Interview with Andrea Gomez-Zavaglia (CONICET) in ASAJA Magazine
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- What specific strategies does CONICET plan to implement to ensure effective communication and dissemination of NEOGIANT’s activities and results to local producers and institutions in Argentina and neighboring countries?
The Center for Research and Development in Food Cryotechnology (CIDCA) is the research center depending from CONICET that participates in NEOGIANT’s. CIDCA (CONICET) is responsible for the effective communication and dissemination of NEOGIANT´s activities and results to local producers in Argentinean and neighboring countries institutions. These strategies include: CIDCA (CONICET) uses digital platforms to disseminate scientific knowledge broadly. This includes social media, websites, and online repositories to make research findings accessible to a wider audience, including local producers and institutions. They are used to engage non-specialist audiences and foster a better understanding of NEOGIANT’s research.
Collaborative events, workshops, and exhibitions are organized to facilitate direct interaction and knowledge exchange. For example, CIDCA (CONICET) celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023, and to mark the occasion, four events were organized, including a roundtable dedicated to NEOGIANT.
CIDCA (CONICET) employs tailored communication strategies to reach diverse audiences, utilizing language and formats that are easily understandable to non-experts, including non-professionals and scholars. These audiences regularly visit CIDCA and receive information about our activities, including those of NEOGIANT.
The effectiveness of these communication strategies is regularly evaluated using specific indicators. We place a strong emphasis on “listening”. Effective communication is achieved only when the needs of each specific recipient are understood. This “listening” includes considering the needs of local producers and entrepreneurs, as well as reading comments from our social media followers. By adapting our language to the audience, we ensure that our work and communication reach the target audiences efficiently.
These strategies collectively aim to bridge the gap between scientific research and practical application, fostering a stronger relationship between science and society in Argentina and its neighboring countries..
- How will CONICET utilize its TV channels, universities, and open TV channels to present the NEOGIANT project to a broader audience? Are there specific programs or segments planned for this purpose?
CIDCA (CONICET) is mainly utilizing different platforms to present the NEOGIANT project to a broader audience, including its own social networks (facebook, instagram, twitter, linkedin) and its own webpage. Every publication of NEOGIANT is automatically shared through both the institutional pages and also the personal social networks of the CIDCA (CONICET) staff participating to NEOGIANT.
CIDCA (CONICET) leverages its social media presence to share updates, videos, and infographics about the NEOGIANT project. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin are used to reach a broad and diverse audience. Besides that, there is the so called “Ibero-american night of researchers”, organized every year, similarly to that organized in Europe but adapted to a regional context. NEOGIANT was presented every time CIDCA was invited to that event.
Another tool for disseminating NEOGIANT activities is the Ibero-American Program for the Development of Science and Technology (CYTED). This program was created by the governments of Ibero-American countries to promote cooperation in science, technology, and innovation for the harmonious development of Ibero-America. It includes 22 countries from the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal, and Andorra) and Latin America, serving as a valuable bridge between Europe and Latin America. CIDCA (CONICET) actively participates in managing CYTED’s Agri-food area (www.cyted.org), making it easier to disseminate NEOGIANT activities to audiences across several different countries.
- Can you provide examples of the types of workshops, conferences, and round-table discussions that CONICET intends to organize or attend? How do these events align with the goal of recruiting participants from Argentina and other Latin American countries?
CIDCA (CONICET) has participated in different workshops, and round-table discussions to recruit participants from Argentina and other Latin American countries. Examples include the round-table dedicated to NEOGIANT on the occasion of CIDCA (CONICET)’s 50th anniversary and the annual participation in the “Ibero-American Night of Researchers”.
We aim to continue these activities and seek new opportunities whenever they arise. In addition, we will disseminate NEOGIANT activities within the scope of CYTED Program (social networks and CYTED webpage). Besides that, we will record videos to share our participation and activities in NEOGIANT using language accessible to broader audiences in different countries. Our work on market analysis will serve as valuable input for organizing the discourse to address local needs and explain what improvements are necessary to reduce the widespread use of antibiotics in animal production. We have close contact with local enterprises that also have business activities in neighboring countries, which will facilitate the expansion of our dissemination activities.
