by Beniamina Cassetta

 

From childhood dreams to farms to world-first research collaborations, Professor Antonio Gallo has built a career connecting the science of animal nutrition to the food on our plates. We spoke with him about passion, research excellence, and the future of sustainable food systems.

 

Your field of teaching and research is animal nutrition. How did that passion begin?

For many of our students today, this field is a natural continuation of a family background in farming or agri-food. For me, it was simply a passion. I remember as a small child visiting farms and being fascinated by everything I saw. I had no family connection to the sector. But I followed my passion for agriculture, for animal husbandry, for the agri-food world, and I have never regretted it. I mention this because when I give talks, I always feel a bit like a parent offering advice. The practical guidance is: choose something that will allow you to find a job, but never abandon what drives you. Doing what you love makes the work more fluid, more energising and, frankly, more fun.

 

You studied at Università Cattolica and now you teach here. From your perspective as both a former student and a researcher, how has the University changed over the years?

I chose to come to Piacenza for a number of personal reasons, but also because I saw Cattolica as an institution that, in the agricultural sciences (today encompassing food and environmental sciences as well), offered a path with a clear connection to the world of work. That was the key factor for me as a student, and I find the same feedback today from students who graduate and go on to find employment. From a teaching perspective, I am proud that many of our graduates now occupy senior positions in their sectors. As for research, my thesis led naturally to a PhD, post-doctoral work, a research position, and eventually a lectureship. I was truly fortunate: the professors who mentored me had a strong international presence. That shaped my approach from the very beginning, a global networking culture, partly European, partly American, that I have since cultivated and expanded. As a student, I noticed that our professors had active contacts in the productive world, and those relationships often led to various opportunities. Today, I am even more convinced of it. The so-called "third mission" of bringing university knowledge into contact with external actors, from companies to end consumers, was and still is one of our strongest points. I can confidently say that many of my Master’s students find employment even before they graduate.

You spent time at Utah State University. How did that international experience come about, and what impact did it have on your academic career?

During my doctoral research, I felt a strong need to explore what was happening elsewhere, how other groups worked, what methods they used. Once again, I was fortunate that my professors maintained active international contacts. I made use of an existing connection and asked whether I could visit. My advisor, Prof. Duarte Diaz, welcomed me, and that experience marked me deeply. What I understood in the United States is that even in applied sciences, which are tied to specific local conditions, soil types, climates and agricultural systems, one must have a global vision. That is what I found at Utah State, and it is something I have tried to bring back and pass on.

You are involved in a Master’s programme with the Ferrero Foundation. What makes that collaboration distinctive?

Aside from the evident prestige of its name, it is characterised by the model of interaction it embodies. The programme originated from the vision of Michele Ferrero, someone who invested enormously in the formation of new generations. The result is a continuous dialogue between those who generate knowledge, which is the university’s role, and those who apply it, which is the industrial world. The programme has four didactic pillars: nutrition, food technology, science and society, and institutions. Students work across all four before entering a business case phase, in which they collaborate with company mentors to develop real product concepts. And it is worth noting: some of those concepts have the potential to reach the market. In the next edition, students will also engage with the Ferrero’s Innovation Center in Chicago and gain experience at the FAO, and our goal stays the same: to give them the broadest possible view of where the food sector is heading.

I also came across a joint study involving the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Bayer. What was Cattolica’s role in that collaboration?

This is a story I am genuinely proud of. Bayer had developed a new corn hybrid as part of a research programme that had begun around 2002. Corn is a fundamental crop for animal nutrition. The company, whose focus is primarily agronomic, needed a partner to test the nutritional performance of this hybrid in livestock. They approached us in 2022, and I want to emphasise this: we were the first institution in the world to test it. We conducted the trial in our experimental livestock facility, which serves both teaching and research purposes. The work was published in the Journal of Animal Science, a leading journal of the American Society of Animal Science. From that collaboration, we built a lasting relationship with the University of Wisconsin–Madison: Professor Louis Ferraretto contributed to characterising the nutritional profile of these hybrids, and further joint publications have followed. We have just submitted a new paper, again with Bayer and Wisconsin, this time involving our agronomy colleagues as well. Following our work, Bayer began testing this hybrid elsewhere in the world, in Turkey, the United States and South America. But Piacenza was first.

You are ranked among the top 2% of scientists globally. What does that recognition reflect, and how is research excellence built?

First of all, I am not alone in Università Cattolica and in particular in the Faculty of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences. At one point, I was among the youngest from our institution to enter this ranking, but there are now younger colleagues ahead of me, as there should be. Approximately 35% of our associate and full professors appear on this list. What it reflects is consistency, rigour and the willingness not to work in isolation. The most important thing in academia, I am firmly convinced, is to create knowledge and share it with students, with colleagues, and through the third mission, with industry and society at large. The fact that younger researchers are now entering this ranking suggests the school is continuing to grow. That matters more to me than any individual recognition. How does one get there? Through dedication, genuine passion for the research process itself, and serious collaboration both within the institution and internationally.

Where is your research heading in the years ahead?

We are in an era of artificial intelligence and what I call "black box" modelling: systems that receive data as inputs and produce outputs without revealing what happens in between. My concern is that we do not lose sight of biological knowledge in the rush to embrace these tools. I work on "white box" modelling: models grounded in a genuine understanding of biological phenomena. I am also president of the scientific committee of an Italian association dedicated to this field, System Dynamics. More broadly, the livestock sector faces a set of interconnected challenges: environmental sustainability, animal welfare and economic viability must all be addressed together. Our role is to improve productivity in ways that also reduce environmental impact, increase circularity, and guarantee food safety and product quality for everyone. I think, for instance, of communities in the Apennine that are losing population to urban migration: if we can help ensure that farming in those areas remains economically viable, we are contributing not only to food production but to the social fabric of the country. 

Finally, what advice would you give to a student who’s approaching this field of studies today? And in hindsight, would you do it all again? 

I would do it all over again, without hesitation. The passion was there from the beginning, and the academic path always interested me as a real possibility. I was fortunate, but I would not take that for granted, because alongside fortune there was effort, and there were genuinely difficult moments. When those elements align, opportunity, commitment and the ability to get back up after setbacks, results follow. The one message I would leave for the new generation is this: nothing comes ready-made. You have to roll up your sleeves and create your own path towards the future