Prof. Ana Sanches Silva

Ana Sanches Silva (orcid.org/0000-0002-0226-921X) is a Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra (Portugal). She has a remarkable track record (H-index 63; >17,000 citations, SCOPUS) with more than 300 scientific publications. Her research focuses on the development of innovative packaging technologies, such as active and edible packaging, and the study of packaging migration into food. She has a strong interest in analytical methodologies, particularly mass spectrometry, for detecting bioactive compounds, food contaminants (e.g. plant toxins, mycotoxins, pesticides residues), and packaging migrants. In recent years, she has also explored natural extracts from plants and food by-products for their integration into active packaging systems.

Throughout her distinguished career, Ana has received over twenty research awards, recognizing her outstanding contributions to science. In 2024, she was honored with the prestigious “Food Packaging Award in honor of Don Riester, Rees Davis, and Aaron Brody” by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), one of the most highly regarded awards in the field of food packaging globally. Additionally, Ana has been consistently recognized among the World’s Top 2% of most-cited scientists in the Stanford University ranking since 2021.