Begoña de Ancos, Organic Chemistry Ph.D. from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), is a Research Scientist at the Institute of Food Science and Technology and Nutrition (ICTAN-CSIC), of which she is Deputy Director since April 2019. She began her research career in the area of Organic Chemistry working in the synthesis of pharmaceutical products with different biological activity (antidepressants, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatories, etc.), in the Department of Organic Chemistry at the UAM of Madrid (1987-1992). Since 1994, she continued her scientific career in the area of Food Science and Technology in the Instituto del Frío (IF-CSIC), later ICTAN-CSIC. In the last twenty years, her work has focused on the following research lines:
a) Chemical and biochemical characterization of plant foods and their components by advanced analytical methods;
b) Study of the biological activity of plant foods (by using cell and animals models, and human intervention studies);
c) Study of the effect of food processing technologies on bioactive compounds, their bioaccessibility and bioavailability (by means of in vitro and in vivo studies);
d) Obtaining of new functional foods and ingredients by the application of non-thermal technologies as high hidrostatic pressure.
Her training was completed with stays in two European Research Centres:
- Scholl of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, England;
- Department of Food and Microbial Technology, Katholic University of Leuven, Belgium.
She has participated in more than 40 research projects financed by regional, national and international public entities. Also, she has participated in several contracts with agri-food companies. She has published 95 articles in international scientific journals and she has supervised 6 PhD Thesis and numerous Grade and Masters projects. She has been a member of organizing and scientific committees of international conferences.
