The Food Systems Research Center is excited to announce Ph.D. candidate Panagiota (Yiota) Stamatopoulou as March’s Food Systems Researcher of the month. Panagiota is a Ph.D. candidate in Environmental Engineering at the at ̽̽. Before joining ̽̽, she earned her MESc in Environmental Engineering from Western University in Canada and her MSc in Environment and Development from the National Technical University of Athens. Panagiota’s research at ̽̽ focuses on the biological production of valuable medium chain-carboxylic acids from the residuals of food systems.
1. What current food systems research are you conducting?
The project I have been working on with my advisor, Dr. Matthew Scarborough, focuses on the biological production of valuable medium-chain carboxylic acids from agricultural and food wastes. The biological process that produces these compounds is called “chain elongation” and is an anaerobic process where microorganisms transform the available organic matter from the wastes. It is similar to conventional anaerobic digestion, but methane production is inhibited through bioreactor controls, such as operating at low pH and short hydraulic residence times. Due to this, substrates are available for chain-elongating microorganisms to produce medium-chain carboxylic acids (MCCA), platform chemicals with many industrial and agricultural uses. Currently, I am in the 4th year of my Ph.D., and I am analyzing the production of MCCAs and performing metagenomics and metatranscriptomics analyses.
2. What got you interested in food systems research?
I was always interested in biological waste and wastewater treatment and resource recovery. Considering the great amounts of organic waste that is being produced during farming, agricultural activities, and food processing, research and applications can help us produce something valuable for our communities, such as energy, while at the same time, we will be protecting the environment.
3. How is your FSRC-funded research impacting Vermonters?
Approximately 15 farms across Vermont currently use Anaerobic Digesters to produce electricity or renewable natural gas. An example of how waste has been turned into an energy source while reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture is the anaerobic digestion facility at the Goodrich Family Farm in Salisbury, VT. The digesters are supplied with food and animal wastes and produce enough biogas to partially meet the energy demands of Middlebury College. At the same time, the phosphorus removal system extracts the phosphorus from the digester byproducts before they are used on the Farm as fertilizers to protect the local watershed. Current anaerobic digestion practices to produce renewable natural gas rely on Renewable-Identification Number (RIN) credits that enable premium prices for pipeline-quality natural gas. Most farms in Vermont cannot take advantage of these credits because they are not located near natural gas infrastructure. My work aims to increase farmer revenue from waste and provide more equitable alternatives for the biorefining of organic wastes by expanding the products derived from on-farm waste bioprocessing.
4. Where do you see the role of your field in expanding research on food systems at ̽̽ and beyond?
Food systems are complex networks upon which all of humanity relies. The scientific sector that examines the biological conversion of wastes into valuable products is transdisciplinary; thus, my research will be valuable to other disciplines and researchers who aim to improve food security and protect the natural environment.
5. What is something about you people would be surprised to learn?
Despite living in Vermont for 3 years and almost 6 years in North America, I have never tried skiing.
6. What’s your favorite thing about living in Vermont?
Vermont is a very beautiful state, and there are many things that someone would like, but my favorite is the fall colors!
7. What TV show, band/artist, podcast, video game, book, and/or anything are you most obsessed with right now?
I had a conversation with my sister recently about how the human brain works, and she suggested Shankar Vedantam. So whenever I have some time, I like listening to the “Hidden Brain” podcast.
