IAVAZZO MARGHERITA

My name is Margherita Iavazzo and my PhD project aims to develop, standardize, and validate label-free liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LF-LC-MS) workflows for quantitative proteomics across diverse food matrices. Despite its cost-effectiveness and flexibility, LF-LC-MS suffers from technical variability in sample preparation, chromatographic separation, and mass spectrometric acquisition, limiting reproducibility. The research addresses four pillars: optimizing sample-preparation protocols for representative matrices (processed foods, plant materials, animal tissues, aquaculture ingredients); systematically assessing chromatographic strategies including column chemistries and gradients; developing advanced data-processing and statistical workflows incorporating machine-learning approaches; and evaluating reproducibility across operators, days, and batches using quality-control samples. The expected outcome is a validated, broadly applicable workflow with open protocols, quality-control metrics, and analysis templates supporting food-safety laboratories and regulators. This will strengthen quantitative proteomics' reliability for food authentication, allergen detection, and risk assessment, reinforcing LF-LC-MS's role within New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for safer, more transparent food systems.