Ms. Antonia Gounadaki is a member of the Laboratory Teaching Staff at the Laboratory of Food Quality Control and Hygiene (FQCH) of the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), Greece. Her academic field of expertise is “Food Microbiology and Bioprocessing.”

She holds a degree (BSc) in Applied Biology from Kingston University, United Kingdom, and postgraduate qualifications (MSc) in Biomedical Sciences, with specialisation in Microbiology, from the same institution. In 2008, she was awarded a PhD in Food Microbiology by the Department of Food Science and Technology of the Agricultural University of Athens.

From 2000 to 2001, she worked as a Researcher at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, and in 2001 she served as Special Technical Staff at the National Diabetes Center, Evangelismos Hospital, Athens. Following the completion of her doctoral studies, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Laboratory of Food Quality Control and Hygiene of the Agricultural University of Athens (2008–2012 and 2020–2025) as well as at the Department of Animal Science, Colorado State University, USA (2010).

From 2010 to 2020, she served as Head of the Food Microbiology Department at the QACS–ERGANAL laboratories, where she was responsible for the overall operation and scientific management of the department. Her duties included the development, validation, and implementation of new microbiological methods for food analysis, quality assurance, laboratory management, and the training and supervision of scientific and technical personnel.

Her research interests primarily focus on food microbiology and food safety, with particular emphasis on the behaviour and survival of foodborne pathogenic microorganisms in food matrices; the application of natural antimicrobial agents and emerging technologies for food preservation; the prevention and control of biofilm formation in the food industry; and the development and application of innovative analytical approaches (Videometer- MSI and sensor-based technologies) in food microbiology.

She has participated as a researcher in more than 15 European and national research projects, including projects funded under the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes of the European Union, PRIMA, and the Greek “Research – Create – Innovate” programme. Her research activities have involved interdisciplinary collaborations addressing food safety, microbial control, food preservation, and the development of innovative approaches for the microbiological assessment of food.

Her scientific contribution includes 15 publications in international peer-reviewed scientific journals indexed in the Science Citation Index (SCI), which have received 637 citations, with an h-index of 12. She is also the author/co-author of three scientific book chapters and has presented her research findings in more than 50 oral and poster presentations at national and international scientific conferences.

Her academic and professional experience combines expertise in food microbiology, food safety, applied microbiological analysis, laboratory management, and innovative food preservation technologies, with a strong focus on the application of research outcomes to address current challenges in the food industry and public health.