Inside AMA's Research Lab
As part of our 2024 strategic development plan, AMA has, for the first time, formally hosted a PhD student to integrate academic research into the core of our work.
In January 2025, AMA welcomed Curro Polo as an industrial PhD candidate and Head of R&D, with the mission of driving new fermentation processes and consolidating an in‑house research line in NoLo (no and low alcohol) beverages.
Curro's doctoral research focuses on developing predictive models for fermentations in the NoLo sector and on understanding fermentation dynamics in low‑sugar matrices, with a particular emphasis on tea‑based beverages.
The PhD is carried out within the doctoral program at the Basque Culinary Center (Mondragon Unibertsitatea). The thesis is supervised by Dr. Pia Sörensen, Senior Preceptor in Chemical Engineering and Applied Materials at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Science&Cooking programme. Co‑supervisors are Dr. Thierry Tran, food biotechnologist at L'Institut Agro specialized in the NoLo sector, and Dr. Ekaitz Esteban Echeverria, statistician and faculty member at the Basque Culinary Center. The academic tutor is Dr. Juan-Carlos Arboleya, physicist and science lead at the Basque Culinary Center, while the industrial tutor is AMA's CEO, Daniel Lasa Echegoyen.
This is an international PhD project that brings together biotechnology, food technology, data‑driven research, and AI‑based modelling applied to fermentation design and control. At AMA, we are strongly committed to generating and sharing knowledge, building bridges between producers, industry, and researchers to advance the future of next‑generation fermented beverages.
