Fitxa persona

Rosa Aznar Novella is a Full Professor of Microbiology at the University of Valencia, Director of the Spanish Type Culture Collection (CECT) since 2012, and has more than 35 years of research experience in microbiology, molecular biology, and food safety. Her career is supported by six nationally recognized research evaluation periods ("sexenios") and an extensive record of scientific, teaching, and research infrastructure management activities at both national and international levels.

Her scientific training began with the study of heterotrophic bacteria from aquatic ecosystems and culminated in a doctoral thesis on the phenotypic and genotypic characterization of environmental strains of Pseudomonas, which was awarded the Extraordinary Doctoral Prize. She subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Technical University of Munich, where she specialized in molecular taxonomy, nucleic acid sequencing, and the development of molecular probes for the detection and identification of microorganisms using FISH techniques and other molecular biology methodologies. From 1996 to 2017, she led the Molecular Taxonomy research group as a Member of the Extended Scientific Board at the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA-CSIC, Valencia).

Her research activities have focused on the development and application of molecular techniques for the detection, identification, and quantification of bacteria, fungi, and viruses of relevance to food safety and quality, particularly through real-time PCR and other advanced methodologies. She has also developed a significant research line on lactic acid bacteria isolated from traditional fermented foods, addressing their isolation, taxonomic characterization, and assessment of their biotechnological potential for the development of functional foods and probiotics. These studies have enabled the development of new diagnostic methods for pathogenic microorganisms, the identification of novel bacterial taxa, and the design of functional foods aimed at improving the health of vulnerable populations.

She has participated in 56 competitive national, European, and international research projects, serving as Principal Investigator in 33 of them and securing more than €4.7 million in research funding. Her projects include major initiatives related to the European research infrastructure MIRRI (Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure), the creation of MALDI-TOF libraries for microbial identification, the characterization of microbiotas from traditional Latin American foods, the development of functional foods, and the conservation and digitization of microbial resources. She currently leads several European and national projects linked to research infrastructures and microbiological resources.

Her teaching experience spans more than three decades at the University of Valencia, where she has taught undergraduate, graduate, master's, and doctoral courses in areas such as Microbiology, Food Biotechnology, Instrumental Techniques, Molecular Biology, Food Safety, and Advanced Methods in Microbiological Analysis. She has also served as a lecturer in official postgraduate programs at other Spanish universities and in specialized international courses, making sustained contributions to the education and training of undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as professionals in microbiology and biotechnology.

She has supervised nine doctoral dissertations and eight master's theses, training researchers who currently work in universities, public research institutions, and companies in the biotechnology and agri-food sectors.

From the perspective of scientific leadership, she coordinates the Spanish Network of Microorganisms (REDESMI), the Spanish Excellence Network MicroBioSpain, and the Spanish node of MIRRI-ERIC, playing a key role in integrating Spanish microbial resource collections into the European research infrastructure. In addition, she has coordinated numerous projects funded by the European Commission aimed at strengthening scientific infrastructures and promoting open access to microbiological resources.

Her scientific activities are complemented by extensive institutional engagement as a member of national and international scientific committees, including the International Scientific Advisory Board of Agro-BRC RARe (INRAE, France), the Executive Board of the Spanish Society for Microbiology, and AENOR standardization committees related to microbiology. Her career reflects strong scientific leadership, a high capacity for coordinating international projects, and a significant contribution to the development of innovative methodologies for food safety, the conservation of microbial resources, and research in applied microbiology.