The Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science (BCA) of the University of Padova seeks project ideas to join and support as partner!

The Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science (BCA) of the University of Padova, is active in the veterinary medicine, comparative animal science and food safety field, trough its 51 active professors.

With particular reference to the call HORIZON-MISS-2026-05-SOIL-02, the research activities involve a multidisciplinary team.

The integrated research area includes expertise in molecular epidemiology, antimicrobial resistance, environmental microbiology, pharmaceutical uptake and advanced analytical chemistry. The teams are composed of academic staff, senior researchers, PhD candidates and specialized technicians.

Core research activities focus on the molecular epidemiology of bacteria of animal and environmental origin, with particular emphasis on zoonotic potential and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The group contributes to major initiatives such as EUPAHW, supporting the detection, monitoring and characterization of emerging microbial threats under a One Health framework.

In parallel, the analytical chemistry laboratory investigates the uptake and metabolism of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals in plant species. Using LC‑MS technologies, current studies show significant variability in pharmaceutical absorption depending on plant species and drug characteristics, providing essential insights into contaminant fate in soils and agroecosystems.

 Together, these groups offer a comprehensive understanding of microbial dynamics, contaminant pathways and ecosystem health.

 Future research interests include:

·        Developing One Health‑based strategies to counter antimicrobial resistance, integrating animal, environmental and human health components.

·        Understanding soil as a reservoir of resistance genes, examining how environmental conditions influence AMR persistence and transfer.

·        Studying soil as a reservoir of pharmaceutical contaminants, and determining how soil physicochemical properties affect pharmaceutical uptake in plants.

·        Combining microbial and chemical approaches to explore interactions between contaminants, microbial communities and resistance development.

 These topics naturally support interdisciplinary collaborations with experts in soil chemistry, environmental modelling, phytochemistry, microbial ecology, water treatment and environmental engineering.