Prof. Dr. Maria Schirone is an Associate Professor of Food Hygiene and Quality Control (S.S.D. MVET-02/B, Inspection of Foods of Animal Origin) at the University of Teramo (Italy). She holds a degree in Food Science and Technology (1999) and a Ph.D. in Food Biotechnology (2003) from the University of Basilicata. Her research focuses on microbiological and hygienic quality of foods, with emphasis on pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms, microbial metabolites (biogenic amines, marine biotoxins), and genomic/proteomic approaches for the characterization of Listeria monocytogenes. She has participated in several applied research projects at both national and European levels. She serves as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Microbiology and Frontiers in Animal Science, and sits on the editorial boards of Foods and other journals. She is also Guest Editor of multiple Special Issues addressing microbial hazards, contaminant detection, and risk management in the food chain. In addition, she is involved in doctoral education and institutional academic governance. She is the author and editor of two academic books on food hygiene and safety and has published over 200 scientific papers, including more than 80 ISI-indexed papers.SCOPUS, Author ID: 6505977077. Orcid id: 0000-0002-0999-1854 · Google Scholar