From Pristina to Thessaloniki and, now, Paris! Rina Mekuli's educational journey from Kosovo continues successfully. Rina has a B.Sc. degree in Food Science and Technology and an M.Sc. degree in New Food Product and Business Development from Perrotis College and she has been recently awarded a research fellowship in the E-MUSE program (Complex Microbial Ecosystems MUltiScale ModElling: Mechanistic and Data Driven Approaches Integration), funded by the European Union through the MARIE SKŁODOWSKA-CURIE FELLOWSHIP  program to pursue her Ph.D. studies in INRAE, the National Research Institute of Agriculture, Food and Environment in France.Rina, who managed to stand out among numerous candidates from around the world, will join a 20-member scientific team investigating the interaction of microorganisms in the texture and aroma of the famous French PDO cheeses.

“I got the email with the formal offering when I least expected it, on a Friday afternoon. The first feeling that I had was confusion. I finally achieved the goal that I had been working towards for the last couple of years but, at the same time, it felt like it came too soon. This confusion was soon overpowered by a sense of joy and fulfillment. The years of studying in Perrotis College opened the way for me to pursue a Ph.D., especially the focus on laboratory work and the interactive type of learning. Apart from that, the cutting edge research that I carried out at Perrotis is what gave me the necessary knowledge and experience to be able to participate in a project as specialized as this one. I will start this journey in hopes that in the future, I will engage in research that will have a true impact in the food industry, tackling the major problems we are facing today” Rina shares.

Dr. Christos Kissoudis, Perrotis College associate professor, is proud of Rina Mekuli's research distinction. "She was one of the best students. She believed in herself and she succeeded. This is a real achievement, considering the difficulties and challenges she had to face”. It should be noted that this project aims to develop innovative modeling methodologies to improve knowledge of complex biological systems and to control and/or predict their evolution by combining artificial intelligence and systems biology. The end result of E-MUSE is the development of dynamic modeling software for the control of food process.