Dr. Simona Grasso
Dr Simona Grasso was born on the island of Sicily as the only daughter and youngest of three children. Simona began her academic journey at the Università degli Studi di Catania, Italy, where she obtained her BSc in Food Science and Technology in 2008, followed by an MSc in 2010. She subsequently moved to London to work as a food technologist specialising in the import and export of foods where she was responsible for auditing and reviewing compliance across Europe. During her Masters program she spent some time in UCD under the guidance of Prof Frank Monahan and she took the decision to return to Ireland taking up a brief role in an Irish food company before taking up a full time position in 2013 as a PhD researcher working on the development of healthier meat products by introducing cholesterol-lowering plant sterols.
In 2017 Dr Grasso sought to expand her experience and took a position in the UK as a lecturer at the University of Lincoln and subsequently as a Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Reading (2018 to 2021). During those years, Dr. Grasso expanded her research more into sustainable food systems, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), upcycled foods, hybrid meat products, sensory and consumer-related studies. She rejoined University College Dublin as an Assistant Professor in 2021 and in 2024 she became a UCD Ad Astra Fellow.
See more below.
Current Research Challenges
Dr Gasso’s research work is broad as her work is adapting to the trends and needs she is observing in the market such as the upcycling movement and the valorisation of food industry by-products (e.g. trying to add value to food industry by-products such as apple pulp leftovers from apple juice manufacturing). Her research work seeks to upcycle by-products back into the food chain for human consumption. One of her PhD students works on the co-creation of upcycled foods to understand what Irish consumers think of upcycled ingredients and if consumers might like to see them incorporated into new foods.
The research work will start with focus groups, continue with a nation-wide survey and the development of an upcycled food prototype that will be tested with consumers. This research project will use a consumer-led approach to develop new sustainable, nutritious and tasty foods with a higher chance of market success.
The impact of this type of multi-disciplinary research is very much focused on the present and the near future. Upcycled foods are already in the market and there are a lot of startup companies getting involved in this area, trying to maximise sustainability and nutrition while minimising waste. The ultimate goal of this research is to support a circular economy approach, by understanding what views consumers have on the by-products but also by exploring the manufacturing, legislation and logistic challenges and opportunities in this area.
The Researcher
Dr Grasso is working on securing grant funding for broader projects to valorise food industry by-products using new methods to produce upcycled ingredients for food applications. Through the Institute of Food and Health, she is a member of the US-based Upcycled Food Association. She is the co-editor of the first book with a specific focus on upcycled foods, which will be published by Springer in 2026.
Dr Grasso is an active member of the COST Action FoodWaStop. She is currently the main supervisor of 4 PhD students and the co-supervisor of 3 PhD students. Her students have received funding from the Irish Research Council, the China Scholarship Scheme and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
In February 2025 she was an invited speaker at the 2nd International Symposium in Meat Chemistry, Processing and Nutrition, organised by Massey University, delivering a talk on hybrid meat products. In May 2025 she will present in one of the UCD Institute of Food and Health free online public lectures, titled “Tackling Food Waste through a Circular Bioeconomy Approach”.
She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, the Institute of Food Science and Technology and the Upcycled Food Foundation. She is a member of the School Global Engagement Group, the Agricultural & Food Science Taught Programmes Board and the Executive Education Committee.
Simona has a young family who keeps her busy, but she makes time to take Les Mills fitness classes, reading and cooking healthy meals.
Future Research Aspirations
Dr Grasso is enthusiastic about the upcycled food trend in the food industry. One area of interest that she would like to explore in the future is animal products. She would like to encourage people to be more sustainable in their food choices with regards to meat. She is an advocate for the nose-to-tail approach that supports utilising all parts of the animal, helping to reduce food waste. She is particularly interested in researching consumers' attitudes towards introducing more of the whole animal in their consumption. It is important to understand consumers' behaviour change in this area, by increasing their awareness of more sustainable eating practices, expanding their cooking skills, reconnecting with traditional forgotten foods and their cultural and culinary heritage, etc.
Dr Grasso is interested in adding value to by-products taken as a whole, rather than focusing on extracting individual components, such as protein or fiber, through chemical processes. This would be more sustainable, essentially eliminating the costs in chemicals, water and labour to produce the food item, and would avoid most regulatory issues. The primary challenge is to minimally-process whole by-products to make them as palatable as possible, so that a higher inclusion level in foods can be possible.
Taking a holistic approach, she aims to develop novel food types aligned with key consumer decision drivers. Understanding how messaging—particularly related to environmental impact, nutritional benefits, price and other motivational factors—influences purchasing behavior is an essential aspect of her study.
Related Links
(opens in a new window)UCD Profile
(opens in a new window)Research Gate