FCT scholarship recipient wins AOAC/Eurofins Foundation's "Testing for Life" Student Award

Sarah Azinheiro, FCT Research Fellow pursuing her PhD at INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, won the AOAC/Eurofins Foundation “Testing for Life” Student Award. In her words, this award “is more than recognition of my work as a researcher; it is proof that I am on the right track and that international-quality research can also be done in Portugal.”

Sarah reveals that she learned about this award through her advisor, Professor Marta Prado, who challenged her to show the world her doctoral project, entitled "Fast, accessible, and multiplexed food pathogen detection in miniaturized devices," which consists of a miniaturized system (AKA Lab-on-Chip) that is faster, cheaper, and automated, and simplifies the process of detecting pathogenic bacteria in food. In the project, several techniques were tested and evaluated for the detection of three of the most common foodborne pathogens: Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes.-Chip) that is faster, cheaper, and automated, simplifying the process of detecting pathogenic bacteria in food. The project tested and evaluated various techniques for detecting three of the most commonly reported microorganisms that cause food poisoning: Salmonella spp., E. coli O157, and L. monocytogenes. The analysis result time was reduced from 7 days to just 9 hours. This system is even less variable, accessible to non-specialists, and does not require a laboratory. Its potential for future application goes beyond food safety, as there is currently a high demand for similar solutions in the clinical (health) field.

In September, Sarah will defend her doctoral thesis at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

AOAC International, based in the United States, is an organization that brings together policymakers, industry, and academia to establish standard methods of analysis that ensure the safety and integrity of food and other products that impact public health worldwide. As a leader in analytical excellence, it promotes food safety, food integrity, and public health by bringing together members, organizations, and experts dedicated to developing and validating standards, methods, and technologies of global relevance.