Rania Anastasiou is a member of the teaching and research associates staff in the Laboratory of Dairy Research of the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the Agricultural University of Athens. She graduated from the Biology Department of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 1987. She completed her PhD thesis (2004) in the Institute of Biosciences and Applications at the National Centre for Scientific Research "Demokritos" with a scholarship from the above Institute, as well as from the Institute of Botany at the Leibniz University of Hannover. She has been scientifically involved in several National and European projects. She has co-authored 36 publications in refereed journals, 2 book chapters and has participated in 63 International and 37 Greek Conferences. She is also a reviewer in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Her research interests include isolation and identification of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts using molecular techniques, physiology, metabolism, genomics, probiotic properties and technological performance of lactic acid bacteria, as well as biochemical and bioactive properties of olives and olive oil.