Regional Editor
Lorenzo Morelli is professor and Chair of Food Microbiology and Biotechnology, Istituto di Microbiologia Università Cattolica S.C., Piacenza, Italy.
Prof Morelli is a pioneer in the field of the use of probiotic bacteria. He was the co-ordinator of the first EU (1991) funded project devoted to probiotics (FLAIR project AGRF 0053 "Selection and characterisation of human probiotic strain "). Since then he has a continued track record of research activity in the field of molecular biology applied to probiotics. His current research interest is focused on characterisation of molecular mechanism underling the probiotic action. A culture independent study on molecular ecology of the gut microbiota is an additional area of research, related to the use of prebiotics and to elucidate the role of gut bacteria in a range of gastro-intestinal pathologies.
He is co-author of the two FAO/WHO documents - “Health and Nutritional Properties of Probiotics in Food including Powder Milk with Live Lactic Acid Bacteria” (2001) and “Guidelines for the Evaluation of Probiotics in Food” (2002).
He is currently a member of the Food Supplement Commission of the Italian Ministry of Health and central scientific coordinator of a European funded research project, named ACE-ART) devoted to the assessment of the presence of antibiotic resistance genes present in lactic acid bacteria, including probiotic.