Giovanna Cristina Varese

GC Varese is a Full Professor at the University of Torino (Italy). Professor GC Varese’s research interests cover all aspects of mycology, from systematics to biotechnological applications of fungi. She is responsible for managing, implementing, and enhancing the Turin University Culture Collections (TUCC), the microbial biobank of the University of Torino, that currently host about 10.000 strains of bacteria and fungi and has become one of the largest ex situ collections of microorganisms in Italy and in Europe. She is a mycologist with a PhD in “Fungal Biology and Biotechnology”. Her research also includes the management and valorisation of microbial collections to support bioscience and bioindustry. Noteworthy is the application of TUCC microbial strains for innovation in industrial technology, developed in collaboration with several national and international companies. She has been the Coordinator for the University of Torino of the II level InterUniversity Master in »Bioeconomy in the Circular Economy«. Currently, she is the Coordinator of the Italian network of microbial culture collections MIRRI-IT (www.mirri-it.it) and represents Italy in the EU Research Infrastructure MIRRI (Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure).