I am Rina Mekuli, a PhD student at the Food and Bioproduct Engineering Research Unit in Université Paris-Saclay and I conduct my research work at INRAE, Paris. I have obtained my BSc. degree in Food Science and Technology and MSc. Degree in New Product Development in Cardiff Metropolitan University, Perrotis College campus.

Even though I realized from early years in my studies that I was interested in microbial communities, it was during my MSc. thesis that my fascination with this research area became very well-established. During that time, I was working on "Comparative Microbial Metabarcoding and Metabolomics of Naturally Fermented Chalkidiki Olives". Upon completion of my thesis, my goal was to further expand my research on similar areas and I am now able to do so with E-MUSE.

Within the E-MUSE project, I am in the position of ESR5. My research subject is “Metabolomics and kinetic studies of microorganisms involved in cheese ripening”. Particularly, it is a fundamental study on the role of iron in the interaction of selected cheese ripening microorganisms of technological importance.

With the increasing pace and amount of data generated in the present day, carrying out experimental work alone is not sufficient anymore. Acquiring a more in-depth knowledge on the powerful tools to analyze and utilize all this information through modeling is as important. This project is the intersection where these two of my interests meet. As my hobbies include brewing and food fermentations in general, I have the pleasure of working on something that I am both passionate about but at the same time, deeply curious about.