed to push through by changing my initial travel route and bypassing around Paris which is a red zone at that time. This worked, but several days later after arriving in Ghent, I heard that Nantes was also declared a red zone due to the increase in the COVID cases.  Indeed, the timing of the conference and my movement proved providential, and looking back, I consider these small decisions and timings as those times when the stars aligned and seemed to work for me. 

The FOODSIM 2020 indeed will go down in history as the time where it was first held in a hybrid setting, partly on-site and mostly online. Being onsite meant that I am one of the very few who have managed to go to Belgium, there were others from France and the other attendees from the Biotech+, the hosting institution. Attending the conference is quite the same as the traditional conferences.   The difference brought by online presentation didn’t matter much as it proceeded smoothly and the delivery of talks and topics was not less engaging. For me, I opted to still present my prerecorded presentation while the other ESRs who didn’t have internet connection problems have opted to do it live online. However, the greatest difference was in the loss of opportunity to socialize and know the presenters. Aside from communication and presentation, scientific activities are also venues of networking and casual discussion. It is the chance to move beyond the journal articles, monographs, and lectures to informal discussions where the concepts, results presented, and ideas surrounding these are discussed freely and in a less structured manner. Also, these informal discussions if found fruitful and promising may be an entry point of networking and fruitful collaboration.

The conference was followed up by a PROTECT workshop which consisted of training and software presentation. The talks and demo in these sessions were engaging and proceeded smoothly with very minimal internet disruptions. I was able to ask questions easily via the chat feature of Zoom. This was done using the chat box in asking questions efficiently can be done by asking them numbered and formulating these in a concise manner. For me this setup allowed me to communicate my questions clearly and concisely.  Overall, the hybrid setup of the conference and PROTECT session proceeded very well despite the constraints. 

Midterm Check/Plenary Meeting, 12th June 2020 – Stella Roufou

By PROTECT ITNNo Comments

Our first plenary session has been completed and everything went smoothly. During these difficult quarantine days, we must face a new reality of virtual communication. Fortunately, we did not have Wi-Fi connection problems. The meeting was hosted by Zoom software with almost 30 participants. The majority of participants were at home, but coffee and lunch breaks were as usual. It was a unique experience full of fun and I feel grateful for it. The organizers did a great job!

The first day of the event began with a supervisory meeting that ESRs did not attend. At the end of this section, all of us presented our progress and received some comments from supervisors. Mainly, it was an update on our work during these months and how we are handling this pandemic.

On the second day of the meeting, there were more participants, including supervisors, the REA officer and the advisory team. Professor Enda introduced the other professors with their teams, as well as the agenda of the event. The first session was an introductory section by REA officer Stanka Miteva, where she presented the implementation of the project, the report and the purpose of the mid-term check. Later, Professor Enda named the objectives and progress of the project. After the break, all PhD students introduced a little about themselves and their project and they received comments and advice. I feel so grateful for the opportunity to receive comments from these professors. An additional presentation section was recorded to help us improve our presentation skills.

Finally, all the PhD students had a private meeting with the REA officer and we discussed our problems, our questions and she gave us important advice. At the end of the meeting, the whole PROTECT team received positive feedback on the progress of the project. This has led to friendly and funny discussions, as well as an explosion of relevant tweets! In general, the topics focused on the importance of the project, as well as ways to improve our research.

ESRs during quarantine – Ourania Misiou

By PROTECT ITNNo Comments

Due to Covid-19, pandemic measures were taken in the whole of Europe. Thus, all beneficiary universities participating in this project went into lockdown. Unfortunately, our meeting in Ghent, as well as our participation in the FoodSim2020 conference, was postponed.

During these tough days of quarantine, all researchers have to tackle a new reality, along with many difficulties, such as anxiety related to this situation. All researchers are now working from home trying to both keep up the good work and to keep track of the deliverables and the milestones of our project. More specifically, researchers from UCD and ONIRIS submitted their risk assessment on mycotoxins and food safety mitigation strategies. At the same time, researchers from KU Leuven, UOM, and AUTh reviewed all available microbial modelling approaches and delivered a state-of-the-art report.

Apart from their individual work, researchers have participated in the fourth Skype-meeting. During this meeting, each of us gave a brief update of his/her activities regarding each independent project. Most of us are now writing review papers on different aspects of climate change regarding food safety. However, this meeting was more than that. We all grabbed the opportunity to share our thoughts about the pandemic and inform each other about the lockdown situation in the different countries that we live in at the moment. Through this unexpected situation, our meeting ended up being more like group therapy than an official meeting! And this was the very much the moment that we all realized that during the project, we did not only have the opportunity to meet new and talented scientists but also to build new and strong friendships.

After this meeting, we are all more motivated to continue this project, and we are all looking forward to seeing each other again during our next meeting in France!

