Position Title
Professor; Chair of the Food Science Graduate Group
Dr. Maria Marco is a Professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis. She earned her bachelor’s degree in microbiology at The Pennsylvania State University and PhD in microbiology at the University of California, Berkeley. As a postdoc at Wageningen University and NIZO food research in The Netherlands, she initiated work investigating probiotic lactobacilli and their functional contributions to intestinal and systemic health. Dr. Marco started her laboratory at the University of California, Davis in 2008 and has built an internationally recognized research program on fermented foods, probiotics, and dietary modulation of the gut microbiome.
Our lab studies microorganisms and their metabolites which may have beneficial effects on brain function. The intestinal microbiome is increasingly understood to affect neurobiology. Our lab is investigating connections between health and neurological function through the gut-brain axis.