Rate My Professor Cristina Serra

Cristina Serra is an Assistant Professor in the Food Microbiology group at Wageningen University & Research. She completed her PhD at the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) in collaboration with the University of Girona. Her academic interests center on food safety, predictive microbiology, and novel preservation technologies. Serra's research examines bioprotective cultures, bacteriophages, high hydrostatic pressure treatments, and mathematical modeling to control pathogens like Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus in ready-to-eat meat products and plant-based analogues. She contributes to quantitative microbial risk assessments and supervises MSc theses in Food Microbiology.

Key publications by Serra include 'A mathematical model to predict the antilisteria bioprotective effect of Latilactobacillus sakei CTC494 in vacuum packaged cooked ham' (2022); 'Unravelling the molecular mechanisms underlying the protective effect of lactate on the high-pressure resistance of Listeria monocytogenes' (2021); 'Control of Listeria monocytogenes in chicken dry-fermented sausages by virulent bacteriophage P100' (2022); 'Growth and Non-Thermal Inactivation of Staphylococcus aureus in a model chicken dry-fermented sausage during fermentation and ripening' (2023); 'Effect of Exposure Time and Cooked Ham Formulation on the Efficacy of Latilactobacillus sakei CTC494 against Listeria monocytogenes' (2025); 'A model food mimicking plant-based meat analogues for determination of matrix effects on growth of Listeria monocytogenes' (2025); 'Analysing quantitative microbiological risk assessments from model to practice' (2025); and 'Meta-analysis of the microbial inactivation under non-thermal high hydrostatic pressure treatments'. She received the European Symposium Student Travel Scholarship in 2023. Her work supports advancements in food industry safety practices.