ESR Skype meetings – Paola Guzman Luna

By PROTECT ITNNo Comments

04/02/2020

After meeting for the first time at the summer school in Malta, the next step was to figure out how to stay in touch, considering the fact that the 8 ESRs live in seven different countries. Keeping a track of our progress as a team as well as helping each other by sharing relevant information is quite important. In this kind of situation, the use of technology makes our life easier. Thus, the idea of arranging a skype meeting once per month and creating a shared folder online for important documents was suggested to help with the communication .

Our first skype meeting was done, and everything went smoothly. There was a very fluent and easy-going dynamic in the team. Each of us gave a brief update of our activities. An update of what had happened regarding our independent projects since the last time we saw each other in the Summer School was the starting point of the skype meeting.  Since we have an upcoming conference, FoodSim2020 (Ghent, Brussels), we also gave a general overview of what each of us had in mind to show at the conference. Hearing different points of view under the same umbrella project was amazing. We were doing research!

More than only sharing our outcomes, we also expressed any questions we had regarding the project. We have plenty of upcoming deadlines, so communication within the team is vital to keep us on track and support each other. The meeting was an excellent opportunity for us to share new information, discuss the project and keep us in tune for the upcoming conference submission. It is crucial to do frequent meetings because many common questions are answered, and we have a visual relationship as a group. In order to have evidence of our first meeting, we took notes that work well as proof for our supervisors and as reminders for ourselves. Once we had everything clear and under control, we scheduled our next meeting. I am looking forward to sharing with the rest of the team what I have been working on the last month and hearing what they have done.

It was a great moment to see all the researchers after our training week. I wait anxiously for the next meeting in Ghent where the PROTECT projectwill be part of the conference.

First workshop in Malta – Rhea Sanjiv Chhaya

By PROTECT ITNNo Comments

20/01/2020

The new year started with a training week in Malta. The training event held at the University of Malta was open to other PhD student who found the courses relevant to their project. The week long training event was to be delivered by experts in the fields of Risk Assessment and Predictive Modelling (some of whom happened to be our supervisors).

A few of us arrived the day before the workshop was to be held. We planned to meet at a pub aptly named Cork’s Irish Bar where we warmed up to each other over rounds of karaoke and drinks. The evening went down well with all of us, the nervousness forgotten, we were comfortable with each other, and awaited the start of the training event the following day.

The first day of the training event started off with a few minor hitches, including technical and human errors (some people including myself arriving a bit late on the very first day). Professor Enda introduced the project goals, along with the flow of events and the other professors who would be taking over the event. The first session was an introductory session where all the PhD students spoke a bit about themselves and their projects. The itinerary for the rest of the sessions were as follows:

Day 1: Introduction to MATLAB by Professor Jan Van Impe and Satyajeet Bhonsale

Day 2: Predictive Modelling in Microbiology by Professor Jan Van Impe and Design of Experiments; Model Callibration based on informative experiments by Professors Vasillis Valdramidis and Jan Van Impe

Day 3: Risk Analysis, Risk Assessment and Risk based food safety management by Professor Enda Cummins and Dr. Jeanne-Marie Membré

Day 4: Predicitive modelling of microbial growth using Combase and PMP by Professors Kostas Koutsoumanis and Vasillis Valdramidis

Day 5: Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment during Food Processing and Food Storage by Professor Kostas Koutsoumanis and Dr. Geraldine Boue

Each session was highly relevant, and we could see how to incorporate the new information on predictive modelling and risk assessment into our respective projects. Even the students outside the project could relate the knowledge they gained to their projects. The Professors had a different teaching style, though all of them were equally helpful and funny. There was time allotted for self study, where students who were better at a certain subject went around and helped others if required. The coffee breaks proved to be an essential part of the workshop. These breaks allowed us some time to relax, get to know each project better and come up with possible ideas for collaboration. It also helped us engage with the Professors, who either solved our doubts on the project, shared interesting stories as well as discussed ideas for our research.

The week ended with a group dinner. The supervisors took us to a nice Maltese restaurant after which we went to a small bar which the supervisors had visited years ago, during their first training event in Malta. The informal session was fun, where we discovered everyone had hidden talents.

This was the first get together as a group since we had been recruited for the research project. In the short span of time we elected a leader to coordinate with the supervisory and project board. We held our first meeting and named ourselves “The Protectors” after our Project title. We set an agenda for our next meeting which would take place on video call. The key to the success of our project is communication since all the projects are interlinked. The expertise and progress of each ESR will be useful for another, therefore we decided to schedule a video meeting at least once a month.

It was an exciting week. The knowledge gain was incredible and useful for my project. Each of us is more motivated to see the project till the end after this meet, and we hope to keep each other motivated throughout the project.

Starting my career as an Early Stage Researcher – Maro Malliaroudaki

By PROTECT ITNNo Comments

31/12/2019

   It is the last day of the year and I am considering the progress I made this year to reach this point, working as an Early Stage Researcher for the International Training Network of PROTECT!

