VIRTUOUS - Virtual tongue to predIct the oRganoleptic profile of mediterranean IngredienTs and their effect on hUman hOmeostasis by means of an integrated compUtational multiphysicS platform

Horizon 2020 - MSCA-RISE-2019

VIRTUOUS is a virtual tongue made by an integrated computational framework able to screen food for natural ligands targeting taste receptors. The proposed intelligent algorithm, by integrating drug discovery techniques, machine learning classifiers, algorithms for big data, cloud computing, and experimental data will predict the organoleptic profile of a specific food based on its chemical composition. The outcomes of this research will shed light on the mechanisms driving the information transfer from the chemistry level, where food molecular constituents bind taste receptors, toward a cascade of molecular, supramolecular and cellular events emerging as an elaborated sensation which strongly contribute to the food organoleptic profile.

The joint exchange program is coordinated by the Prof. Marco Deriu (Polytechnic University of Turin) and involves 9 participants from 4 countries: Italy, Greece, Spain, Switzerland.