Dr Paola Mattarelli is a microbiologist with a PhD in Microbial Ecology. Currently, she is a principal investigator at Bologna University with 20-years’ experience on the taxonomy, functional properties and microbial ecology of bifidobacteria, especially in human and animal host interactions. She is co-author of chapters related to bifidobacteria in “The Prokaryotes? and “Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology?. She is co-author of numerous scientific papers, reviews and book chapters.