These activities align with CIDCA (CONICET)’s goals by fostering collaboration among researchers, entrepreneurs, and animal producers across Latin America. Furthermore, workshops and round-table discussions facilitate the dissemination of knowledge and best practices, helping to build capacity among local scientists and professionals. These events also provide critical networking opportunities by connecting local researchers with international experts and potential collaborators. Regular participation in the General Assemblies of the CYTED Program, which includes governmental authorities, will be another powerful tool for accessing decision-makers in Latin America.
- In what ways does CONICET plan to convey the passion of researchers to the general public? What measures will be taken to ensure that scientific information is presented in an accessible and understandable manner?
CIDCA (CONICET) has extensive experience in transmitting scientific information in an accessible and understandable manner. Examples include presenting our activities to scholars who regularly visit our center, recording short videos (1-2 minutes) to explain results that make a difference in people’s daily lives, participating in various TV programs (both on national channels and university networks), and publishing on social media (covering scientific activities, published articles, etc.). This experience is an important asset for conveying our passion to the general public within the scope of NEOGIANT.
The most enthusiastic staff participating in NEOGIANT will be those selected to record videos and transmit experiences. In addition, public lectures and interviews (local and national TV channels) will be also useful tools to transmit scientific information with passion and in understandable manners. As made in the first NEOGIANT years, we will continue sharing and also generating contents for our social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin) to share behind-the-scenes glimpses of research activities. In all these activities, we will use simplified language to ensure that all communication materials are free from jargon and use simple, clear language. This approach helps make scientific information more accessible to people without a scientific background. Additionally, conveying information in Spanish will enable us to reach a broader audience, especially among those who do not speak English.
By implementing these strategies, CIDCA aims to bridge the gap between researchers and the general public, making science more engaging, understandable, and accessible to everyone.
- How does CONICET plan to measure the impact of its dissemination and communication activities within the regional context? Are there any specific metrics or indicators that will be used to evaluate success?
CIDCA (CONICET) plans to use different metrics and indicators to help evaluate the success and effectiveness of the employed strategies. Such indicators include tracking metrics on social media (number of followers, likes, shares, comments, and overall engagement). Tools like Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics, and Instagram Insights will be also used to gather these data.
Monitoring the number of visitors, page views, time spent on the site, and bounce rate using tools like Google Analytics will help to quantify the website traffic and register the interest in the content and its effectiveness in retaining visitor attention.
Regarding face-to-face activities, the number of participants in workshops, seminars, conferences, and public lectures will serve as suitable parameters to indicate successful outreach and engagement. What is more, collecting feedback through surveys and questionnaires will enable us to assess participants’ satisfaction and learning outcomes by “listening” to people’s needs and desires, allowing us to improve our communication effectiveness if necessary.
Monitoring changes in enrollment numbers in related courses and programs at the National University of La Plata, the academic institution to which CIDCA is also affiliated, will be another tool that may indicate successful communication of the relevance and excitement of scientific research. Finally, by counting the number of new collaborations and partnerships formed with other research institutions, industry stakeholders, and community organizations we will also be able to quantify the result of our NEOGIANT dissemination activities.
By using these metrics and indicators, CIDCA (CONICET) aims to continuously evaluate and refine its dissemination and communication strategies, ensuring they effectively reach and engage the target audiences within the regional context
- How does CONICET plan to replicate the market study in Argentina, and what specific steps will be taken to expand this study to neighboring countries like Chile, Brazil, and Uruguay?
We are conducting a market study in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay to replicate the one carried out in Europe, serving as a deliverable for the NEOGIANT project. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the current situation of animal production in these countries, identifying needs in terms of products and regulations. More importantly, it assesses the potential impact that NEOGIANT products may have in the region, considering the large scale of animal production (especially in Brazil and Argentina), which translates into a significant number of end-users.
Andrea Gomez – Zavaglia
Andrea Gómez-Zavaglia is the Director of the Research and Development Center in Food Cryotechnology (CIDCA-CONICET-UNLP). Currently, she is a Principal Investigator at CONICET (Career of Scientific and Technological Researcher CONICET) and Manager of the Agri-Food Area of the CYTED Program since 2022 (www.cyted.org/).
