Silvia Cera

Silvia Cera is a doctoral researcher in the Food Chain and Health program at the Department of Food and Nutrition of the University of Helsinki in Finland. As a member of the grain technology group, she mainly focuses on oat fermentation processes and changes in innovative food products' texture, flavor, and nutritional properties. Her initial collaboration was in the OATS project, supported by the Lantmännen Research Foundation. Since September 2022, she has worked for the HealthFerm project, a European research project investigating innovative pulse and cereal-based food fermentations and the health effects and consumer perception of novel fermented foods. In parallel, she was engaged for three months in the SPC project (Sourdough in Nordic-style bread). Since she started her doctoral studies, Silvia Cera joined the 36^th EFFoST International Conference in Dublin in 2022 for a poster presentation titled: "Design of oat fermentation processes to improve texture and quality of 100% oat bread", and the 6th International Symposium on gluten-free food products and beverages in Rome in 2023 for two poster presentations and one oral presentation related to the research work conducted by the University of Helsinki in HealthFerm. On this last occasion, she also won the "ICC Best Poster" award in relationship with the poster titled: "Improvement of fiber and protein content of a fermented and gluten-free plant-based dairy alternative gurt".