   Why did I apply for this programme? I applied because I felt that it was a great opportunity to start my research career while contributing to a very significant future challenge: The maintenance of the dairy sector in the future under the effects of climate change. I recognized the responsibility of undertaking this project because dairy products play a major role in the human diet and climate change is becoming a vital issue to consider in the food sector development.

Moreover, the special focus on environmental awareness appeals to my values and I really want to contribute. Another important factor that made me keen to be part of this project is that it is cooperative work rather than an individual research project. It is an International Training Network comprising 7 Universities and 7 industrial partners from around Europe and one United Nations agency.

   The acceptance of my application for this job filled me with enthusiasm as well as positive anxiety! Pursuing a PhD was always one of my life goals,  but being part of a Marie Curie International Training Network is something that I could not have imagined!

    It’s been only three months since my project started and I must admit that my life changed completely when I began. Everything was new to me! New country, new people around me and most importantly a huge new responsibility in my life; my research project. The first few months I was trying to explore the dairy sector and study the effects of climate change. I introduced myself to too much new information, I was lost many times, faced difficulties on how to organize myself and follow my deadlines but most of all how to become a researcher. How I want to face research is like a big puzzle which I am trying to put together piece by piece with focus and patience. I am really fascinated about the project, and I believe that with hard work I will be able to produce excellent results. The guidance and support of my supervisors is very helpful, and the people in my working environment are really nice to me! I feel so grateful for my new life!

   Moreover, I am looking forward to my academic and the industrial secondment as part of my training and all the project activities held around Europe. The first group activity is really soon, it’s a training week in Malta on Predictive Modelling Tools and I am looking forward to meeting the other participants of the project!

Summer school of ITN-PROTECT on Predictive Modelling tools

By PROTECT ITN Comment Closed

Venue: Faculty of Health Sciences, location in google maps: shorturl.at/pGLVW

Location: University of Malta, Msida, MALTA, 13-17 January 2020

Simulation tools have a myriad of applications in food technologies, food sciences, and food management (traceability, food safety). Food can be formulated optimally, but food substrates (both fluid and solid) are subject to important biochemical/functional/ organoleptic issues during processing. The dependence of these issues upon process operations is strategically important for food safety and quality. Added to these complex processes are potential environmental influences on shelf life and safety which is further compounded by potential climate change influences.

The overall aim of this teaching activity is to train early stage researchers (PhD candidates) in the area of predictive modelling, and risk assessment through a multilateral trans-European cooperation to foster both institutional collaboration and innovative problem based learning initiatives.

 What are the objectives of this teaching activity?

  • To bring together teaching staff who are currently working on different aspects of modelling for simulation and optimisation of the quality and safety of food products.
  • Achieve a more rounded PhD student experience with a positive impact on their employability by developing a number of key competences including scientific and problem solving skills.
  • Address PhD student needs by covering topics regarding predictive modelling, quantitative risk assessment and potential climatic influences.
  • To help young scientists to build scientific networks and collaborations, and stimulate advanced research and new directions in European academia and industry.

It is envisaged that at the end of this teaching activity participants will have a clearer understanding of the quantitative tools to assess product quality, safety, resources intensity and environmental impacts in the food industry. This will enable research activities on more efficient and effective monitoring techniques. 

Speakers

Prof Géraldine Boué: École Nationale Vétérinaire, Agroalimentaire et de l’Alimentation Nantes-Atlantique, France

Prof Enda Cummins: University College Dublin, Ireland

Prof Kostantinos Koutsoumanis: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Dr Jeanne-Marie Membré: École Nationale Vétérinaire, Agroalimentaire et de l’Alimentation Nantes-Atlantique, France

Prof Vasilis Valdramidis: University of Malta, Malta

Prof Jan Van Impe: KU Leuven, Belgium

Fee

500 Euros, max participation: 12 students / allocated on a first come first serve basis

Total attendees: 20 including ESR (including the 8 early stage researchers of PROTECT project)

To express interest and arrange for your registration write to vasilis.valdramidis@um.edu.mt; protect.itn@ucd.ie providing a short motivation (not more than 5 lines) by the 12th of December 2019.

Fees cover access to computer lab facilities with available software, coffee breaks, electronic teaching material and Textbook on Quantitative Tools for Sustainable Food and Energy in the food chain edited by Valdramidis V.P., Cummins E.J., Van Impe, J.F.M. (2018). Publisher: EUROSIS-ETI, ISBN: 978-90-77381-19-60

Accommodation options

Location of summer school (Faculty of Health Sciences – Mater Dei Hospital – entrance from bus stop Mater Dei 2, Msida): https://www.google.com/maps/place/Faculty+of+Health+Sciences/@35.901314,14.477845,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x8edb54579c87bbd2!8m2!3d35.9009833!4d14.4778239?hl=en

Walking distance from summer school

http://hotelkappara.com

http://luxury-msida-circle-apartment.msida.hotels-mt.com/en/#map

http:www.depiropoint.com/rooms/

https:// urbanvalleyresort.com