She obtained her PhD in Exact Sciences (University of La Plata, Argentina) and completed three postdocs, at the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina, 2000-2002), the Max Planck Institute for Plant Physiology (Germany, 2002), and the University of Coimbra (2002-2006). She was a Visiting Professor at the University of Vigo (Spain, 2009), the Autonomous University of Madrid (since 2010), Université Paris Diderot (since 2014), Université Paris Descartes (since 2016), and AgroParisTech (2019). She was also a high-impact researcher at the National University of San Agustin (Peru, 2019). She maintains academic collaborations with over 30 research groups and SMEs from more than 15 countries in the European Union and the Americas, several of which are funded by international institutions (e.g., European Commission, CYTED Program).
Her research focuses on functional food ingredients, their production, stabilization, and storage, with special attention to sustainability and the molecular mechanisms that explain their physical and chemical behaviors. She has 192 peer reviewed publications (166 articles and 26 book chapters); 4400 citations; h-index 37 (Scopus ID: 6602189336); 2 edited books (Springer Verlag); 7 patents. She is the CSO of a start-up company and was awarded the Mercosur Science and Technology Award (UNESCO, 2009), INNOVA Prize (2019) and Prize from the Argentinean Senate (2020) for the “Formulation and industrial development of a drinkable quinoa food with high nutritional value” (product currently available in the Argentinean market).
She has been the Principal Investigator or Work Package leader of more than 50 R&D&i projects at both national and international levels (CYTED Program, European Commission -Horizon 2020; RISE). She has supervised 11 PhD theses, 15 postdocs, and 9 Assistant researchers (CONICET). She has organized over 15 international conferences and workshops and has served on the Advisory Board on several occasions.
She is currently associate editor of Food Chemistry X, Heliyon, Current Opinion in Food Science (Elsevier), Frontiers in Microbiology (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; and Foods, MDPI), and member of the Editorial Board of Taylor & Francis (CYTA) and Elsevier (Food Research International) journals. She acted as peer reviewer for more than 30 international journals and participates in evaluation committees in Argentina, France, Portugal, Poland, Spain, Qatar, and other Ibero-American countries (Paraguay, Guatemala, Chile, Peru). She has been Jury for more than 25 PhD theses in different universities of Argentina, Portugal, Spain, and France in the field of Food Science and Technology.She has given over 45 lectures at more than 25 academic institutions and companies in Argentina and the European Union.
She is fluent (C1 level) in English, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish (native language).
About CONICET
The Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET; www.conicet.gov.ar) was created in 1958 by Bernardo Houssay, Argentinean Nobel Prize for Medicine (1947), who was also its first president. It is the main organization in charge of the promotion of Science and Technology in Argentina. Its main goal is to boost and implement scientific and technical activities in all fields of knowledge.
CONICET has its own staff of researchers (Career of Scientific and Technological Researcher, 11800 researchers) and Professional Support Staff for Research (technical staff, 2900 technicians), regularly evaluated according to international standards in terms of quality, productivity, innovation and transfer to the industry. CONICET also funds fellowships (PhD and postdoc, 11600 fellows), research and institutional projects, and promotes different international programs, amongst which international cooperation plays a key role in the science and technology policy. In this context, CONICET aims at establishing lasting and profound links with the International scientific community, on the basis of its historic values of cooperation, excellence, originality, innovation and transparency.
The Center for Research and Development in Food Cryotechnology (CIDCA, cidca.conicet.gov.ar) is a research center depending from CONICET created in 1973 and led by Andrea Gómez-Zavaglia since 2016. It is mainly devoted to research and innovation in Food Science and Technology. CIDCA counts on ca. 150 professional staff having a multidisciplinary background (Chemists, Biochemists, Pharmacists, Biologists, Chemical and Food Engineers, Agronomic Engineers, Biotechnologists, Food Science and Technology Licentiates), including researchers, technical and administrative staff and fellows (PhD and postdocs).
The ambition of CIDCA includes:
– Boosting scientific and technological capabilities;
– Promotion and transfer of knowledge to the society, facilitating the access of the population to food products of high nutritional value;
– Innovation focused on transferring technology, design of prototypes and technical support to entrepreneurs, food producers, and SME in the field of Food Science and Technology.
CIDCA has three main research lines, namely Biochemistry and Food Microbiology, Food Technology and Food Engineering, as shown in the picture:
You can read the original interview published by ASAJA in Spanish here
