Luis M. Cunha

Summary

I’m an Associate Professor w/Habilitation (Agregação) at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Portugal, and was Head of the former Agrarian Sciences Engineering Dept. before its amalgamation in the Geosciences, Environment and Planning Department (Dec. 2009). I’m a Food Engineer (1993) from the College of Biotechnology, Catholic University of Portugal, Portugal, where, after a Post-graduate Diploma (M.Sc. courses) in Food Science and Engineering (1995), I finished my Ph.D. in Biotechnology with a specialization in Food Science and Engineering (1999). From my Ph.D., I have specialized in Experimental Design and Statistical Data Analysis for improved parameter estimation for models used in food research. I’ve worked as a consultant for the National Bureau of Statistics (INE) under the scope of the ALEA project. I defended my Habilitation (Agregação) in Agrarian Sciences (2024), where I present a lesson on "Rapid sensory profiling techniques". Since 1996, research activities included quality and minimal processing of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as measuring consumer attitudes towards food safety and quality, and processes regarding consumer quality evaluation of food products. The latter has become a primary focus of my research. I have a particular interest in the application of sensory evaluation for New Product Development and in the interfaces between Sensory Science, Consumer Science and Marketing, which led to the proposal of joint MSc and PhD degrees, between the Faculty of Sciences and the Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, the first starting in 2007 and the second in 2009. Having a holistic view of the Food System (production, industry, retailing and consumer), has allowed me to participate in the development of several R&D projects in collaboration with Industry and Retail chains, among other stakeholders. Currently, I lead the Consumer Perception and Sensory Evaluation Group @ GreenUPorto, with a very dynamic group of young researchers, counting with over 15 PhD students, where the main areas of research deal with individual variability in the perception of food products, the application of fast and dynamic sensory profiling techniques for food products, the impact of context on consumer perception and evaluation of food products, the role of emotions on food choice, and the evaluation of consumer acceptance of insects as food and feed, among other topics. For an updated list of my publication record, please look into: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Luis_Cunha6/publications