The aim of the project will assess two important aspects for sustainable aquaculture: 1) the use of alternatives protein sources in replacing fishmeal by optimizing feeding practices through the assessment on the intestine, muscle development and growth, using morphological and molecular analyses. 2) the study of a photocatalytic wastewater remediation system and its impact on the health and development of fish early stages and late grow-out stage.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, by 2050 we will need to produce 60 percent more food to feed the world population. In this context, aquaculture will possibly play a fundamental role in supplying high-quality protein for humans, as fish in aquaculture systems represent very efficient converters of feed into protein. Aquaculture presents a lower carbon footprint compared with other terrestrial animal production systems but there are still several fields of improvement in terms of sustainability. The characteristics of sustainable aquaculture are mainly based on two fundamental parameters: 1) the control of the release of physical and chemical substances into the environment through farms wastewater; 2) the protection of marine fish natural stocks, by replacing fishmeal with alternative protein sources in the diet of farmed fish. Why Focusing on Muscles? The skeletal muscle of fish species for human food represents 35 to 60% of their body mass and it is known that the surrounding environment determines the rate of myogenesis, patterns of gene expression, and the number and size of muscle fibers and it also influences protein turnover and the efficiency of protein deposition. When environmental treatments and nutritional interventions reach productive efficiency, with specific morphological characteristics of the fibers, it improves meat quality.
For these reasons, the strategic guidelines for sustainable and competitive aquaculture contribute to the European Green Deal through its interactions with the environment and the health and nutrition of farmed fish. The research will be partly carried out in collaboration with Istituto Spallanzani, Microalgae Hub.
Education- MSc in Sciences and Technologies of Animal Productions (2020-2022), Thesis title: “Impatto della crioconservazione sullo sviluppo scheletrico e muscolare delle larve di trota marmorata (Salmo marmoratus)”.
Bachelor’s degree in Animal Breeding and Welfare at the University of Milan (2017-2020), Thesis title: “La percezione del lupo nel territorio della Valle Camonica”.
WORK EXPERIENCE-From Oct. 2023: PhD student in Veterinary and Animal Science (cycle XXXIX, 2023 – 2026).
Thesis title: Green approaches for sustainable aquaculture: morpho-functional studies for the assessment of fish health and muscle development. Supervisor: Prof. Alessia Di Giancamillo, Biomedical Sciences for Health (SCIBIS).
From Jan. 2023: Scientific collaboration with the Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine and Biomaterials of IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele (Milan).
From Oct. 2022 to Sep. 2023: Research Fellowship, call 2022-A-PRIMA-003 “Photocatalytic water remediation for sustainable fish farming” Department of Compared Biomedicine, University of Padua. Principal investigator: Professor Giuseppe Radaelli.
Publications: Orcid ; IRIS-AIR
Supervisor Prof. Alessia Di Giancamillo
Co-supervisor Prof. Silvia Clotilde Bianca Modina
