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Maria L. Marco, PhD (she/her/hers)

Professor
University of California Davis, Department of Food Science & Technology
Davis, California, United States

Dr. Maria Marco is a Professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis. She earned her bachelor’s degree in microbiology at The Pennsylvania State University and PhD in microbiology at the University of California, Berkeley. As a postdoc at Wageningen University and NIZO food research in The Netherlands, she developed a love for lactic acid bacteria and the importance of these microorganisms in our foods and the digestive tract. Her postdoctoral studies led to the discovery that probiotics are metabolically active in the intestine and responsive to dietary intake. Dr. Marco started her lactic acid bacteria and gut health laboratory at the University of California, Davis in 2008 and has built an internationally recognized research program on fermented foods, probiotics, and dietary modulation of the gut microbiome. She is active with science communication activities such as the EATLAC project and is the instructor for two food microbiology courses. Dr. Marco serves on numerous scientific advisory and journal editorial boards and is currently the President of the International Society of Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) Board of Directors. She received the American Society for Microbiology Distinguished Lecturer award in 2012 and is currently a fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology.

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